RECRUITING TFCD MODELS

TFCD or time for CD denotes a co-operative arrangement between a photographer and model whereby the photographer provides the model with a CD of photos for a portfolio in exchange for the model's services. For you old codgers out there like me, it's the same as TFP (time for photos). I received a request yesterday from a photographer who I'll refer to as A.G. A.G. Has been finding it difficult of late to recruit TFCD models and was hoping that I might provide some strategies for recruitment. Personally, I seldom work TFCD. In most cases, I'm paying models. However, I told A.G. that I would attempt to come up with some strategies. As this is a common problem among photographers, I thought I would share these strategies with you. Probably the least effective strategy is to simply approach someone on the street, hand her a business card and say, "Would you consider modeling for me." Believe it or not though, sometimes this works. It's actually worth trying this simply because you're not investing that much in the process. It takes only a moment or two of your time. Colleges and universities provide a fertile ground for recruitment. A.G. resides in a relatively small town. There are no public colleges or universities in the immediate area. However, there is a private college nearby. So here's an obvious strategy. Most colleges have life class. This is a class where art students draw from a live nude model. Even if you're needing clothed models, this is a good place to begin. If you can obtain introduction through students or faculty, these models may be interested in obtaining work that will help in building a portfolio. You may have to expend a good deal of effort in gaining access to these potential models. However, the chances that one or more of the school's life models will be interested in your proposal is quite high. Also, art students in general are a good resource. Some of them might be willing to model. More importantly, they may have used friends or fellow students as models and would be willing to hook you up. Another no brainer? If the college features photography classes, get to know the students. Some of them might be interested in TFCD or a straight "I'll model for you if you'll model for me." arrangement. And don't forget the Theater Dept. Acting students are prime candidates. Also, consider posting flyers around campus and the surrounding neighborhood. College students in general are often receptive to 'for trade' arrangements. A.G. lives within a short distance of a medium sized city. A medium sized city could well support a community theater. If so, this might prove to be a major resource for model recruitment. A city of moderate size may even be home to a small modeling academy. Also, Don't forget local scholarship (beauty) pageants. One final idea is this. Consider contacting local clothing boutiques. They may be interested in providing models (perhaps customers of the boutique) in exchange for photos of their clothing being modeled, photos they can use in their advertisements. One word of advice - always obtain model releases and, if you do a trade arrangement with a boutique, obtain a release for usage of photos of the clothing. Now as to how this relate to A.G., I hope some of this will prove of help. I wish there was some piece of info I could impart that would convey a formula that would make recruitment easy. So far as I know, no such formula exists. Next up, while we're talking models, I'll discuss strategies for procuring nude and semi nude models. This gets even more complex. So long for now.