Fashion photographer that might be able to provide some hindsight here. Theres a big difference between booking big models depending on the job or the nature of it. Big names ie: Lara Stone, Gisele Bundechen, Cara D, Jourdan Dunn, Lindsay Wixson, etc, can request larger amounts due to the nature of their names. Campaigns pay considerably more, where you see Gisele featured in quite frequently. Many models get paid by the day for lookbooks, music videos, showrooms, etc. Editorial work however is usually shot on a free basis and with average working models, a majority of them have 20-70% of their fees deducted into the agency itself (Edit: Plus other agency fees) to pay off debts that they might inquire: living in the model apartment, flights, taxi rides, weekly living, etc. Book a campaign and make $$$$$ you end up only making $$$ and sometimes might even just make enough to live for the week. Some designers pay in clothing. In return due to tax and agency fees which vary in different countries which means you can make significantly less even if you make the supposed $$$$$ because of those factors adding up. In reality you dont end up making as much as bigger names. The same model can be in the same agency with Gisele and get booked for the same job, but because she is not well known, she'll make less.
Edit 2: Formatting
Edit 3: Also in the fashion industry, many invoices can take up to 30 - 90 days to process. So it can be months before you even see any of the money you've made.
dlehenbauer5 karma
Fashion photographer that might be able to provide some hindsight here. Theres a big difference between booking big models depending on the job or the nature of it. Big names ie: Lara Stone, Gisele Bundechen, Cara D, Jourdan Dunn, Lindsay Wixson, etc, can request larger amounts due to the nature of their names. Campaigns pay considerably more, where you see Gisele featured in quite frequently. Many models get paid by the day for lookbooks, music videos, showrooms, etc. Editorial work however is usually shot on a free basis and with average working models, a majority of them have 20-70% of their fees deducted into the agency itself (Edit: Plus other agency fees) to pay off debts that they might inquire: living in the model apartment, flights, taxi rides, weekly living, etc. Book a campaign and make $$$$$ you end up only making $$$ and sometimes might even just make enough to live for the week. Some designers pay in clothing. In return due to tax and agency fees which vary in different countries which means you can make significantly less even if you make the supposed $$$$$ because of those factors adding up. In reality you dont end up making as much as bigger names. The same model can be in the same agency with Gisele and get booked for the same job, but because she is not well known, she'll make less.
Edit 2: Formatting
Edit 3: Also in the fashion industry, many invoices can take up to 30 - 90 days to process. So it can be months before you even see any of the money you've made.
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