i’ve been into “alternative” modelling ever since my best friend did this spread for our student magazine with her wearing nothing but her vans, a nose stud, and a strategically placed vinyl record, so i’m thinking about getting a contract with them. what can i expect?

ummm jus remember 2 ask for the money b4 u start filming

I ladyfap there all teh timez. Just have piercings and tattoos and you shuould be fine. Log in to see images!

Just for the record, if anyone IS considering it, there are two sides to take into account — not only the pro-Suicide Girls one, but also:

http://community.livejournal.com/sgirls/

http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2005/09/69006

I haven’t done enough research to draw any final conclusions personally, but there have been issues reaching back to 2005 with them.

I would consider looking into God’s Girls or the like too.

this one chick used to frequent a board on my friends site. then she started posting topless pictures of herself and started e-dating one of the site owners. then she dumped him and e-dated the other site owner (and possibly met in person?) her sister posted things saying topless pics were not her style and that she had changed. the site was shut down over drama between the two owners (partially involving the girl – one got the other fired from his IRL job because of a threatening voicemail he had left over the dispute between their e-dating this girl)

a few months laters i saw her on suicidegirls. her name is quinne (or something like that). then she moved from canada to LA. I guess she “made it” Log in to see images!

edit – to answer your question though, i would strongly consider doing your own site first and spamming SG-Fan communities forums with links to your own site. If you get get a decent amount of traffic, you’ll probably make a lot more money than SG will ever give you.

More second hand info:

Carefully read the contract. It’s been a while, but I looked over a contract from them a few years back and they basically have exclusive rights. The would indeed own your pasty goth bum, unless they’ve changed it. (Note that EVERYTHING is negotiable if they want you bad enough. If you’re really really hot or already have a following, you could try to strike that provision from the contract.)

Most SGs don’t make much money from it. It’s a lot of work and you have to do a lot of photosets. I’m not really sure what their formula is, but you’d really need to check that aspect out. Another thing I’ve heard is that the only way to make a living from SG is to get heavily involved in the promotional side. It was hinted to me that girls must do unsavory favors (Ron Jeremy? Log in to see images!) to get picked to go on the promotional tours. This is all anecdotal, of course. YMMV.

So, if you actually want to make money at this, you’re probably going to either shop around (SG isn’t the only game in town) or as others have suggested, roll your own. Creating your own site would entail more work, but you’d make considerably more money.

One thing I’d recommend: although hiring a skilled photographer is important, even more important is a skilled make-up artist. You can actually get by with an average shooter if you have a good hair/make-up person. To get started, you might find someone talented at a cosmetology school.

In terms of finding a competent photog, given the nature of the work you want someone with a professional attitude above all else. If they’re just starting out, they might not have all the studio equipment (let alone a studio), but if they have a pro attitude you’ll save a LOT of time and effort. What do I mean? A pro attitude means being focused on the job (no pun intended) and not trying to nail you. It means being able to set you at ease and bringing out your best. It means he or she will take all the standard shots before indulging in anything overly creative.

In terms of skills, you want a photographer that knows light and understands how to work with light. As I said, they needn’t have extensive lighting equipment if they know what they’re doing. If your low budget photog has lots of cheap styrofoam boards or those flexible cloth reflectors for bouncing light, you’re on the right track. (Soft lighting is key, in other words.) I’d say that composition takes a back seat to lighting, although both are important.

HTH Good Luck!