Fifty cents for Aylie, a steak bone for Lucy
I’ll bet that when you saw the title of this post you were thinking that I was going to talk about professional model fees…right? Well, you would be wrong…half wrong.
I teach an online class with the BPSOP, and I also conduct my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops around our planet. What inspired me to write this post was a photo that was submitted to me yesterday from my part II class.
This week’s lesson is about creating silhouettes and how important they can be in “making good photos”. A woman submitted a photo she took of her daughter along with a disclaimer. The disclaimer was that her daughter, who from the back looked to be about five, didn’t want to pose for her…and let her take just one shot before skipping out of sight.
Here was my reply…in so many words:
I have four children the youngest being twenty-nine, and I have photographed them since they were born. As soon as they understood the value of money (it didn’t take very long) I began paying them for their time…why not???
After all I was asking them to give up whatever they were doing to help me out. I thought it only fair to compensate them for their time; and it worked all the time.
Twenty-Five cents
At first, around the age of five, I would offer them twenty-five cents; back then that was a pretty good rate. As they got a little older it was fifty cents, then seventy-five, then depending on how long I was going to keep them, I would give them a dollar for thirty minutes…a long time for any kid to stay interested.
A dollar to get wet.
After a few days my online student told me that it worked perfectly, and she had never thought of that; most people don’t.
Again, let me say that I do not consider it prostituting my children, or turning them into money hungry kids, or spoiling their innocence. If anything I think it shows them the value of working for an allowance…beside cleaning their room or giving the dog a bath.
Pay them for their time…but I do suggest you pay after the photo session is completed!!!
Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime. On July 30th I begin my 29th year at the Maine Media Workshops. I’ve had the same week since the beginning. It’s the week of the Lobster Festival down the road in Rockland. It offers a completely different set of photo ops than one would expect when coming to photograph the coastline, lighthouses, and fishing villages of Maine. Come join me and spend a week completely immersed in your love for photography.
JoeB
