ALICE'S NOTES FOR MODELS

From September 2006 people who contact you as a result of an entry on this website should all be RAM licence-holders.  But no security system is perfect, so even after that date you need to take a few common-sense precautions.  I've put a few ideas together here, which may help you make a decision when contacted by individual photographers or artists.

The majority of respondents to your Web entry will be photographers, even though the entry will make it clear that you are first and foremost a model for life art and portraiture.  Furthermore, if you are female, it is quite likely that all of the respondents will be male.  Some of them will email you images of their work or links to their websites, so that you can look at the kind of thing they do.  A few do this without being asked, but many do not.  It's helpful if respondents do this in their first email.  If a respondent doesn't have a website and can't send images for some reason, then you should request a clear verbal outline of what he has in mind.  In fact, even when images are available, it's good to have some sort of verbal explanation of what the work is about.  You need enough information to decide whether it's the kind of work in which you might be able or willing to participate.

A few of the people responding to entries are definitely interested in erotic work.  Even after the Red List licensing system is extended to the website, it will be difficult for the webmaster to know where to draw the line, when considering whether to uphold a complaint from a model.  The term 'erotic' is so hard to define.  The definition is partly up to you, when considering a job offer.  The strictest line you could take is to say that any kind of posing not suitable for a school art room is erotic.

It's important that when telephone contact is made after the initial email contact, it should be between your mobile and his landline, not the other way round!  It's not a good idea for the initial mobile contact to be by text-message.  You need to talk to the person before you can begin to know whether the respondent is someone you can work with and, indeed, for the respondent to begin to know the same.  If the initial email is over-friendly or familiar in tone, you might well wonder if you should reply at all.

If the respondent works from home rather than a studio, and if you are prepared to work in that setting, then perhaps you should arrange an initial meeting in a public place.  This takes a bit of time, and you have to take travel costs into account.  It is, however, better to do that than to go directly to the home of someone you have never met.

However, the most important thing is to ask for the phone number or email address of one or two other RAM models who have worked for that person.  In return, you should always be prepared to give references for that person once you have worked for him without any problems.  If he says that he hasn't employed a RAM model before, you will need to make a judgment about that.  Whether or not references have been obtained, you should ask if someone can accompany you to the session - your partner, for example.  If the prospective employer sounds indignant about the idea of a chaperone, or about your request for references, it's almost certainly best to turn down his offer of work.  Don't take risks just because you need the money.

Regarding how much to charge for photographic work, I usually say £20 p/h because, although it's less physically demanding than ordinary life modelling, somehow it takes more from me.  Also, any initial meeting prior to a booking costs money and takes time.  I think it's reasonable for me to factor these things into the rate I charge.  I don't have a very specific point to make about this, except to say that I think models should have some idea of what they think it would be appropriate for them to charge for photographic work, given that it's different in kind from other sorts of modelling.

ALICE'S NOTES FOR EMPLOYERS

If you are an artist or photographer and you are proposing to ask a RAM model to work on a one-to-one basis, there are a few points you should consider.  Firstly, members of the Register of Artists' models do most of their work in educational establishments of various sorts.  It is a fact that in most cases you would be wasting your time contacting RAM members about anything other than the kind of posing suitable in the school art room, for example.  If you have anything else in mind, you can advertise on the special Joblink Xtra page, but even there adverts are carefully vetted.

You should be prepared to direct the model to your website if you have one, or to email her some images of your work, so that she can look at the kind of thing you do.  It's helpful if you do this in your first email.  If you don't have a website and can't send images for some reason, then you should give a clear verbal outline of what you have in mind.  In fact, even when images are available, it's good for the model to have some sort of verbal explanation of what the work is about.  She needs enough information to decide whether it's the kind of work in which she might be able or willing to participate.

Don't ask straight away what kind of poses the model is prepared to do, without having told her anything about your work.  When this happens, it's hard for the model to know if this is a veiled question as to whether or not she does erotic posing.  This puts her in the position of having to say that she doesn't do erotic work, even though it may not be erotic work that you have in mind at all.  As to how you define 'erotic', there has been much discussion about that on this website and elsewhere.  The cautious policy of most RAM models is that any kind of posing not suitable for a school art room is erotic.

Your emails need to be business-like in tone.  It's disconcerting to be written to as though you were a friend of someone you've never met before, and it can give rise to the impression that the person contacting you would have an equally casual approach to working with you.

It's important that when telephone contact is made after the initial email contact, it should be between your landline and her mobile, not the other way round.  It's not a good idea for the initial mobile contact to be by text-message.  The model needs to talk to you before she can begin to know whether you are someone she can work with and, indeed, for you to begin to know the same.

If you work from home rather than a studio, the model may wish to arrange a meeting in a public place first, before saying yes or no to the idea.  This takes a bit of time, and the model needs to take travel costs into account.  It is, however, better for her to do this than to go directly to the home of someone she has never met.  First, though, she may ask for the phone number or email address of one or two other RAM models who have worked for you.  In return, she will be prepared to give references for you once she has worked for you without any problems.  If you say you haven't employed a RAM model before, she will need to make a careful judgment about the situation.  She is enitled by RAM rules to bring someone with her to the session - her partner, for example.  If you sound indignant or doubtful about the idea of a chaperone or references, you can expect her to refuse the work.

Regarding how much to charge for photographic work, I usually say £20 p/h because, although it's less physically demanding than ordinary life modelling, somehow it takes more from me.  Also, any initial meeting prior to a booking costs money and takes time.  I think it's reasonable for me to factor these things into the rate I charge.

If you are a photographer and require your model to sign a model release form, you MUST make this clear before arranging a booking.  Some RAM models are not used to photographic work, so you must also make certain they understand what a model release is.  Occasionally, a model will require you to complete and sign a RAM Restriction of Use Form.  This is almost the opposite of the usual model release form, in that it sets out in detail what the images can and can't be used for.