Everything else I agree with for the most part. Never-less, photographers need to remember one thing; at the end of the day it is just a f#@&ing picture! Yes, there are budgets, sometimes HUGE budgets, or tight time frames. And the pressure/stress that goes with it. Maybe I am getting burnt out on the superficiality of the industry but I think many photographers have huge egos and take themselves WAY too seriously. The only people who should take there jobs this seriously are those who have there own or others lives on the line (military, emt’s, police, etc). Funny though that many of those people do not stress themselves out so much and are cool under pressure. Yet, here we have photographers and there clients stressing themselves out over a photo that 99% of the intended viewers glance over without a second thought or even a care! What percentage of advertising photography is thrown away without a second thought or glance?

I have a question… I’ve been shooting for a few years, I’ve done a little bit of work experience here and there (recently enquired at Rankin’s studio about work experience) but most of my own work as been commissioned by record labels (smaller than Sony, Warner, Umusic etc, but big in their niche); I’ve done a number of highish profile shoots; album covers, single record covers, magazine editorial etc etc. But when I approach the big labels, the big magazines, the big agencies etc. They’re all kinda like “Really nice work, but your it’s not right for us as the moment, stay in touch”… Now, I’m a filmmaker as well as photographer and have had many script rejections, I know the above statement is pretty much “not good enough; shoot more, get better and come back to us later”.

Anyway, my real question is, as I’ve been working for a while now (but most of the time for next to no money, except for the big projects) and built up an awful lot of shooting experience is there any way I can avoid assisting, in order to make the next step up the ladder? Most people I’ve spoken to, in the big companies have said “assisting would be a step back for you”… I’d really like to believe this, but, how else do I make the high profile contacts I need to, in order to progress?

Seriously… this just happened to me yesterday. You can market yourself on your own time.

If this is about being a slave (aka assistant) I suppose that makes sense. You’ll be lucky if you work for a talented guy, who treats other human beings with respect. This world is so full of jerks…

Great list up there. I just started assisting and am printing it as I type

Whats the symbiotic pecking order?

Just show up at the guys door?

I have had the luxury to assist friends and generally cool people. In fact, I rarely assist anymore. When I first started I didn’t have that luxury and had to work for whatever jerk that called. I’ve worked for a full range of personalities. If I ever overextended myself for a photographer it was out of respect for them and my own personal work ethic. In any case, the expectations go both ways.

There’s a lot of things in this business that are fucked up, from top to bottom. Photographers have to bill for their shoelaces just to try and turn a profit. We do it because we want to take pictures and believe there’s a way to make a living doing it. Assistants included.

I buy my assistants breakfast every day. Another shooter on this forum buys lunch everyday. I pay overtime even if I don’t bill it. I treat my assistants fairly and yes, there are long days involved. Get over it,,it is the reality of the business. Don’t blame the photographer for the last flight out….most likely the client and budget were tight with no bucks for hotels. Yes, it gets that tight sometime.

I don’t know a single photographer who treats his crew badly. I know of one who yells. He has a rep and that is just the way he is. What assistants are not understanding is how much pressure there is on the shooter – from financial to production to crew to final product. If you don’t appreciate it now, you will when you get out on your own.

That’s right. You heard it here kids. Be a sponge. Soak it up because the next thing you know there’s some photographer that’s going to wring you out and leave you dry.

Let’s start the list. How should photographers be to their assistants? I’m only going to list 5 because I’m worn out from working for other people, not to mention that Bitter Photographer will make me feel a lot better than old geezer forbidding me to use my cell phone whilst I bend over for him.

1. Pay on time. Go into your own pocket if you have to. Why should an assistant wait for the client to pay? The client doesn’t hire the assistant.

2. Don’t be stingy about overtime. Don’t ask the assistant to come down on his overtime after the fact. Instruct your producer to do the same. It’s the only way assistants make any fucking money.

3. Let your loyal assistant use your gear. Pretend it doesn’t bother you. Don’t ask for anything in return for its use. This is for the time they woke up at 4 am to fly somewhere, help you shoot some piece of shit portrait, and not get home until midnight because you booked the last flight out just in case. They didn’t get any extra money because it was editorial and had to eat fast food twice in one day.

4. Be a mentor. That means do not be competitive with your assistant. When they are trying to “leave the nest”, set up a meeting for them with a photo editor that you know or have your agent do it. Pay it forward. Your assistant is never going to “take you down”. If you don’t want to do that because their work is horrible, tell them, steer them in the right direction. Don’t let their worst nightmare come true. (That nightmare by the way is working for you long term.)

5. Be cognizant of the fact your ego is a little fragile. Any good assistant will coddle it up to a certain point. They’ll say the work looks good even though its totally retarded. So in return, try to keep your lists to under 10 items instead of 26. Don’t expect servitude. If your assistant has to make a phone call during the shoot, he’ll do it at a responsible time. By the way, the assistant is running a business too. A job runs the risk of disappearing between now and lunch.