This chapter covers a couple of things: getting paid for your job and getting paid for your job again. Yes, there are several ways to keep getting paid to be on camera, long after the shoot. I have seen models charge years after doing a shoot!
First things first: get paid for your session. In order to get paid, you will probably need to provide the producer with copies of two forms of identification that show your legal name. At least one of them must be government-issued with your photo: driver’s license, passport, under-21 ID card, etc. You can use almost anything as the second ID, as long as it has the same name. Some women have tried to give me their credit cards, don’t. I’m pretty honest, but don’t put temptation in my way. Never give someone else access to your financial information unless you are conducting a secure transaction, and you can make sure they do not keep any additional copies of the information.
Most small producers will pay you at the end of the shoot, usually in cash. Producers who are shooting it for a major market and paying more money, will also want your Social Security number (so they can report the payment to the IRS – I told you to be legal!), and they can pay you with a company issued control. Always check the payment terms when you organize the session. Don’t wait until you get there. If the producer asks you to pay by check (or says it’s “Company Policy”), ask which bank the check will be made out of. That is why it is important to have an account in a bank that provides services in the area where you will be filming. The little bank in my hometown is very friendly, but I don’t pay out-of-state models with a check from out-of-state. Banks don’t like cashing checks for non-depositors: they can’t verify that the writer actually wrote the check, and they want a way to at least try to get the money back if they get scammed. If you receive a check, the bank’s name and phone number should be on the front. It doesn’t hurt to call and verify that the full amount of the check is available before attempting to deposit it.
In the early stages of your career, it’s highly unlikely (but not impossible) that you’ll work for a major producer. Very few growers expect to send you a check at a later date. These are the types of shots that an agent typically sets up, and the agent gets the check. Then they turn around and pay you or your business manager. For most beginner models, you can expect to get paid immediately after the session.
Another way to receive payment is by credit card. To do this, you’ll need some type of account that can process the cards for you. PayPal is a service that can accept cards for you. However, some people have experienced problems with their accounts, and PayPal’s Terms of Service (TOS) specifically prohibit paying, or receiving payments, for illegal activities. They also don’t like it when you use your account to make obscene and pornographic transactions, although I’ve seen them turn a blind eye. You can bill a producer for “On-Site Modeling Services” or something similar, without explaining exactly what it is to PayPal. There are a number of other services similar to PayPal that have no restrictions against adult products and services. However, PayPal (owned by eBay) is the biggest player.
I have never used them, but I understand from some models that they have been paid for with prepaid debit cards. If you can verify the amount on the card and use it somewhere where you won’t be charged a service fee, I don’t see a problem with that. I don’t really have experience with them, I would ask before accepting them.
Cash, as they say, is king. He can buy a banker’s pen for a few dollars at almost any office supply store. Swipe these pens across the bills and you can check if the bills are real or fake. Instructions are usually on the back of the package. It’s not that a producer who pays you cash is deliberately trying to pass a bad bill, but he’s also human and can be ripped off just as easily as you can. It is better to verify that the invoices are real before your bank rejects a large part of your payment as fake.
If you’re the adventurous type, you may be willing to accept something more of value for your time, rather than cash or one of its many substitutes. I have given gift certificates to models for restaurants, for example. I know a few who have accepted airline tickets, store gift cards, and personal photo instructions. A model I know got a used car for an afternoon shoot. It ran for about six months and then it died, but if you think about it, the car lasted a heck of a lot longer than cash would have. He was able to get to many more shoots and earn money, so he was happy too.
Depending on the content you’ve helped create, it can be quite easy to get paid again for your work. Unless you’ve posed for a producer who is simply working on his own portfolio, he’s probably using your likeness (photos, video, or both) for a larger project hoping to make money. A book, a video, a paid access website. . . any of these is an opportunity for you to earn more money with your session.
As? Helping to promote and sell the final product!
The first way you can do this is by asking to be considered for personal introductions. If the photographer is using your images in an upcoming book, tell him you’d love to sign him at a local bookstore. He would offer the producer a low appearance fee, plus a dollar amount for each book sold at the signing. Make sure the photographer agrees and offer to sign one of your photos for the buyer of the book. People come out of the woodshop looking for signed books, especially if they have more than one signature. You can do the same with a DVD or even a fine art exhibit. It never hurts to ask, and since your appearance will help them earn money, I don’t see why they would refuse. Of course, once the look is set, do everything in your power to promote it. Send an e-mail to all your fans, and to other producers in the area. If you have a following in another geographic area, try to get the producer to go there with you and do another signing.
Showing up in person is great, but how about using the technology at your fingertips? The Internet is a big shopping mall. I shudder to think of the extreme ranges of products and services that can be bought and sold over the Internet. But it sure helps.
E-commerce is essentially buying and selling things over the web, using the digital exchange of monetary information to pass payment back and forth, usually with credit or debit cards. Most producers have someone collecting money for them, a large company that specializes in online cash handling. Some require that the exchange be for a physical product, such as a book or DVD. Some manage the funding for paid-access websites, where your photos or videos are behind a secure area and people pay to access them. Most of these big processors have something called “affiliate programs”. That is, you can sign up with the processor, and for each sale you make it helps you get a percentage of the sale.
If the producer has books or DVDs for sale on Amazon, for example, they can sign up as an Amazon Affiliate and advertise on their website. You can even advertise products that you don’t appear on. You can promote whatever you want, and some people make a lot of money as affiliates of certain online e-commerce sites. But I would use it as a side hustle for your modeling career: something to earn money at 4am while you sleep.
If the producer has a payment site, they are probably using one of the few credit card processors as a “gatekeeper” for the digital content they have for sale. Most of these processors live and die by their affiliate programs. The more people they can get to promote the sites they fundraise for. . . there are more funds to raise. If you’re posing for content that will appear on some sort of paid site, ask the producer about joining their affiliate program and help promote their site. If you don’t have one, strongly suggest setting one up with your existing processor or switching to one that allows affiliates. The more money he makes, the more money you make. If someone wants to see your photos or videos, great. If they want to see someone else, that’s great too, as long as you’re both making money.
In very simple terms, an affiliate program works like this: the processor gives you an identification number, which is like a digital ticket. You link to the product or site from your website (or anywhere else), making sure to include the digital ticket. I arrive and decide I want to see more of you, so I click the link and a copy of this digital ticket is pasted to my forehead (figuratively speaking). This link actually goes to the payment processor, but I am redirected to the content or product I was looking for. If I decide to buy the book or pay to join the website, the processor sees the ticket on my forehead and splits the payment I make three ways: one percentage to them, one percentage to the seller, and one to you. . That amount goes into your account, and when they make sure I’m not going to chargeback, my payment will be combined with the rest of the commissions you’ve made and you’ll get your money.
You need to be aware of the sites run by the producers you work with, to make sure they are still there and continue to work with the same payment processor. But depending on how many payment sites and book/video producers you work with, this could be a significant source of additional income. By spending just a couple of hours each week, it is possible for you to continue making money in one session for years and years.