As a photographer you either want to feature a known model who has demand for their work or; an unseen face. If you want to sell images of a well-known social media model remember, there are dozens of images available online by other sources or photographers so why would someone pay for your work featuring that model? This I call the Insta-Paradox. Where a model’s popularity can negatively affect the photographer’s ability to sell their works.
I’m only going to refer to the area of photography I know but this could apply to any genre. Why would anyone purchase your photo of Yosemite when Ansel Adams work is easily available? Yeah, different angles or light or seasons or creative application make your work different enough for someone to want to own a copy but the subject now becomes slightly secondary. Your techniques of that subject are what make it fresh. We all want to see fresh things, new faces and something inspiring to us in some way.
I know this journey. I see a new face and I check their links. I find their digital portfolio or feed to see how they photograph. I check follower count and check their tagged work. Then it’s a short skip to Google. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Model Mayhem, linktree or multi-links pages (to see if they make revenue online), 500px, Deviantart and others. If the model has done some work, it’s not that hard to find. Uncensored. Which in art nude or nude photography is a must really. Once I have seen their work if any, I look to see how they stood out in the shots, how they posed in the surroundings, their face, hands, and feet say alot, and then, I reach out.
In my thinking, if your work is more about skin exposure than lighting, and the more work a model has online, it could be theorized that now you have less chance of selling your work. The exception of course is a fanbase. The bigger that is, the more your work stands a chance. So freelance models need to build an audience, a fanbase and followers. Undoubtedly that will include potential photographer clients for them and hopefully people who want to spend money to own your photos. So, do you grant photo releases or not? Can they make money from your work without cutting you in?
Photographers tend not to be the main market to sell your work. The fans are. Let’s look at that. If the model has fans maybe she has an Onlyfans or similar. Now her fans can access her directly and seek content. Maybe sites like Bentbox feature some of her work by previous photographers. Photography sites like 500px or others have a search feature and guess what? You can get images. Some downloadable, some not. At this point a fan is starting to amass a collection of the model in order for them to keep buying.
The sheer amount of work online is both good and bad financially as creators, or artists or photographers or whatever we are now. I identify as a photographer so I’m a go with that. Either I can sell prints or digital sets. But my potential market is huge so it has to be something special for someone to pay for it. And I need them to see it first.
We all know this and I’m preaching to the choir I’m sure. My point was that as I pulled back from the Instagram market more, I noticed the amount of available images of popular models. This makes it so much harder as a photographer to stand out. Maybe that a good thing. But I suppose what I noticed is that having insta-popularity is great for a model as a way to book more work and increase rates but that makes it harder for photographers to make sales from their work because of the availability of images.
Another quick point here. The insta-popularity (which applies to social media in general) is cause for models rates to be determined. A very well known model recently said to set your rates as high as possible until you can’t get bookings, then drop it a bit. That means the richest photographers are driving and maintaining the rates which as a broke tog right now makes it frustrating. I believe I’m a good photographer who makes some good work but I am forced to find lesser known faces for my work now. I’m not good enough that my work warrants TFP. Let’s face it, good art models are a small niche so they have supply-and-demand and fair enough. It’s not that I have any bad feelings about any of this, I am maybe just noticing what many others have too? I think models should earn what they can. I believe the same for photographers or artists, whatever.
It’s the insta-paradox that I’m interested in. Popularity is to exposure what exposure is to earnings. As a model’s public profile increases popularity they stand to make more. However, their popularity can hinder the photographers marketing interest thus lowering potential earnings.
It should be noted here that this applies both ways differently. If the photographer is insta-popular, they stand to make more but being featured in a popular togs work boosts a models cred who stands to make more. See what I mean?
Disclaimer: Models work hard, have courage, resilience and drive. Art nude models have changed the way I can approach nudity, both my own and others. To see how confident you can be in your skin was eye opening to me (no pun intended). Photographers also work hard on their skill, artistry and production. For every one photo you see, they have been through hundreds. The work in the background is so often taken for granted. Photography changed the way I see my world.
No photos I’m afraid this post. With limited resources here on the road, I don’t have access to my drives.
If you enjoy this, please consider buying me a coffee. Or get on to my Patreon for some tutorials I did and sets with bts explanations of shots. Basically: can you spare some change please?
Thanks, Robin