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Microstock Photography Forum - General => General Photography Discussion => Topic started by: leaf on June 09, 2011, 14:41
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For those of you who hire someone as an assistant, what do you have them doing all day when you are shooting?
I have been hiring an assistant this year to help out at the shoots, but lots of the time there isn't much for them to do other than sit and watch me shoot. Today I had a 7 hour shoot.. the assistant helped lots loading / unloading and moving lights around when needed and cleaned up unused areas etc. etc., took care of the new models as they arrived, welcomed them and gave them the model releases and made sure they were filled out properly ... so it was all very usefull, and saved me a lot of headache, but there was still about 5 hours (on second thought perhaps more like 3 or 4 hours) where there wasn't much for the assistant to do.
What does your assistant do while you are busy shooting?
I don't shoot tethered, perhaps the assistant could begin sorting images if I did? ... perhaps that is another discussion.
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Well, I have an assistant, but not for shooting. She does all the uploading work :-) Sometimes I feel really guilty seeing her suffering after image #231 ;-)
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Well, I have an assistant, but not for shooting. She does all the uploading work :-) Sometimes I feel really guilty seeing her suffering after image #231 ;-)
really? as you already have someone helping you, you don't drag them along on shoots?
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I make extremely good use of my assistant. He's my hubby, so he works for free. :D
He helps me organize and load my gear into the car, and sets up and moves lights and reflectors throughout the shoot, as we move from one setup to another.
He organizes and keeps track of props, and sets them up or hands them to the models when I need him to.
He also passes out drinks and snacks to the models when they want them.
He double checks that I have gotten properly executed releases from everyone.
I am afraid of heights, so when I am on a ladder he puts his hand on my back to steady me.
I also use him to help get proper expressions from the models. If they are nervous and I am having trouble getting a sincere smile or laugh out of them, he says or does something funny.
Sometimes, looking through the camera, I don't notice if a collar, or necklace, or stray hair is out of place. He keeps an eye out for those things.
He also has great ideas sometimes, in the middle of a shoot, and we can include those.
And of course, he is awesome about stepping in and modeling if I need him to.
Then of course he does the teardown and puts everything in the car. By that time I can literally hardly move at all.
As you can see, he does countless things to make my shoots easier on me. I probably could not run my business without him. :)
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Well, I have an assistant, but not for shooting. She does all the uploading work :-) Sometimes I feel really guilty seeing her suffering after image #231 ;-)
really? as you already have someone helping you, you don't drag them along on shoots?
No, usually not. She works most of the time from home and the workflow is organized online / using a little server.
If I would like to bring her to the shootings it would be more complicated to coordinate and I would have to pay more. I don`t specifically require a assistance while shooting, only sometimes and I have some photoq students here which are willing and helpful. Maybe I am just used on organizing everything on my own....
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......... but there was still about 5 hours where there wasn't much for the assistant to do.
Then stick them in the shoot as an extra model, or whilst not doing a shoot give them some of your accounts to do, give them a prop and a piece of paper and get them to list as many ideas as they can for using that prop, get them to research some ideas on the internet, get them to set up some still life shots, buy them a camera and train them to do some still life shots.........the list goes on. The most important thing my assisitant does on any shoot is to concentrate on the details of the image while I worry about the technical side of things, I've lost count of the number of times she's spotted something vital in 'the set' that I've missed or forgotten.
To be honest I've never had a situation where my assistant doesn't have something to do, and don't take this the wrong way but if you've got an assistant who on a 7 hour shoot has nothing to do for 5 of those hours you should think about getting one that's a bit more self motivated or ask yourself do you really need an assistant?
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thanks for the thoughts everyone. I know I need to be better at directing my assistant and letting them know what i expect .. or be more proactive in getting them involved in the shoot. I tell them to look for things 'wrong' in the shoot and they have mentioned a few things from time to time, although not a lot.
I'm very used to working alone, so I'm still struggling at working with an assistant in a productive way.
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thanks for the thoughts everyone. I know I need to be better at directing my assistant and letting them know what i expect .. or be more proactive in getting them involved in the shoot. I tell them to look for things 'wrong' in the shoot and they have mentioned a few things from time to time, although not a lot.
I'm very used to working alone, so I'm still struggling at working with an assistant in a productive way.
Although I am not shooting with mine, I can tell you that it takes some time to get everything flowing.
On one hand I had to get used to the "chief" role and the new situation. It`s a learning curve for the "boss" too ... how to transmit Ideas, teach things, instruct effectively, be tolerant etc.
On the other hand it may take a couple of weeks until a assistant gets into the vibe of the business and understands the bigger picture of everything. Once this has happened usually you shouldn`t have to have to tell them much what they have to do, or the Assistant may be a not-so-good choice.
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To be honest I've never had a situation where my assistant doesn't have something to do, and don't take this the wrong way but if you've got an assistant who on a 7 hour shoot has nothing to do for 5 of those hours you should think about getting one that's a bit more self motivated or ask yourself do you really need an assistant?
It also depends on how much you're paying him, or if you're paying him at all. If you're paying him well, than he/she really should be very self motivated, showing initiative, being your right hand. He should be doing everything, except shooting. But if he/she is just your friend who tags along on the shoot, helping you because you asked him for a friendly favor, well than you can be just happy he's willing to do it for free, as a favor. Same goes for someone who wants to learn from you, you can't really dictate him around and (almost) bark orders at him, although he came there to learn and you're paying him with knowledge.
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To be honest I've never had a situation where my assistant doesn't have something to do, and don't take this the wrong way but if you've got an assistant who on a 7 hour shoot has nothing to do for 5 of those hours you should think about getting one that's a bit more self motivated or ask yourself do you really need an assistant?
