Getting paid fairly: usage rights, TFP and day rates

The money in modeling is rarely just the day. It is the day plus how the images get used. Understanding that is the difference between a fair deal and a bad one.

Two things you are paid for

First, your time on the shoot, the day rate. Second, how the resulting images are used afterwards, the usage rights. The wider and longer the usage, the higher the total should be.

Usage, in plain terms

• Organic social: posts on the brand's own channels.
• Paid ads: the image is put behind ad spend and reaches far more people.
• Print and out-of-home: magazines, posters, packaging.
• E-commerce: product pages and shops.
• Exclusivity: not working with competitors for a period, which has its own cost.

About TFP

TFP (time for print) means no money changes hands: you and the team exchange time for images. It can be useful to build a portfolio, but it is not free. Always agree in writing who can use the images, where, and for how long. TFP for a portfolio is not the same as free content for a brand's paid ads.

Before you say yes

• Ask what the usage is, and for how long.
• Get the day rate and the usage terms in writing.
• If usage grows later, the pay should grow too.
• A vague brief is a red flag. A clear one respects your work.

Work with people who are clear about the terms. Find real, transparent open calls on SUPREMES.