Makers: Should You Hire a Professional Model for Your Shoot?

Few people know this, but I was a model between the ages of 14 and 17.

Really. It was a short chapter, but in that window I worked with companies ranging from Pantene and Nivea to Fashion Bug and Dress Barn.

Before I could work for the agency I signed with, I had to undergo rigorous training at a modeling-slash-finishing school, where I got professional teachings in how to do my own makeup, how to answer the phone, which fork to use at a fancy dinner, what to eat in order to keep off water weight, how to make a face mask from a quarter of an avocado and an egg, and so much more. That school actually shaped a lot of my behavior and life moving forward.

I think I took all that learning for granted, though, when I became a photographer; I thought many of the things I learned at that school would be common sense if I asked someone I knew “in real life” to model for a shoot. For instance, I thought it was a “given” in my early days as a photographer that even an amateur model would come to a photo set with clean fingernails, tweezed eyebrows, and a waxed upper lip. Not so.

It turns out that modeling truly is a special, cultivated skill—one that must be learned. I’ve only been able to work with a small handful of “real life” people (less than five) who do come to shoots as prepared as I need them to be—which is why I continue to use them over and over if the project calls for their gender and age, while others who seem to have great potential get one or two gigs and then never hear from me again.

Which brings me to the topic of today’s post: If you’re a small-time product maker and seller, should you hire professional models for your shoot with Alexis The Greek? Is formal modeling education worth the added cost to use a pro instead of a friend? I’m going to dive into 7 factors you should consider. There is no right or wrong answer to the question, “Should I hire a model?”; these factors are intended only to help you make the most informed decision for your brand.

Are you ready? Let’s go…

FACTOR #1: YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT YOUR MOST IMPORTANT GOAL IS.

For every decision you make in your business, you will have to accept tradeoffs. This means that if you choose one thing, you have to let go of something else you want.

A really poignant example when it comes to hiring professional models is that with professional models, your photos will undoubtedly be higher quality and you’ll overall have more “winner” shots to choose from… but you might be making a tradeoff in your project budget, since models are expensive. The question is: Is it more important to you to have higher-quality photos and more options, or to save money?

The key here is knowing which things in the highest version of your dream are mutually exclusive. We all would love to own an iPad Pro without having to pay a dime for it, but realistically, we can’t do both—we can either own an iPad Pro by paying a premium for it, or we can let go of the idea of owning an iPad Pro and put our money towards other things that are more important to us. The same is true when it comes to models.

What is your highest dream for your photo shoot? Write everything down, even if it sounds ludicrous. For instance, you might write that you’d most like to shoot someplace that resembles an African plain at sunset; use 12 models of different sizes and ethnic backgrounds; and have enough unique images to post everyday on Instagram for at least six months. Don’t hold back for this part.

When you look at your highest dream, identify which items are mutually exclusive. You might have found a photographer whose style you like who guarantees 180 photos for a full-day shoot (which means you could post daily on social for a full six months)—but to hire her, you won’t be able to afford 12 models, just one. So those two parts of your dream are mutually exclusive.

Lastly, when two items are mutually exclusive, ask yourself: Which is more important? When you know, then you’ll have the most peace letting go of the part of the dream that you’ve acknowledged simply won’t work, and you’ll be able to focus your energy instead on making the most of the other part of your vision.

FACTOR #2: YOU HAVE TO FIND SOMEONE WHO PHYSICALLY RESEMBLES THE AUDIENCE YOU WANT TO REACH.

I work in what technically constitutes a city—Portsmouth, NH—but for a city, there sure aren’t many people in it. Which makes the general pool of photo-ready people to draw from for a project even smaller… and it gets pretty tiny when I think about who might have the right “look” for the audience I’m trying to reach with the final images.

All successful products are made with a particular consumer in mind. For instance, mothers who are having their first children later in life is a specific type of consumer; and consumers who are vegan and want everything from their wardrobe to their toiletries to be cruelty-free is another.

A well-identified consumer is someone who can be recognized across the room at a networking event or restaurant. Sometimes the cues that tell us someone is the right fit for our product are subliminal, but our brains can add up the facts quickly: We can tell the approximate age, health, wealth, happiness, and lifestyle choices of a person pretty quickly based on how they present themselves to the world.

When I cast models for a product shoot, I have to choose them based on what I know about the consumer for whom the product was made. I want to be able to put as many of those subliminal cues into the shoot as possible, which often starts with the model—the model has to be what the target consumer imagines himself or herself to be in their highest form.

