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business: photo assistants and mentoring

30 July 2008 9 Comments

If you started with prophotolife at the very beginning you might remember that one of the specific reasons I started this blog was to help young photo assistants / aspiring photographers. Some of the earliest entries here were on the subject of starting out as a photo assistant. Tonight I’ve compiled nine of those assisting entries into a downloadable PDF called the Handguide for Beginning Photo Assistants. It’s basic but potentially helpful information for aspiring commercial photo assistants, especially in a market like here in the midwestern U.S.

I highly recommend that photo assistants also check out the definitive resource / community on the internet for photo assistants: 1prophoto.com. They have a larger, more comprehensive pdf guide available for download, also. Yes, the names of our sites (and even the logos) are very similar but there’s no direct association, sometimes things just happen that way. The forums there have been a great help to assistants I’ve known and they do a great service at 1 Pro Photo.

Compiling the downloadable PDF and writing today’s post were inspired by this reader comment from Kenneth Rhem in Indianapolis:

“Thanks for your Blog. I’m an assistant in the Midwest who needs the reminder that making it is possible.”

I don’t know how many photo assistants read this blog but it means a lot to hear from Kenneth. At Daylight Photo we regularly host photo students from area schools and, though she’s traveling in Taiwan at the moment, we also have a summer intern about to head off to New York University in the fall to pursue her photographic dreams. My belief is that photography is still a craft to be learned largely through assisting and mentoring, just like blacksmithing was in the old days.

There are a few reasons I share information on prophotolife.com. One is that I really enjoy photography and this blog serves to remind me of that. The past few years have changed the photo industry a lot and, I’ll admit, there have been times I’ve been the curmudgeonly photographer, resistant to change. But all industries are changing rapidly, it’s no different than with our various clients, from manufacturers to magazines. The blog keeps me coming back to the reasons I first started out in photography, the joys of photography and of learning.

Another major reason I started this blog is because the mentoring part of photography is vital to the profession, if it is to remain a profession. I wish our studio could give more opportunities to photo assistants but we can’t hire them all. We always at least take the time to talk with them at Daylight Photo and try to help out how we can.

Plus I honestly believe that you meet the same people on the way down that you meet on the way up. That means it’s important to be nice to everybody you meet because, well, everything is just better that way. I tell assistants I want to help them become successful so that someday, when I’m ready to go into semi-retirement, they might give me a job at their studio.

So, Kenneth, I’m taking a few minutes to give you the reminder that, yes, it is possible. I can’t tell you that it will be easy or without sacrifice. But if you want to make it and you’re willing to work hard, you’ll surely make it. And please let me know when you do, just in case I need to call you for some part-time work someday.

9 Comments »

Jason Phillips said:

I have read John Kieffer’s book. It is very good. I think it was loaned to me by an instructor. Or did I buy it? Dang, time to dig in my closet.

# 30 July 2008 at 11:06 am

Craig Lee said:

Ooooo, another e-book. Although I think I might have read the posts you compiled it from already. It will still be nice to have it all together in one spot though.

I bookmarked 1prophoto.com. Thanks for another good link. Are they associated with Photoshelter? The seem to have a lot of posts made by the Photoshelter guys if they aren’t.

# 30 July 2008 at 1:10 pm

Mike C said:

It’s posts like these that leave me wondering what’s next? On one hand I would love to start assisting and probably accelerate my photography carrier much faster. Networking while assisting would be a great way to jump start, as apposed to now, when I have a day job and networking and getting clients is quite challenging. On the other hand the realist in me sees that I still have to pay off loans, rent, food and having a day job certainly helps. So where do we draw the line?

# 30 July 2008 at 1:44 pm

Mike C said:

Craig, or Jim for that matter, or any one else.
What are your thoughts on PhotoShelter? I was looking to starting an account there, is it worth it? The whole stock market side of photography is relatively new and fuzzy to me. Especially in the current market.

# 30 July 2008 at 1:54 pm

Craig Lee said:

I don’t really know very much about PhotoShelter, Mike. I’ve been wondering about it myself. It seems to have a better reputation among professional stock photographers than the micro-stock companies. Several people over on the digital Photograph School forums have had images accepted by them, but I don’t know of any sales yet. I also think they do more than just stock photography collection/sales. I think they allow you to set up a merchant site to sell prints using your own price lists as well as providing online galleries like SmugMug or Zenfolio.

# 30 July 2008 at 5:15 pm

Mike C said:

That’s what my perception is, the site is more pro oriented, which is a definite plus. Also their pricing model attracts me, they have a minimum $50 price for any photo and you get to set your own prices. In addition they pay out 70% of the sale price instead of the usual 30-50%. With all that it just sounds to good, so I’m trying to find the catch before singing up.

# 30 July 2008 at 5:42 pm

Kenneth Rhem said:

Thanks Jim for your time and effort. It’s important for people to know that there is a difference in the knowledge you gain from the internet or even shooting small assignments and the experience you gain working on a big production with stylists, grips, a digital tech and the ever dreaded Art Director. Plus as an assistant you can ask people you know to trust about how to bill a client, how to PROPERLY bid for a job, and what agencies/art directors/editors are worth working with in your area.

@ Mike C. - There is no fast track to being a Pro except extreme luck. I’m of the opinion that the extreme luck shooters don’t have 20+ year careers (well i guess that’s except for J. Teller and T. Richardson)

# 30 July 2008 at 8:18 pm

Jim Talkington (author) said:

I admit, I’m not currently participating in stock photography. I will say, though, that PhotoShelter really seems to value photographers and their work, one of the last havens where photographers are put first. Hopefully Noah will see this and chime in, I know he’s a member. Something tells me that success with stock these days also means actively promoting / marketing your work on your own, too.

Is anyone up for a trip over to the discussion forum? I’d like to explore Mike’s situation of whether it’s time to leap fully into the profession or not.

# 30 July 2008 at 11:15 pm

Noah said:

I’m a little late I know, but I’m here! I’ve been with Photoshelter for a couple months now and I’ve been pretty happy with what they offer (even though I haven’t actually made a cent yet ). They’ve got a good keywording system and lots if different pricing options for both rights managed and royalty free images. I think what I like most is the community they are building. They’ve got a great blog with tons of information for stock shooters in it as well as some pretty active forums. If you’re considering stock work I’d definitely check them out. Jim is right though, keywording is king and it pays to work hard to keyword your images correctly and even point clients to your Photoshelter portfolio from other locations.