I was on a set the other day and a NYC fashion shooter (a friend of the director) was visiting. Naturally, we chatted about photography and photographing models and all that good stuff.
The fashion shooter was Italian though he spoke perfect English without much of an accent. He'd shot for many years in Milan and now resides in NYC. He showed me a few prints of some of his work. Quite good stuff-- mostly shot with bare-bulb hot lights and with only a single source at that. Eventually, our conversation moved to the business side of shooting models. What he told me surprised me. According to this shooter, there's a lot less money in shooting fashion these days. Not so much because of the difficulty in landing assignments--that's always been difficult--but more because clients simply won't cough up those big bucks to too many shooters.
This is not to say there aren't photographers in the fashion world who still command huge fees for their time but, according to my new, Italian, photographer friend, clients have wised up to that fact that the photographer's contributions to the final images aren't hugely more important than what MUAs, stylists, and art directors bring to the table. In other words, they've figured out that a great image ain't all about the shooter's skills. He even went on to quote me some model rates that well-known fashion names (like Versace and others) are paying many models and, frankly, I was stunned.
Like I said, there are still fashion shooters who get the big bucks. And there are still top models who are also paid generously for their time. But it seems the halcyon days of mega-bucks being tossed at just about anyone who manages to secure a plumb fashion gig--as a model or a shooter--are bygone. Leastwise, that's what this guy told me.
The image of Tera Patrick (at the top) was snapped by Leesa while I was shooting "T" from a different angle. I think it's a killer shot... more fashion-like than glam. (Well, except maybe for the red-satin panties. But who's looking at Tera's butt?) I particularly like the way Tera's face is framed by the shadow (from her hair) from this angle. Leesa's image was captured with a Canon 20D w/28-135 USM IS zoom attached. ISO 100, f/5.6 @ 125. Makeup and hair by Ricardo Ferrise.
4 comments:
Been reading your blog for a while. I think that Italian photographer's observation is pretty accurate. If you pour through various government data and Wall St. financial statements, you'll find that the overall spending on textile as a percentage of total household income has steadily declined over the last decade, especially after 9/11. With the dollar coming into the end stream drying up, it's not surprising to see the vendors tightening their purses.
On the other hand, the average age of fashion models have increased by something like 4 years. Seems like the turn over is actually lower, which means models may enjoy a longer career, even if their annual incomes is lower.
What's your take on the impact of the declining fashion industry on pretty girl shooters? Does that mean there will be more models and MUAs available for the average pretty girl shooter? One man's pain is another man's gain. Companies like OneModelPlace and ModelMayhem have done well for themselves serving the amateur model/photography market. Maybe fashion photographers have something to learn from this.
I'm really curious how much his day rate is. I live and shoot in a mid-west, mid-market city. I typically get $1000 - $1500 per day. But sometimes less if I like the client or project.
Steffen-- While he didn't give me an exact amount (for his rate) he mentioned rates that approximate your's and head upwards to two or three times that. After that, there seems to be a void until you reach the stellar rates of some of the uber-shooters who command fees in the low 6-figures. he also mentioned model rates from $800 - $1,000/day and those rates coming from some household-name advertisers. Interestingly, he said there's more money, as a rule, shooting catalogue for lesser known manufacturers than for shooting for the big guys.
with the age of digital I'm afraid we are all going to make less and less!
WAH!!
Post a Comment