The chances that I already know someone photogenic who fits the bill “in real life,” or that you as my client know someone, is very tiny.

But modeling agencies make a point of representing individuals who clearly represent specific people types, as well as persons whose looks are very malleable—i.e., people who can easily be made to look like a variety of types, allowing the onlooker to see what they want to see. (As an example, the model pictured above, who is Dutch-Indian, can be made to look Indian, Hispanic, Middle-Eastern, or other ethnicities depending on what she’s wearing and where she’s being shot.)

Even though the city where I live is small, it’s actually centrally located between three other cities—Manchester, NH; Portland, ME; and Boston, MA—all of which have modeling agencies representing diverse looks. So even if I can’t find someone who fits the bill “in real life,” I can likely find a trained professional who does close by.

FACTOR #3: KNOW THE LONG-TAIL GAME OF THIS PARTICULAR PHOTO SHOOT.

If you’re a regular reader, you know the majority of what I shoot is solely intended for social media use. Meaning, the photos might get used more than once, but often they’re here today and forgotten tomorrow.

This means many of my shoots are low-budget and shot in a way that suits the moment—not planned out four or six months ahead of time, as would occur with photos that would be used over and over in national campaigns (think billboards or ads in Home & Garden).

Therefore, paying $300 every month to use a pro model for 2 hours becomes a little impractical. For most brands, anyway.

Think about what your photos are going to be used for. If you mass-create the same products over and over and need 3-5 great lifestyle shots of each for your e-commerce listings, which will be used to sell those products for at least a year, then a model is a great investment—it goes far.

If you need a great photo for an investment pitch, again—what you put in can sometimes really affect what you get out.

However, if, like many of my clients, you simply need a lifestyle shot for Instagram this week, then using an approximation of your ideal client whom you know in real life might be the better go. You can offer that person a gift card or a small thank-you payment in lieu of dragging in a pro, whose waxed upper lip is less important when the final photo will only show up on a 2” by 2” screen.

FACTOR #4: KNOW THE LONG-TAIL GAME OF YOUR BRAND AS A WHOLE.

All that said, think also about where your brand is headed. If you want to be known as high-end, top-tier, and the best in the business, then even if you only plan to use your photos once or twice, you might want to consider pulling out more of the stops to get the right shot.

People can tell where we cut corners in our businesses. We know the difference between cheap and thoughtful packaging, custom and generic font choices, and homemade and professional logos. So if you have even an inkling that your target customers will be able to tell you used your niece as a model… well, you’re probably right.

A small handful of my clients invest in just 2-4 “big” shoots with me a year, at which time they stock up on photos that will get them through the next season. (This is different from the majority of my clients, who have me photograph their offerings once a month.) For these, more thoughtful curation goes into every image, from sourcing the right venue to determining what model(s) to use, acquiring props and figuring out transportation for them—all well ahead of time. We will often take 4-8 hours to work through a shot list, rather than trying to bang out all photos the we can photos in under 2 hours, solely intended for Instagram.

For longer shoots, models are a good idea—even if you can only have 2 or 3. The cost to have them there is less than what you’d pay me for that time, and likely also less than what you’re paying for the proper props. Models are human props, so think of them as part of your props investment as you create the scene that’s going to jump out to your ideal client and make them want to know more.

See my notes at the bottom of this post for how to add models to your next ATG shoot.

FACTOR #5: ANALYZE THE SHOTS YOU ACTUALLY NEED. (CLOSE-UPS DON’T NEED A PRO, PER SE)

I recently took on a project where the client wanted to hire professional models—for images that didn’t actually need professional models.

How did I know? Well, the photos were for e-commerce listings for a product which is physically small. The images weren’t lifestyle images (images where we see products in a greater context); they were size-and-scale images. The products were shot with a person in the frame, but so little of the person, that the person really wasn’t a part of the overall story, and almost didn’t have to be there at all.

For images where all you need is a hand in a pocket, someone’s neckline, or two athletic ankles tucked into a pair of shoes, you don’t need to pay $150 and hour for a pro. You can hire a friend. You do want to find someone whose gender, age, and and body type is approximately right for your intended audience, but they won’t need training to get the job done.

FACTOR #6: UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER CAN’T “PHOTOSHOP” EVERYTHING.

Photoshopping takes time and a LOT of practice. Some photographers are masters of Photoshop, almost to the point that photography is secondary to their editing skills. This is not most photographers.

