p.2 #3 · How much do you pay your second? What do they do?
300 here. I use the same second and try to keep them working less than 8 hours and release them early as they dont need to stay till the very very end. I also pay extra for gas if its over 30 min away.
p.2 #4 · How much do you pay your second? What do they do?
I always limit my bet the first time I shoot with someone. I screen seconds pretty carefully, for skill, reliability, and personality, but I'm willing to pay a bit of a premium for a known, proven second. Being an active (i.e., posting) member here helps a lot, because I can get a sense from people's posts and responses whether they're someone I would like and work well with (same goes for folks I offer to second shoot for).
Usually it's $275-500, depending on the scope of the work, the second I'm using, and the budget.
What I have a second do depends in part on what the second is good at doing. The better I know someone, the more I can let that person focus on strengths, especially where those strengths differ from mine.
p.2 #5 · How much do you pay your second? What do they do?
I pay between $200 and $500.....$500 for someone who could shoot in my place, and $200 for basically and assistant, with a camera....someone who i wont be relying on images from....BUT, i try not to hire those kind of "second shooters" if they cant actually "second shoot".......my buddy who shoots professionally, it's always minimum $500...and that's what i throw out there, b/c i kinda expect to be paid the same when he needs someone as well....even if it's an easy day, i still pay $500....just professional courtesy IMO.....
p.2 #6 · How much do you pay your second? What do they do?
amonline wrote:
For 6-8 hours...
$150-200 for aspiring students. Usually people with good eyes, but lack gear.
$200-250 weekend warriors with experienced eyes and adequate gear.
$250-300 for seasoned wedding shooters who could shoot in my place.
All shoot and hand over files at the night's end. No processing. They usually shoot the guys, details, cocktail hours, reception and candids. In some cases, I'll have them do individual formals.
This exactly. Never use aspiring students though. I try to keep it at $225-250 per wedding always. I've got enough overhead as is and I don't use a ton of their shots. They're there basically for insurance purposes in case I fall down a flight of stairs and break my neck, someone to hang out with/talk with during slower times during the day, etc. I almost always use friends who I know and trust so it's really just like working with a buddy.
Most wedding photographers don't clear $50/hr themselves after costs and taxes so I don't really understand paying a second shooter that much or more just to show up, shoot and turn files over at the end of the night. $200 is a pretty solid day's work for just about any job. I know you can't do a wedding every day but this is basically one single day's work for them. $200/day is what someone making $52k yearly gross makes. That's more than solid is most markets. I'm a working professional and I'm more than happy if I'm paid $250-300 for second shooting (and have a few people I shoot with that pay me that much and also cover my film costs).
p.2 #9 · How much do you pay your second? What do they do?
Joshua Gull wrote:
This exactly. Never use aspiring students though. I try to keep it at $225-250 per wedding always. I've got enough overhead as is and I don't use a ton of their shots. They're there basically for insurance purposes in case I fall down a flight of stairs and break my neck, someone to hang out with/talk with during slower times during the day, etc. I almost always use friends who I know and trust so it's really just like working with a buddy.
Most wedding photographers don't clear $50/hr themselves after costs and taxes so I don't really understand paying a second shooter that much or more just to show up, shoot and turn files over at the end of the night. $200 is a pretty solid day's work for just about any job. I know you can't do a wedding every day but this is basically one single day's work for them. $200/day is what someone making $52k yearly gross makes. That's more than solid is most markets. I'm a working professional and I'm more than happy if I'm paid $250-300 for second shooting (and have a few people I shoot with that pay me that much and also cover my film costs). ...Show more →
Might be a regional thing. Not sure what the cost of living is in Tennessee, but I'm guessing it's considerably higher in Los Angeles, NYC, San Francisco, etc.
p.2 #10 · How much do you pay your second? What do they do?
Joshua Gull wrote:
Most wedding photographers don't clear $50/hr themselves after costs and taxes so I don't really understand paying a second shooter that much or more just to show up, shoot and turn files over at the end of the night. $200 is a pretty solid day's work for just about any job. I know you can't do a wedding every day but this is basically one single day's work for them. $200/day is what someone making $52k yearly gross makes. That's more than solid is most markets. I'm a working professional and I'm more than happy if I'm paid $250-300 for second shooting (and have a few people I shoot with that pay me that much and also cover my film costs). ...Show more →
I don't look at it this way at all... First of all, since I only use seconds whose work is as good as mine incase they literally had to take over for me, that means I'm using a pro who could very well be doing something else that day that could make them a lot more money. This weekend I'm shooting for about $60 an hour and I was just told they'll only need me for about 4-5 hours. Well... If I would've known that, I would not have taken the job because I could easily do a portrait session that day with a session fee of $250-300 plus a print sale of a minimum of $800.
p.2 #11 · How much do you pay your second? What do they do?
Joshua Gull wrote:
Most wedding photographers don't clear $50/hr themselves after costs and taxes so I don't really understand paying a second shooter that much
Right. Why should the second end up making more than you!
