I have been approached by a local studio (small scale business as far as i can tell - one photographer and one partner who runs marketing) after offering myself as an assistant - they havent seen my cv and were impressed by my website and are basing all of this on my photos - so i think i have a slight upper hand as i can kinda tell they want me. They want me to fill in when they need a break from working at the studio and also there is the opportunity for using my time and the studio when it is free to develop a commercial side to the photography in what is currently a portrait studio.

What i was wondering is how i stand in terms of value - how much should i expect to be paid to:

1. Provide a service (ie the taking of commercial photos in their studio in a partnership with them - they would provide the clients and studio i would provide my time and (albeit limited) experience)

2. Cover their day to day work when they need a break (one person could hold the fort) - the studio is a portrait studio for locals wanting family portraits etc so it would be the stand in as a single photographer in the studio answering phones, doing shoots onsite and photoshop work in times in between.

Also - where do i stand with copyrights and things like that. My initial thought is that i would be a "corporate" photographer in that i am part of the business and the business provides the service and not me in legal terms... is that what i should expect or do i have the right to be autonomous?

I really have no idea mate but i sincerely wish you the luck in the world!!

Peter

I see that inshaala asked,

...

Quite a few questions ...

All of his questions could come down to a single answer ...

What's reasonable? ... **Whatever both parties agree to do. **

But, as a starting point ...

1. when they 'want to take a break' ... you should establish a specific
   schedule -- you can't run over there on 5 minutes notice, can you? 
   You can't sit home waiting at the telephone can you?  OTOH, if you're
   not there when they want/need you, the relationship will get old/tired
   very fast. 

2. Copyrights ... AFAIK, if you do the work under their name, they would
   own the copyright.  But they might give credit on/with the image to the
   photographer ... do they already do that now with their own work? 

3. Payments ... if they are small and just starting out, they might not be
   able to pay a regular salary ... OTOH, a barter system might be perfect
   for both parties ... e.g. 2 hours of your time minding the front desk might
   be 'repaid' as 1 hour of use of the studio for your own work.  Keep in
   mind that if you use the studio to bring in portrait work, they might prefer
   that 'they' do the work and pay you a portion of the total fees as a finder's
   fee or commision.  Don't forget to keep good records. 

4. An additional idea ... Although I don't know the ofice layout, I suspect
   they have a front desk or entry area or waiting room.  It might be a good
   idea to set that area up as a mini gallery ... with the selection of images
   changing every month; credit would be given to the photographer who
   is showing; you would have a notice of the next scheduled 'show'.  They
   could even allow other artists to show there. 

I know that this works.  In the early 1980s when I first worked for Deloitte,
Haskins and Sells (now Deloitte & Touche [USA], or Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
[Global]), I used Modern Age on Vesy Street to do my film and photofinishing. 
They always had images on display in the front office/sales desk area.  One
day I asked how they decided who would be on display ... the answer was,
"I decide if they are good enough." (I had addressed my question to the
manager) He then asked to see my portfolio.  As I didn't have one, he told
me to bring in a selection of what I considered to be good -- 2 days later
I asked what he thought and he replied, "You're next month's show."  It was
a bit of a scramble to select just 30 images out of the landscape/nature
photographs I had shot over the previous 15 years ... and now I do have
a portfolio. 

Best of luck ...

HTH

--
Martin

Thanks for the reply - although i have no idea what is reasonable to me... just hope he knows what is reasonable and it looks good to me. Which is why i started this thread, so i might be able to guage if he is ripping me off or not.

The "break" is counted in days - so a fill in on a saturday, or a couple of days while they go on holiday or something.

I'm expecting i wont be on minimum wage here but at least on an hourly rate for covering the studio (which will include shoots btw) - i doubt i will be salaried.  Just really dont know what to expect - i would assume the commercial work would be worked out on percentage of fees no?

The reception area is filled with portraits he has done as a showcase for the work - although your idea sounds pretty good, i doubt that could happen.

Attached Link: Photographer: Salary and conditions

I'll try to respond to your post on a point-by-point basis.

I can't speak about the global market, but in the parts of the photography industry that I've brushed with, the only people who care about your CV are fine art buyers, museums and schools. In all other areas, they only hire based on portfolio.

A good rule of thumb for me is "Let them be concerned with their concerns, and let me be concerned with mine." They want you to fill in? What do you want? Are you working elsewhere? When does your schedule fill up? This is the best way to determine how much advanced notice you need for scheduling. Once scheduled, an assignment should be in stone for you, subject to cancellation only by the person paying the money (ie, don't try to cancel scheduled events for better paying gigs-- it's rude).

Use of the studio by those working in it is what might be called a "standard perk." Yes, it is very nice of them, and certainly a show of trust if they let you use it without supervision, but it is also a pretty common thing.

By law, assistants in the US get paid a flat daily rate for a 10 hour day, which includes 30 minutes lunch, and two 15-minute breaks. For every hour beyond the 10, we charge an overtime rate equal to (DayRate / 10 * 1.5), time-and-a-half of the hourly-equivalent rate. I charge a half-day rate, 5 hours for roughly 2/3rd of my Day Rate. Again, this is based on US Law. Find assistant photographers or other types of freelancers and sub-contractors in your country and ask them about it. The assistant photographers should be able to give you an idea of a standard day rate.

In the US, the specific services I perform for the day are irrelevant. I get paid on a per-day basis. I might have a relationship with a photographer or studio where I can bring my own clients in on off-hours and rent space and equipment from them, in which case I am the active studio, and regardless of my relationship at other times, they are my assistants and rental company. The deciding question is, "Who brought the client?"

Copyright law is a really complex question, particularly as you cross borders. I wouldn't want to be held legally responsible for any opinions you hold. Normally, I would direct these questions to the ASMP( www.asmp.org )or the APA ( www.apanational.org ), but both of those are American organizations. If you'd like, I can ask them for the equivalent organization in your country of origin.

However, the base of your question is whether you are their employee, or a sub-contractor they regularly work with. In the US, this is a very important distinction, as employees are entitled to a range of benefits which sub-contractors are not.

I hope this helps.

You should be able to find someone who can answer your copyright questions at WPPI( Wedding and Portrait Photographers International).

[www.wppionline.com/

](http://www.wppionline.com/)

Thanks for the response, much appreciated.  Gave me more info on what to expect.  The "interview" is on tuesday, so i will know what i decide/get setlled after that i suppose. I'll just have to play it by ear on what i know / expect already.  Thanks :)

I remembered that inshaala mentioned that,

The "interview" is on Tuesday

Well today is Wednesday and I am eager to hear how the interview went ...

--
Martin

Me too.

Hey guys,

Had the meeting yesterday as mentioned.  Basically it seemed like a done deal by the way they were talking (he immediately showed me around the place without going into the "interview") - they said they would ring me on Friday after they had considered the position/pay.  I will be shadowing the guy for a couple of shoots and post production (getting paid normal "assistant" rates), and then get a rise when i am in charge of the studio when they are away.  I came to the conclusion that any work is good work for me at this point as it gives me experience behind a camera in a professional setting.

I think it went fine, i cant say too much as that is a bit of a breach of confidence, but i will say that i think i am going to enjoy the work there. And it will definitely be something to expand my horizons both in portraiture and commercial work which did seem to be forthcoming from what they said.

Thanks for the advice in this thread guys - it was helpful :)