TFP
“TFP” is a term that originated on the Internet. It implies that there will be NO MONEY exchanged between the model and photographer (or other artistic individuals involved) for each other’s “Time or Trade” for “Prints”. Think of it as “bartering”(a service exchanged for a service). It may be interchanged with different nicknames that basically refer to:
• Time For Prints • Trade For Portfolio
• Trade For Prints • Time For Portfolio
Sometimes you’ll see: “TFCD” or “TFP/CD.”
• Time/Trade for CD
• Time/Trade for Prints/CD
In a TFP shoot, just because no money is exchanged doesn’t mean that it’s not to be treated as an important booking. TFP is usually used by amateur photographers and/or beginning models who are building their books (portfolios) with more diverse looks or even looking to gain more experience. There are still many established professional photographers that will do a TFP shoot with an inexperienced model if they find them unique or interesting. Some experienced models even do TFP shoots with newer photographers for the same reasons.
There is always the potential that superior results can be produced. Many amateur photographers and models are only considered “amateurs” because it is not how they sustain their income to pay their bills. They can have talent (and equipment) comparable to most professionals. This can offer extra experience in front of the camera that allows the model (& photographer) to become more comfortable with different photographers, models, and future clients that need varying degrees of creativity.
For TFP’s, even though the model doesn’t get an hourly or day rate, and the photographer doesn’t get a photo-session fee, there are still benefits shared by BOTH. There may be other participants involved who are building their books, too, such as make-up, hair, and fashion stylists who are all offering their “trade for time”, too. All are doing the photo-session in hopes of getting quality images that can be used for self-promotion in their portfolios to get more jobs (hopefully paying money). Prints obtained through TFP’s may end up in the photographers Book, on their website, on the model’s Comp Card, and in the model’s portfolio. These prints have assisted models in getting callbacks from agencies, clients, and other photographers…and the same hopes that the photographer gains experience with models, gains a professional reputation that brings more models, clients, and agency referrals.
TESTING (versus TFP)
In the traditional photographic/modeling industry, TFP isn’t used as much as “Testing”. Testing involves an established photographer and a fairly inexperienced model, although not always. Tests are often “paid.” This means that the photographer (and anybody else involved like make-up artist, hair, or fashion stylist) gets a nominal fee for their time and effort, which isn’t really reflective of what they’d normally get for that level of photographic performance. A photographer who gets a high day rate might do a paid “test” for a few hours and only ask for a portion of their day rate. The model gets the right to use the pictures in her portfolio.
Some people use the word “test” to mean the same as “TFP.” They aren’t the same, however, and while models don’t pay anything for TFP work, they often pay some reasonable fee for testing with an experienced and established photographer. It is not at all unreasonable for a photographer with skill and experience to ask a model to pay some nominal fee for photographs which would otherwise cost her hundreds if not thousands of dollars, and models should be aware that some photographers will expect to be paid something for such work.
• Unlimited rights to the photographs are not likely from Testing or TFP’s. It is the law in most countries that photographs are the property of the photographer. The model may have the right to have some say in how they are used, but the photographer is the primary rights-holder. Most TFP releases provide that the model may only use the photographs for self-promotion and may not sell or relicense them. However, some models, especially models who are already under contract or hope to submit photographs to a specific user, will specify that certain uses (for example, print use of nude shots) are not allowed.
• Unlimited prints are not likely from Testing or TFP’s. Portfolio-quality prints are not cheap. The photographer should offer a reasonable quantity, perhaps based on the total number of usable images captured. If the model wants more prints than are agreed upon before the shoot begins, she should expect to pay a reasonable price for them.
• Don’t expect any money from Testing or TFP’s. That includes revenue from later sale or license of the photographs in most cases. Many photographers have a policy of giving the model some percentage of revenue from such sales or licenses, but check with the photographer what their policy is and what their agreement states. If the model is still new and inexperienced, this is not something the model usually demands.
*COMMERCIAL TFP
This leads to another topic within TFP’s which has developed in the "Internet" modeling world and has crossed over into lower-budget print modeling: "Commercial TFP." This is where a client seeks a model (or a photographer) for advertising or other commercial usage but only wants to pay in "tear sheets" and/or prints instead of compensation in money or (at least) in desirable products and services (again, similar to Bartering). For some newer models looking for a “tear sheet” to put in their portfolios as evidence that they have done print work…this offer may be tempting.
Raising some controversy, commercial usage is not an appropriate place for TFP because it can lower the industry standard of compensation which is bad for models, photographers, makeup artists, fashion stylists, and associated others because it gives other people the means to make money from their work without getting money in return. "Experience" or "exposure" are tempting offers to bait in the less experienced commercial model, but is it a good reason to do commercial work for free? You need experience and exposure to get commercial work, so what do you do? Once a model is good enough to be in commercial work, it's reasonable to require some economic benefit in exchange for the economic benefit that the model provides for the client. Trade for portfolio, trade for art, trade for an editorial tear...that’s acceptable by the industry’s standard, but “trading” for commercial advertising usage is not a trend we want to see stick around. It results in unbalanced compensation that lowers the bar for future commercial clients.
When times are tough economically and a client has no budget to pay a model for an ad, we shouldn’t blame somebody for trying to get the best deal they can for themselves, but the industry needs to keep some sort of equal balance in compensation.
When a model does a TFP shoot there are definitely things that the model should receive:
• A signed release: This specifies what the model is to receive as her compensation in the form of prints or digital images. This protects both the photographer and the model by making their rights and obligations clear to each other.
• A “professional attitude” received from the photographer. There’s no excuse for not treating the model as a valuable contributor, so the model needs to be professional, too.
• Work that is a reasonable approximation of the photographer’s talent and expertise. TFP is not “second-class” photography and it should be of good quality.
Probably the most common complaint about beginning models doing TFP is that they are unreliable and sometimes don’t show up for scheduled shoots. The usual reply to a complaint of this sort is that since the model’s not getting paid, she doesn’t have a real obligation to the photographer. This is, bluntly, wrong. The photographer has committed to the shoot. If they did not believe that they were going to have a shoot with that model at that time, they could have scheduled something else. A no-show model represents time and opportunity wasted, and both of those have a very real monetary value. Models with reputations for dependability get callbacks and referrals: models who don’t, don’t. The world of photography is surprisingly close-knit and it doesn’t take long at all for word to get around.
*Nudity Topic (see my other blog To Be or Not To Be Nude for more on this topic)
It is also important for the model to understand what will be expected of her at a shoot. This should be agreed to ahead of time and both photographer and model should honor the agreement. If the photographer specifies “figure studies,” expect to be asked to remove your clothes. If you told the photographer “no nude shots,” and they press you to undress, leave. If the session is going well and you are both comfortable with each other, you may jointly decide to do a lingerie shot, or an implied nude, or whatever you are both willing to do…that’s a decision between over age 18 adults. There’s no harm in either party asking politely, once, and you shouldn’t be offended so long as the inquiry is polite. If it’s not polite, or if the photographer won’t drop the subject after you’ve made your limits clear, you should end the photo session.
*The security of the model (& yes, the photographer, too) will be discussed in a later blog.
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