I’ve identified an interesting trend, amongst the many nude models and potential nude models that I’ve talked to about doing a shoot. Quite often, an inexperienced model will request much higher pay than an experienced model. This seems ironic, but there are logical explanations. Part of this phenomenon is economic, and part is psychological.

The Economic Aspect

In a recent conversation, an inexperienced model requested between three to four times what I and other area photographers normally pay models. Although she was attractive, she was nowhere close to the level of physical beauty of nude models that were working for far less. So why would a less attractive model, with almost no experience ask for over three times what more attractive, experienced nude models are willing to work for? Some may think she’s simply doesn’t know the market and is just guessing at what nude models earn, but this is not the case. In her mind the sum was not outlandish. I established that she had indeed worked for this pay rate, although on a very short shoot. So the market will bear this kind of pay, even for a model that is not in the upper half of physical attractiveness. Read more