I recently received a wall post on facebook from a fellow photographer:

“Your giving out free photo shoots in exchange for signed release forms is undermining the industry… it is a disgusting strike against the photographic community. Terrible business practice.  Do you really feel you have to give your work away in order to get a model release signed?  I seriously couldn’t believe my eyes when I read this… you really should reconsider.”
-Anonymous

Is this guy serious?  I couldn’t help but laugh after reading this.  The point of TFCD shoots (time for cd) is a trade off.  I get models for free, and they get the images for free.  In turn, I sell the images and make money off of them.  How is this undermining the industry?  Not everyone is a stock photographer, it’s not like this guy is going to lose portrait business.  Not everyone is going to want to sign a model release and have their photos sold all over the internet.  I am very clear with the models I work with prior to shoots.  As long as everything is understood, we move forward.

Sometimes there are cases where you may shoot and not got enough return back, for your efforts.  If you want to play it safe, there are also arrangements where photography rates are discounted when a model release is signed, but the client is still charged a fair rate.  This gives the model or people receiving the service incentive to sign a model release.  Depending on the difference in price you charge, some may be very willing to do this in order to save money.  You can’t under-sell or under-value your services, your time, your gear, and your efforts, but there are times where an even trade can still be of value for both parties.

You can learn more about TFCD shoots here.