Help Wanted: Photography Assistant (GTA)

[blhaw]

Mod's: not sure if I've posted in the right place so please move if not :oops:


Haw Digital is a photography/graphic design company that specializes in martial arts and covers the Greater Toronto Area and slightly beyond. Our main focus is photoshoots on location but we also cover tournaments and events.
We are looking to hire 1 or 2 photography assistants that would attend shoots, help with setup and breakdown, manage workflow, represent the company and take action photos.
Although 'pro' equipment is not required, the assistant would need their own digital SLR camera equivalent to a Rebel XT or above. Suitable low-light, good quality lenses would also be beneficial.
The company specializes in Martial Arts so a photographer who has Martial Arts experience (preferably at the Black Belt level) would be the best fit. Either way, the photographer must enjoy taking sport, action shots and have experience getting the right capture.
The successful photographer will also need to be able to work under pressure with tight timelines and have experience with children.
The initial salary is $15/hour but has potential to increase to $20 depending on the candidate and their ability to work independantly.

Please send resume and sample shots (or link to website) to Laura@HawDigital.com.

Thank you for your interest!

Laura
Haw Digital

[blhaw]

ummm, sorry, no auto theft involved. just the occasional flying sidekick.

[Refemall]

Wow, this sounds like quite the opportunity.

Approximately how much time per week (and what days) is the photography assistant expected to contribute?

Thanks.

[blhaw]

To start, it would be occasional (once or twice a month) since I'm in the customer building phase. Once momemtum builds I'm planning on needing 1 or 2 photographers 1 to 3 times per week (except in the slow seasons such as xmas/January and summer).

Saturdays are the big day since that's when most tournaments are held and shoots for medium to large schools. Shoots for smaller schools will likely be during the week (from about 4 to 9 allowing for setup and breakdown).

Thanks for the post.

Laura

[Refemall]

This is definitely sounding like something that might interest me. I'm currently in university, and also have a part time job, but if possible, I would be interested in helping you guys out a couple times a month (perhaps a maximum of once a week). Is that something you would consider?

Thanks for posting this information.

Cheers.

[rhys]

Based where? In South Carolina, in Delhi? More information please.

[canuck88]

Rhys, GTA means Greater Toronto Area...

[rhys]

Rhys, GTA means Greater Toronto Area...

Ah. It would have been nice if that had been stated by the OP. I wonder how many people used the email address he posted, not knowing what GTA meant and how many emails he had to wade through before finding the senders were in the wrong location.

[Refemall]

Haw Digital is a photography/graphic design company that specializes in martial arts and covers the Greater Toronto Area and slightly beyond. Our main focus is photoshoots on location but we also cover tournaments and events.

...it was stated in the OP.

[rhys]

But tournaments and events can be anywhere. There are events happening outside Canada. My understanding was the company was based in Toronto and published from Toronto.

[vwpilot]

I dont mean to torpedo your ad, but I think that what I have to say is important to those considering your offer.

Why would you consider making your "assistant" provide their own equipment?

As professional shooter that has assisted in the past (and still does on occasion), I would never expect nor assist for someone that insists I use my own equipment.

As an assistant you are there to assist the photographer. You are not required to bring your own gear, its their responsibility to provide it for you. If you are assisting, and especially if you are second shooting (as this sounds), you are there to help the photographer make money and therefore he should be providing gear, not the assistant.

IF, there is the time that someone asks for an assistant to provide gear, then there should be a seperate rental agreement in place to provide for the cost of your gear and the wear and tear on it. It should also provide a clause in case something gets damaged.

What if your camera breaks or gets damaged on THEIR shoot? Will they replace/fix it? Will the $15/hr they are providing going to be enough for you to fix your gear or will you be left in a hole and better off not going at all? Will their insurance cover you and your gear?

These are important things.

