TFP – Time for pics ( trade for pics, test for pics, time for prints, TFP, and sometimes print for time, PFT) is a term many online photography communities use to describe an arrangement between a model and a photographer whereby the photographer agrees to provide the model with an agreed number of pictures of the best photographs from the session, and a limited license to use those pictures in return for the model’s time. A variant of this arrangement is time for CD or trade for CD (TFCD). With TFCD, the photographer provides the selection of images on a CD instead of prints. Similarly, with the ease and convenience of digital high resolution images, the generic term TF* has evolved, where it does not necessarily refer to a tangible CD or Printed image since the same accepted rules apply.
There are benefits to both parties of such an arrangement. The model can build a portfolio of prints to show to prospective clients at little or no cost, while the photographer gets a model for a particular project with little if any outlay of cash.