It also depends on how much you're paying him, or if you're paying him at all. If you're paying him well, than he/she really should be very self motivated, showing initiative, being your right hand. He should be doing everything, except shooting. But if he/she is just your friend who tags along on the shoot, helping you because you asked him for a friendly favor, well than you can be just happy he's willing to do it for free, as a favor. Same goes for someone who wants to learn from you, you can't really dictate him around and (almost) bark orders at him, although he came there to learn and you're paying him with knowledge.
I'm guessing that someone who's doing it for a friendly favour won't do it again, if they had to waste five hours doing zilch.
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To be honest I've never had a situation where my assistant doesn't have something to do, and don't take this the wrong way but if you've got an assistant who on a 7 hour shoot has nothing to do for 5 of those hours you should think about getting one that's a bit more self motivated or ask yourself do you really need an assistant?
It also depends on how much you're paying him, or if you're paying him at all. If you're paying him well, than he/she really should be very self motivated, showing initiative, being your right hand. He should be doing everything, except shooting. But if he/she is just your friend who tags along on the shoot, helping you because you asked him for a friendly favor, well than you can be just happy he's willing to do it for free, as a favor. Same goes for someone who wants to learn from you, you can't really dictate him around and (almost) bark orders at him, although he came there to learn and you're paying him with knowledge.
I'm guessing that someone who's doing it for a friendly favour won't do it again, if they had to waste five hours doing zilch.
He will if he's a good/true friend;)
Shooting mostly half naked girls might make him want to do it again as well:) (although, there's a low probability of happening, if I get serious for a moment, since this type of images don't sell as MS)
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He's my hubby, so he works for free. :D
If I want my wife to assist me, she wants to take photos and I become an assistant :-)
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I'm very used to working alone, so I'm still struggling at working with an assistant in a productive way.
I'm guessing you're struggling to allow yourself to hand over some responsibility to your assistant, happened to me at first and I guess pretty much everyone in our situation, the trouble is we want the end result to be perfect and we think that can only be achieved if we do everything.
Here's something to try, set up a series of still life shoots where you have to be high up a ladder to take the shot, and set it so you have to use every single light, reflector and piece of kit you've got - I'll guarantee you that after the second shot you'll be training your assistant to work the lights and equipment and what things to look out for in a scene.
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easy!
getting coffee, making lunch, clean lens even if they are cleaned, tell her/him to stand up because you might need help, did I mentioned dinner? :)
p.s: never had an assistant!
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I have asked my assistant to get a full time day job to help supplement my photography income.
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I have asked my assistant to get a full time day job to help supplement my photography income.
Now that's the best advice you could give. I'd actually need a few assistants like that :)
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I have asked my assistant to get a full time day job to help supplement my photography income.
Brilliant post :D
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I have sometimes had an assistant that knows about photography. It's really great to have someone you can tell to move/adjust lighting without needing to explain it three times.
You can always tell the assistant to keep an eye on clothing/hair/jewellery, so none of those gets into a wrong position during shooting. (The big guys of course have their own hairdresser and stylist to do that)
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7 hours? After 2, 2.5, I'm done.
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7 hours? After 2, 2.5, I'm done.
Me too, but I'm just a beginner, I though you pros mostly have 8+ hors shoots.
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Good lord no.
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Most of mine are in the 4-6 hour range. I only shoot once a month or so, though, so I am fitting multiple concepts setups, and sometimes locations into one shoot.
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I've considered hiring part time help but I'm not sure how to do it without creating a liability risk (USA). Do you guys have them sign a independent contractor agreement? Is there a standard form? Do you carry insurance for them? I've just been a low key solo shooter so far. Thanks
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I've considered hiring part time help but I'm not sure how to do it without creating a liability risk (USA). Do you guys have them sign a independent contractor agreement? Is there a standard form? Do you carry insurance for them? I've just been a low key solo shooter so far. Thanks
I am more a high key ;D
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I've considered hiring part time help but I'm not sure how to do it without creating a liability risk (USA). Do you guys have them sign a independent contractor agreement? Is there a standard form? Do you carry insurance for them? I've just been a low key solo shooter so far. Thanks
"Hey, I need some help with the model releases and props on my shoot. Hows $25?"
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"Hey, I need some help with the model releases and props on my shoot. Hows $25?"
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I'm not that cheap ; )
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They aren't that good ;) .
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They aren't that good ;) .
LOL!
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like Lisa--my husband is my main assistant. though my nieces and nephews often assist me in studio shoots too. my husband is also a photographer and he's one of my models, so he almost always anticipates me and understands what I'm going for in a shoot. he's an air traffic controller, so his schedule is very flexible, which is also helpful.
my creative shoots are usually about four hours. it's invaluable to have someone assisting you who knows you well, knows how you work and how you shoot. my husband even knows more about my downloads than I do half the time. he's always logging into my account to check my stats, and he does all my payout requests and that stuff--I concentrate on the shooting/processing/uploading.
when I work events like concerts or film festivals, or awards ceremonies...stuff like that, I work alone. it's enough jumping through hoops with just me to worry about at those types of events without worrying about the logistics of having an assistant there with me.
Tyler-maybe part of the problem initially is that you just need to develop a closer rapport with your assistant and let them get to know you too. as someone said earlier, you could set things up so that you're forced to hand some of the shoot jobs over to the assistant and that way they'll learn how you work and you can step back and use your creative time, which presumably is why you've made the decision to work with an assistant at this point anyways :-)
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I've considered hiring part time help but I'm not sure how to do it without creating a liability risk (USA). Do you guys have them sign a independent contractor agreement? Is there a standard form? Do you carry insurance for them? I've just been a low key solo shooter so far. Thanks
"Hey, I need some help with the model releases and props on my shoot. Hows $25?"
I do it for 20$ :) (send me the flight ticket)