I do some TFP shoots as a means to shoot portraits. I’m not a paid professional as I run another non-photography related business and this website is completely non-commercial. As a result, the only way for me to engage effectively with models is under the TFP banner. For those who don’t know TFP, I’m busy writing an article on it which I’ll give you the full details on.

The models I work with are pretty amazing. They are mostly part-timers that are either still going through school or university, or working full time with some modelling on the side in the hope they can make a career out of it. For them, TFP is a way to build their portfolio and get their career kickstarted without the cost attached with hiring people.

I recently did a shoot with a TFP model by the name of Akii that has a degenerative spine disorder. I’d recommend following her if you aren’t already. For a lot of people that diagnosis would mean a life at home with as little movement as possible and no one would look at them and say thats wrong given their predicament. This young lady had decided that she wanted a better life. The pain wasn’t going to go away so she decided she had the choice to sit at home in pain or get out and do things she loved like travelling and modelling to distract herself from the pain. As we speak she is busy travelling the world and living a life that still results in a lot of pain, but is probably a lot more fulfilling in what she has experienced and seen.

I think there is a lot of inspiration we can draw out of people like this. A lot of us spend time worrying about unimportant issues, but they are really small in the grand scheme of things. We take our health for granted, without realising there are a lot of people out there who don’t have that luxury and would give anything to have the health we have.

Think about it, make some changes and have an appreciate for what you really have.