Your jobs as a model are like any other business arrangement; both sides get something. When you consider jobs, you need to realize that you are only worth what your client is willing to pay. If you are a beginner with little (or no) experience, your time and talent is not worth much more than minimum wage. As in any profession, what will make you valuable are your experience, skills, and attitude. You need to balance your skills and experience with those working with you.
Don't think that after a few paying jobs you should be paid every time you pose or model. This is like a store that opens up with lots of advertising, and once it gets its first couple of customers -- figures it never has to advertise again. Photographers can be your best allies in finding jobs as a model. Every shoot you do, paid or not, is building up your advertising, and you are marketing yourself in front of the eyes of not only the photographers, but all the clients of the photographer who might see your image. Many times the client will ask the photographer to use a model they ve seen in the photographer s portfolio. If they like your look you won't even have to interview for the job. Many times photographers will be in-charge of hiring models for commercial clients and by posing for their personal projects you open doors to paying jobs in the future. You want to be every photographer's favorite model so that you are the first one called when a photographer is casting a part you're appropriate for.
