Studio/Photographer Assistant

Gary Peterson Photography

I was wondering how many people on here have a studio, and employ an assistant. I am looking for insight in regards to what the assistants job description is, how often they work, and what the average assistant is being paid.

OneWayMule

I've assisted/interned a few photographers (in LA and NYC) while in school. All were top notch who did national work, had agents, etc...

One still-life/car photographer had full-time studio manager/producer, one full-time assistant and also had interns comes in 2-3 days a week. One still-life photographer has a full-time manager, 2 full-time assistants and 3 interns. The fashion photographer only hired assistants for shoots and hired per day..

INTERNS:
The cheapest is to get students who will intern for free and/or school credit. Downside being they're not committed to working but learning. So you will have to accommodate that need and hope the work gets done right becos of lack of experience.

ASSISTANTS:
If you only need a hand once in a while like for shoots or building a set, you can hire assistant(s) with a flat day rate. That can range from $75-300 depending on the city. Pros are they should know what they're doing and be of great help. Downside being they may not be available on the days you want... unless you hire them fulltime.

MANAGERS:
They can also double as shoot assistants but typically manage the business side while you focus on shooting. Typically studio managers are more "presentable" becos they greet/talk to clients, answering phones and also do the paperwork. Assistants can look like bums and it doesnt matter Pros = will handle you business while you're away but you are their employer so gotta cover them.

Those are the general "job description".
So there really arent any hard lines and it all depends on your needs and budget.

MissB

how do you pay your assistant??
I have recently been faced with the pure fact that I can't do everything by myself...lol. I run two business with 3 children and i find myself investing a lot of my extra time... *extra time.. did I REALLY just say that?).. doing the books... ordering prints... sending pdf's... following up.. yada yada. I would LOVE for someone else to cover the the paper pushing part of this business. However my income is bases on per/ booking.. not per hour.. so i couldn't obligate myself to paying a salary.

Anyway, the question is. How do you pay your assistant? thank you!!

pwp

I know you live fairly close to the same area I am in, and around here, an hourly temp is about the best solution. For a few months, it might be helpful if you keep a journal of every last second you spend on bookkeeping/housekeeping/etc. and track it to see if there is a trend on average hours per month. Then hire someone either directly or through an agency to cover that number of hours for you. Bear in mind, you will have to pay for someone with experience with business bookkeeping, and can't just get any old office assistant to help you. That will cost you.

FWIW, I do my own bookkeeping (also on two businesses) and have a husband who is frequently not "available" (military). Time management is your key. You may be better served to hire a sitter to take the kids to a park one day a week for a few hours, rather than outsourcing the help. I also find now that I prefer to handle client interactions myself as much as I can. This is an essential part of building your relationship, and especially with brides and grooms, you lose so much of the subtle things you need to really notice if you have someone else handling proofs and PDFs. Your investment into your business is more time than anything else. Your returns will reflect that.

I'm sure you probably still have my contact info, so if you ever have any questions on how I handle a particular situation, I'd be happy to give you my perspective and experience.

Angelo

Gary & MissB - you've posted virtually identical questions so I've merged the two threads

Gary Peterson Photography

Thanks..

OneWayMule wrote:

I've assisted/interned a few photographers (in LA and NYC) while in school. All were top notch who did national work, had agents, etc...

One still-life/car photographer had full-time studio manager/producer, one full-time assistant and also had interns comes in 2-3 days a week. One still-life photographer has a full-time manager, 2 full-time assistants and 3 interns. The fashion photographer only hired assistants for shoots and hired per day..

INTERNS:
The cheapest is to get students who will intern for free and/or school credit. Downside being they're not committed to working but learning. So you will have to accommodate that need and hope the work gets done right becos of lack of experience.

ASSISTANTS:
If you only need a hand once in a while like for shoots or building a set, you can hire assistant(s) with a flat day rate. That can range from $75-300 depending on the city. Pros are they should know what they're doing and be of great help. Downside being they may not be available on the days you want... unless you hire them fulltime.

MANAGERS:
They can also double as shoot assistants but typically manage the business side while you focus on shooting. Typically studio managers are more "presentable" becos they greet/talk to clients, answering phones and also do the paperwork. Assistants can look like bums and it doesnt matter Pros = will handle you business while you're away but you are their employer so gotta cover them.

Those are the general "job description".
So there really arent any hard lines and it all depends on your needs and budget.

This helps...

JohnBiggs

MissB wrote:

I have recently been faced with the pure fact that I can't do everything by myself...lol. I run two business with 3 children and i find myself investing a lot of my extra time... *extra time.. did I REALLY just say that?).. doing the books... ordering prints... sending pdf's... following up.. yada yada. I would LOVE for someone else to cover the the paper pushing part of this business. However my income is bases on per/ booking.. not per hour.. so i couldn't obligate myself to paying a salary.

Anyway, the question is. How do you pay your assistant? thank you!!

Most photographers are only being paid when they get a gig. You have to look at what you bring in on average, allow for a slow month and realize how much you can afford.