I would encourage you Laura to consider what you are asking here and I would encourage anyone considering it to think about what is being done. This is a bad deal for anyone agreeing to this, you are using and putting your gear at risk to help them make money with them having no accountability if something happens. They are the photo company, its their job, you are there to help them, that means using their gear. If they want to make you part of their staff and pay you a legit photography day rate, then supplying your own gear becomes a much more legitimate requirement.

I'm sorry Laura, I dont mean to be harsh here, but these forums are about photographers helping other photographers and your offer doesnt strike me as fair to those here, it sounds more like a stab at cheap labor. Heck your business doesnt even have to purchase extra equipment. C'mon, be fair and dont count on the excitement of those looking to break into the business to supply you with cheap labor.

[Refemall]

vwpilot, thanks for the post. It definitely does shed some light on the situation. At first I did see it as an easy way to make money and break into the business, but I can definitely understand your point of view.

[blhaw]

Hi Jim,

As a relatively new company I don't yet have extra equipment to provide although I would like to get there. I think you've misinterpreted what I'm asking for. I'm not looking for a pro, just someone that loves taking action photos, has an slr and would like to get paid for doing it. I'm offering $15 per hour which I think is fair for a student or a serious amateur. I'm not offended if someone thinks $15 is not enough and decides not to apply. I can see that my view differs from yours but I don't think there's any need for you to take this so personally. I tried to put down everything in the post so people could make their own decisions and I'll answer any questions that are sent to me honestly.

Thanks,

Laura

[vwpilot]

Nothing personal Laura, I just wanted to put out there how things should be working for an assistant or second shooter. I am just trying to point this out to whoever might be interested in applying so that they do not get into trouble. I'm watching out for others so their enthusiasm doesnt get them into trouble. And amateur or not, these are things that are important and should be addressed.

Do you have insurance that will cover them if they get hurt or, worse yet, hurt someone else on the job?

Do you have insurance or be willing to cover their gear if it gets damaged on an assignment for you?

Would you be willing to provide a rental fee for their gear to compensate them for the cost of their gear and for the wear and tear or be willing to rent gear for them to use for the assignment.

These are all questions that should be considered and I'm just looking out for folks on the forum. If someone is willing to work for you depending on your anwers to those questions, great, but they should know what they are getting into and what else is out there.

[blhaw]

Jim,

Do you hire anyone on an occasional basis (like for a tournament/event once or twice a month)? If so, how would you work it? How much would you pay?

Thanks,

Laura

[vwpilot]

Laura, first off, let me make it clear I'm not trying to ruin your business here or trying to tell you what you should do. Like I said, I'm watching out for some folks that probably see your offer as a great deal to break into the business, when in reality there is a lot of things they may not think about which can make a deal that looks good really bad, really fast for them.

If that is truly your budget due to the events you shoot, I can understand that. But you need to be fair to your "assistants."

In my area, an assistant will make about $200 for a 10 hour day and that is for strictly assisting, no shooting. A second shooter could expect at least a couple hundred bucks more out of that and be able to expect to use the photographers gear. If I were hiring I would either own enough for my shooters, rent the gear for them, or even possibly offer for them to use their gear and you pay them about 75% of what it would cost to rent it. That way you save a few bucks and they can put a few extra bucks in their pocket if they want to take the chance of using their own gear.

If you cant afford that, I can understand that too, but I would start at MINIMUM at least having a written agreement that would cover the assistants gear for any damage that might occur during YOUR shoot. That way if they make $150 for a day, they arent stuck with a $200 repair bill because someone knocked them over and damaged a lens or they blow a shutter shooting your event.

Again, its all up to you and I'm not saying you shouldnt offer to do it your way, I simply chimed in here to make some aware that they should be wary about using their own gear for small amounts of money with no recourse if something should happen to it.

I'm sure that you were not here intentionally trying to "take advantage" of anyone, you seem truly sincere about starting this off the right way, I'm not trying to impy that at all. Like I said I just dont want anyone to get burned, intentionally or not, and wanted to get folks to think before jumping in.

This could still be a great deal for someone, but I want them to be aware of the pitfalls and then they can make their own decision based on that.