Hi Sean,
There are only few photographers that have models waiting at there door to shoot for free. I happen to be lucky now and then because I have a friend that is a clothing designer and she finds me "models" ( just local girls ) to shoot her clothes in. I may have had 5 models all year that just wanted to shoot so they can get a few pictures for there ports. But at the same time I don't go looking for tfcd shoots that much. Put your self in there place and you can see why they need to get paid. It is the way they pay there bills. Save up a few bucks and then ask a model to shoot. Pay her a good rate and she will work hard to make it worth your time and money. Look at this way..When was the last time you asked the ac repair guy to come over and fix your unit for a cup of coffee ? It's that simple. What I like to do when I shoot a model is work out an 8hr shoot rate. It costs more then a 2 hr shoot but the price comes down on a per hr rate if you shoot for 8hrs. That seems to be the way it has worked for me anyway. Another thing to do is hook up with another photographer in your area and each pay half for the model. It has taken me a few years to make enough money off of shooting to let me turn the money around and use it to hire models. So in a sense now it only costs me my time. And don't limit yourself to shooting just models. Shoot anything you think people will pay you to shoot. Dogs ,Cats, houses, cars, pass out your cards everyplace you go..
Mike
That Look Photo