William Kious wrote:
It depends, really.  You have to evaluate the quality of the portfolios you see and make a determination if you think the gas price is worth the travel.  It's a totally subjective thing.  If it's a beginning photographer - and it's obvious that their skills need work - I wouldn't travel too far.

You bring up good points.  I do think I'd have success in other cities, though.  My city isn't the biggest hotspot for 'togs doing work with males.  Maybe, I'll be patient for a while and see what arises in the summer.

EricJ wrote:
How far should I be willing to travel for TFP, considering that getting great pics is a crapshoot?

That depends on whether you shoot with a crap shooter, doesn't it?

Seriously, if you find a photographer's book/portfolio/images particularly strong, it may well be worth traveling a fair distance, especially if the local photographers' images aren't what you or your agency are looking for. If there are locals of that quality, though, you may find it more effective to work with them first.

Kevin Connery wrote:

That depends on whether you shoot with a crap shooter, doesn't it?

Seriously, if you find a photographer's book/portfolio/images particularly strong, it may well be worth traveling a fair distance, especially if the local photographers' images aren't what you or your agency are looking for. If there are locals of that quality, though, you may find it more effective to work with them first.

thanks for the replies, everyone!!


I may be being impatient, but it seems like worthwhile TFP isn't readily available where I'm located.  Funny thing is that a most of 'togs in other cities that seemingly do regular TFP are on par with 'togs in my city that exclusively charge for sessions.

Craig Thomson wrote:
It depends on if the photographers feel the same way as you do.

I get several emails a week asking to shoot or would I if we were closer and depending on what I feel the model can bring to the shoot will determine my reply to them.

A plain Jane model will not get the attention one with tattoos, piercing or cute feet will get.
Another large factor is if they can supply their own wardrobe and are capable of doing more then one look with their makeup.

I’ve got the set and equipment covered, let them bring the attitude.

I’ve traveled 240 miles round trip on several occasions to work with one model and I’ve taken two other local photographers with me to shoot her and a few of her friends. One photographer went with me twice and we plan on going again if we can time it right.

Make it worth your time, take charge of what you want to happen, do what you can to shoot with the photographers you feel will give you what you want.

Good luck,
Craig

Great point....I'm looking forward to stepping my game up during my next shoots.  i've been on a couple of shoots, so I'm grasping what I need to do to improve on my end.  I have a lot of different looks in mind for the upcoming months.  Hopefully, I'll be able to get more useable images just from improving my modeling