What earnings can a professional fashion model be expected to generate?

04 August 2008

This information is for those of you wondering what kind of money is there in the modeling profession. Of course, we are not talking about Claudias or Kates of this world, but rather about working professional models with good portfolios in hand.

Below are examples of typical modeling assignments:

Catwalk: runway appearances during fashion shows, etc.

Fashion Showroom: modeling clothes for a fashion house or retailer (incl. fashion fairs and exhibitions).

Editorial: photo-shoots for a magazine cover, fashion and beauty sections in a magazine, newspaper or other type of print media.

Advertorial: shoots for product promotion in a particular magazine, newspaper, or other type of print media.

Catalogue: shoots to promote products or services of a particular company, to be published in a catalogue.

Ad Campaigns: shoots for promotion of a particular product or service, to be published in various magazines, newspapers and other types of print media, as well as on product packaging.

TV Commercials: film-shoots for promotion of a particular product service, to be broadcasted on TV and other types of visual media.

A model accepts to perform a particular assignment offered by an agent for a specific amount of money, which is calculated and paid either per day of half-day of her work. In relation to Ad Campaigns and TV Commercials, the model gets paid an additional amount for the use of her image rights (so-called ‘buy-out’ fees). These are calculated and paid periodically, depending on where, when and how many times the particular ad was published or broadcasted. Below are examples of average pay rates of working professional models in major European and American markets (gross earnings in USD, per day of work):

Catwalk: from $300 to $1,500;

Showroom: $200 - $400;

Editorial: $200 - $700;

Advertorial: $400 - $800;

Catalogue: $700 - $2,000;

Ad Campaigns: $700 - $3,000 (plus ‘buy-outs’ of up to $15,000 per year);

TV Commercials: $1,500 - $7,000 (plus ‘buy-outs’ of up to $70,000 per year).

It must be noted that the number of modeling assignments per year varies, depending on different factors, including the model’s ability to present herself, the number of castings attended, or the time of year (January and August generally being very ‘quiet’ months, for instance).