The reason it’s important to know this is that if you bring a friend to a shoot, and that friend has particularly frizzy hair that day, that’s going to be difficult to Photoshop. A professional model can be told to arrive “photo-ready,” and she will have taken necessary measures to ensure her hair looks its best.

Or say you have a beautiful friend who hunches her shoulders a lot. The photographer can tell that friend over and over to pinch her shoulder blades together, but if that’s not what comes naturally to her, then either (a) she’s going to look stiff in the shots where her posture is correct, or (b) she’s going to be hunched more of the photos than a model would. And this is not something that can be “Photoshopped out.”

You drastically increase your chances of having better photos and more of them to choose from when you use a professional model—particularly under extreme circumstances, such as shooting at the beach early in the morning (because it’s cold), or at the windy summit of a mountain. Models are trained to out forth their absolute best in order to “get the shot.”

FACTOR #7: MODELS MEAN MORE CONTRACTS, AND THEY MIGHT LIMIT THE SCOPE OF WHAT YOU’RE ALLOWED TO DO WITH YOUR IMAGES.

Photos can play a significant role in making your company money—substantial money. It follows that if an agency sends you models to use for a day, and their faces make you money for years, they want a piece of the action.

Although it can vary, it’s mostly safe to say that if you pay good money for images, you want to be able to use them in perpetuity, and in whatever way you need to use them—social media (including paid ads), print, e-commerce listings, whatever.

When that’s the case, you should know that extra fees might apply. A good agency will allow you to use images on the web in perpetuity (it’s hard to stop images from circulating on the web, so be wary of contracts that limit web use!), but that doesn’t mean they’ll want you to be able to use the images for, say, physical catalogs or bench ads for more than a year or two years. If you’re not sure what you may want licensing for, start with basic licensing, but make sure you can purchase additional licensing later if needed.

OTHER FACTORS & HOW TO ADD MODELS TO YOUR NEXT ATG SHOOT

I have two ways I work with models at ATG: Pulling from my Amateur Model Bank, and working with agencies. Both methods are options you can request through the new ATG Styled Photography page.

My Amateur Model Bank is a list of either influencer/micro-influencer types (or just untrained individuals who want to make a little cash on the side). The perk of working from the Amateur Model Bank is that the models will either be working in exchange for access to the photos (so they can build their portfolio), or for a fee that is a fraction of the cost of a pro. The Amateur Model bank is continuously in flux, but at this time it’s a roster almost entirely comprised of women between the ages of 21 and 36.

If you prefer to work with agency models, usually the minimum booking time will be 2 hours, although sometimes it can be 4. You can either opt to have me work directly with the agency to find the best models for the project (and budget), or you can work with the agency and simply hire me as the photographer. For shoots where professional models are preferred and ATG will be doing the model calls, an 8-week minimum advance notice of the shoot is required.

One of the great aspects of hiring ATG for a styled session is that you can pick and choose which aspects you’d like us to handle, and either outsource or manage the rest as you feel comfortable. To see the full array of services you can elect from, visit the ATG Styled Photography page!

Was this helpful? If so, pin your favorite image from the post so you never lose track of the information! And if you feel others would benefit from this intel, share it on your preferred social channel as well. As always, drop a comment below with your favorite insight, and we will respond ASAP!

I have two ways I work with models at ATG: Pulling from my Amateur Model Bank, and working with agencies. Both methods are options you can request through the new ATG Styled Photography page.

My Amateur Model Bank is a list of either influencer/micro-influencer types (or just untrained individuals who want to make a little cash on the side). The perk of working from the Amateur Model Bank is that the models will either be working in exchange for access to the photos (so they can build their portfolio), or for a fee that is a fraction of the cost of a pro. The Amateur Model bank is continuously in flux, but at this time it’s a roster almost entirely comprised of women between the ages of 21 and 36.

If you prefer to work with agency models, usually the minimum booking time will be 2 hours, although sometimes it can be 4. You can either opt to have me work directly with the agency to find the best models for the project (and budget), or you can work with the agency and simply hire me as the photographer. For shoots where professional models are preferred and ATG will be doing the model calls, an 8-week minimum advance notice of the shoot is required.

One of the great aspects of hiring ATG for a styled session is that you can pick and choose which aspects you’d like us to handle, and either outsource or manage the rest as you feel comfortable. To see the full array of services you can elect from, visit the ATG Styled Photography page!

Was this helpful? If so, pin your favorite image from the post so you never lose track of the information! And if you feel others would benefit from this intel, share it on your preferred social channel as well. As always, drop a comment below with your favorite insight, and we will respond ASAP!