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gome1122 Online • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #1 · Assistant? I'm sorry in advance if this is not the right place to post this in. I'm 16 and looking to maybe go for a career in photography, but before I arrange my senior year in high school towards photography, I would like to be an assistant at a studio and assist at a wedding.. I know all the basics and quite a bit more. I would just like to get some studio experience now. Photography is an every day thing for me. I shoot a lot for my school and a lot of people know I am a photographer, but I would also would like to start doing senior portraits over summer. I have read quite a bit on photography and I know that the business side is the hardest part of a business, so how should I go about doing the portraits(as far as pricing contracts and tax maybe?). But how do I start applying to studios to be an assistant. I don't have a portrait portfolio or any reference of any sort. How do I convince someone to let me try assisting. Jan 12, 2013 at 03:42 PM

Skarkowtsky Offline • • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #2 · Assistant? Cold call. Find local photographers whose work you admire. Call and speak to their receptionist, try to get through to the photographer. Walk into studios, too. Try to get to the photographer or the studio manager. Take any level assisting job you can get. Don't try to jump to first assistant right away. You'll have to learn how that particular photographer works, what he or she expects most from an assistant. Your job is to make the shoot as effortless as possible. Once you're in, pay attention to the photographer's ability to interact with his clients, before, during and after a shoot. Get to know the studio manager and that role. That's the administrative side to it all: bookings, schedulings, payroll, contracts, inventory. You'll know when it's time to get out on your own as a photographer. This might be getting ahead of yourself, but casually start to research the different lighting systems, capture software, camera systems/formats. Give yourself an edge now so you don't have to learn the remedial stuff on the job. In some cases, it will help get you the job. You don't have to go crazy, but just familiarizing yourself a bit will go a long way. The benefits of assisting are indispensable. If you make the most of it, you'll come out business savvy and technically competent, freeing up your own creative ideas. Jan 12, 2013 at 04:55 PM

jefferies1 Offline • • • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #3 · Assistant? Cold call is the best way to find someone intereted. You may offer to be an intern which usually means free labor a few hours a week to get your foot in the door and learn how a studio makes money. You can then take what you learn and apply it to your side business but be careful about doing both at the same time. Big conflict of interest. If you are serious and charge money then You need to treat the business as a business. Get a DBA(Doing business as) even if using a personal name so you can get a business account. Many credit unions have totally free checking/saving accounts even for business. Find one of those. Get a sales tax permit and pay sales tax and income tax if you make enough. Most likely with expensed write offs you won't pay at all or very little doing it part time.It is just better to keep thing legal. Start with 'natural light' photography which people love to hear. In reality it means I don't have a studio or lights so we have to shoot outside but people like it and it works.Limit yourself to the jobs you can handle. Join PPA so you have some protection using the E/O coverage and maybe the free equipment insurance.Liability is still an issue but doing the kind of jobs you are going to to will be very minimal exposure. Of course it is around $150.00 a year so it is worth the protection just in case. By the time you are at a University you would have the knowledge to make a good income from the students at school. A lot mor than working at some pizza place like other students. $8.00 an hour for labor vs $150.00 for a couple good photos that take 1 hour to do. See my point. The main thing is get the business aspect into your head and you can make good money in this profession. Jan 12, 2013 at 05:33 PM

hugodrax Offline • • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #4 · Assistant? gome1122 wrote: I'm sorry in advance if this is not the right place to post this in. I'm 16 and looking to maybe go for a career in photography, but before I arrange my senior year in high school towards photography, I would like to be an assistant at a studio and assist at a wedding.. I know all the basics and quite a bit more. I would just like to get some studio experience now. Photography is an every day thing for me. I shoot a lot for my school and a lot of people know I am a photographer, but I would also would like to start doing senior portraits over summer. I have read quite a bit on photography and I know that the business side is the hardest part of a business, so how should I go about doing the portraits(as far as pricing contracts and tax maybe?). But how do I start applying to studios to be an assistant. I don't have a portrait portfolio or any reference of any sort. How do I convince someone to let me try assisting. Do they still have Photography classes in school? Jan 25, 2013 at 04:49 AM

gome1122 Online • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #5 · Assistant? hugodrax wrote: Do they still have Photography classes in school? I am currently taking them, but none that a in-the-field job would offer as far as experience. I know my camera very well and all the classes are film but one so it's mostly just providing me with film. Jan 26, 2013 at 12:03 PM

larhouser Offline • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #6 · Assistant? I was able to find my mentor here on FM - found a photog I liked the style of and who was local and then introduced myself via email. The folks here are really helpful and if you can find a local guy I would start there! Jan 30, 2013 at 10:13 PM

Cgb628 Offline • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #7 · Assistant? The PPA's $194/yr membership doesn't include the insurance benefits. That one will cost you $323. I'd sooner go with a real insurance company. Feb 09, 2013 at 06:31 PM

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