Preamble: Everything below can be negotiated or changed over time 🙂

Want to work with me as a model?

Not all photographers or models have the same goals or guidelines as to how they work, what type of work they do and what they use or want to use the work for.
Just had a shoot more or less settled when it suddenly became clear that we had totally different ideas of how the images were to be used.

So I thought I’d like to make a rough outline of how I work with models and what the terms are.

For all shoots:

• Female, 18+ years of age.
• For shoots where I pay the model, art nude is my minimum level. I am not interested in implied nude or topless-only shoots.
• I prefer to work outdoors if the weather permits.
• I will gladly provide edited photographs for portfolio and social media use, provided I am credited as the photographer.
• Photographs should not be edited, cropped or otherwise altered without permission. I can supply alternative versions if required.
• I do not provide unedited RAW files.
• A signed model release is required when I will publish or commercially use the photographs.
• I can host a traveling model. I live in Moi, Norway, which has a railway station.
• My closest airports are Stavanger Airport, Sola (SVG), and Kristiansand Airport, Kjevik (KRS).

Who pays for the shoot?

I don’t normally work on a traditional TFP (time for print) basis.

Photography is part of my business. If I am arranging and paying for a shoot, I need to be able to use the resulting work commercially. If you are commissioning me to create photographs primarily for your own purposes, you should expect to pay for the photography.

Sometimes both of us have a commercial interest in the work. In that case, a collaborative arrangement may make more sense.

The diagram below gives a simple overview.

The diagram is a general guide rather than a fixed price list. Every shoot can be discussed individually depending on the project, intended use, time involved, travel and the commercial rights each of us needs.

Photographer pays

I normally pay the model when I am producing work for my own projects and I am able to publish and use the resulting photographs commercially.

My work may be used in places such as:

• printed books
• digital publications and downloads
• my websites and portfolios
• social media
• photography platforms
• promotional material
• other commercial outlets for my photography

When I pay a model, art nude is the minimum level I am interested in shooting. I am not looking for implied nude or topless-only shoots.

That does not mean every photograph from the session has to be nude, or that I only photograph art nude. A shoot may include portraits, fashion, lingerie, nude work or other ideas. The point is simply that, for a model shoot I am paying for, the model must be comfortable working at an art-nude level or beyond.

I prefer models who are comfortable posing independently, contribute their own ideas and are also open to trying mine. A shoot should be a collaboration creatively, even when I am the one paying for it.

Model pays

If you want photographs primarily for yourself, or you want restrictions that prevent me from making normal commercial use of the work, I consider the shoot a commissioned photography assignment.

In that situation, the model or client pays the photographer.

This includes, for example:

• non-nude portrait or modelling sessions commissioned for your own purposes
• private nude photography that I cannot publish
• photographs intended primarily for your own commercial activities
• shoots where my ability to publish or commercially use the photographs is substantially restricted

Being paid for a shoot does not automatically give either party unrestricted commercial rights. What each of us may do with the photographs should be agreed before the shoot.

Collaborative shoots

Sometimes the photographs have commercial value to both of us.

For example, you may want to sell, license or otherwise commercially use photographs from the shoot while I also want to publish and sell my work.

In those cases, I may be open to a collaborative arrangement rather than simply one of us paying the other.

That could involve:

• sharing some of the costs
• agreeing separate commercial usage rights
• sharing revenue from particular photographs or sets
• combining a model fee with revenue sharing
• another arrangement that makes sense for the project

There is no standard formula. If you have a commercial idea, tell me what you have in mind and we can discuss whether there is an arrangement that works for both of us.

Revenue sharing

For some projects, I may offer the model a share of revenue generated by the work we create together.

This is normally an addition to whatever arrangement we have agreed for the shoot rather than something automatically included with every shoot.

The percentage and the platforms involved depend on the project. Some platforms also make it possible for a model’s share to be paid automatically when content sells.

If you think revenue sharing would make sense for a project, I am happy to discuss it before we shoot.

Photographs for the model

I normally provide models with a selection of edited photographs from our shoot.

These can be used for normal personal promotion, such as your portfolio or social media, provided I am credited as the photographer.

Unless we have agreed otherwise, photographs I provide to the model are not supplied with unrestricted commercial rights. Selling the photographs, licensing them, including them in paid content, using them for advertising or otherwise commercially exploiting them needs to be agreed separately.

I do not provide unedited RAW files.

If you need a different crop, format or version of one of my photographs, ask me rather than editing the photograph yourself. I can usually prepare an appropriate version.

Model release and usage

For shoots where I will publish or commercially use the photographs, a signed model release is required.

The release establishes what I am permitted to do with the photographs and helps ensure that both of us know what has been agreed before the work is published.

If a project requires unusual restrictions or additional commercial rights for the model, these should be discussed before the shoot rather than afterwards.

Will I be famous?

Probably not because of one photoshoot.

I can promise that the work I publish is intended to be seen rather than simply sitting on a hard drive.

My photography appears through printed books, digital releases, websites, social media, photography platforms and video. When appropriate, I am also happy to credit and link to a model’s public profiles.

That does not mean I can promise a particular amount of exposure, sales, followers or future work. I would rather be realistic about that.

Interested in working with me?

If the way I work sounds suitable for you, contact me and tell me a little about yourself, the type of shoot you are interested in and what you would like to do with the photographs.

If you already have a commercial idea or an unusual arrangement in mind, include that as well.

kenneth@gjesdal.org