Assistant w/lighting experience needed for interior shoot

[schnurbart22]

Hi,

Need an assistant for an interior (show unit) photo shoot.

Experience needed: studio lighting direction, operation and setup (must be very conversant in these and interior experience preferred)

Duration: 5-6 hours

Date: one of the days between 6-9 Nov

Pay: S$50/hr

Please PM me your application indicating your experience.

Thanks!

 

[tommon]

What you need is not an assistant but a technical director. It will cost more than $50 per hour. Even a lighting tech will cost more. That what seperates the real pros from the not so pros. The client pays you to do the job but if you need directions you will end up paying he helpers than getting a profit. LOL

 

[schnurbart22]

What you need is not an assistant but a technical director. It will cost more than $50 per hour. Even a lighting tech will cost more. That what seperates the real pros from the not so pros. The client pays you to do the job but if you need directions you will end up paying he helpers than getting a profit. LOL

Wa so sarcastic ... just because you are a professional commercial photographer? FYI my client likes my interior pics and have chosen me over a 'commercial photographer' - hope it's not you ... hahahaha

Anyway, for those who are applying - mainly you need to be comfortable in setting lights. Please PM if interested.

 

[ellery]

Bro it the photographer that has to call for the lighting - not the assistant. Unless you are paying for a lighting crew - then they will light to your spec again note you need to spec what is it you want not they do until you happy.

It sounds a lot like you need some one to set up for you just to click. It almost never works that way in commercial circles.

 

[snowspeeder]

Why would you need to hire an assistant and expect them to do the directing for your shoot?

 

[matt_lee]

hey, i might be the one u are looking for. Have assisted alot in new york, i know what u mean Most good photogs there dun know the different between a F stop and a bus stop but they get the job done. my work : www.leematai.com
call or text me : 91004004 or
emaill me : leematai@gmail.com

 

[schnurbart22]

hey matt, that's the attitude. we are all masters at one thing and leverage other masters to complement. bottom line is profitability and client satisfaction. we are GREAT if we can be good photographers, good at DI, good at lighting, etc but end of day we'll struggle like crazy - and with high blood pressure, lack of sleep and little action in personal life

will keep you posted in next 2-3 days as have gotten lots of PM today. cheers dude

hey, i might be the one u are looking for. Have assisted alot in new york, i know what u mean Most good photogs there dun know the different between a F stop and a bus stop but they get the job done. my work : www.leematai.com
call or text me : 91004004 or
emaill me : leematai@gmail.com

 

[schnurbart22]

Hi everyone, I've gotten a lighting technician. Mucho gracias for all those that responded. Appreciate your time rendered

 

[tommon]

hey, i might be the one u are looking for. Have assisted alot in new york, i know what u mean Most good photogs there dun know the different between a F stop and a bus stop but they get the job done. my work : www.leematai.com
call or text me : 91004004 or
emaill me : leematai@gmail.com

Not true. That's what seperate the best from the ok.

The real pro photographer is one who already has the whole thing worked out then have the assistant(s) to set it in accordance to their specs.

If not then the fella behind the camera is called "camera operator" or "cameraman".

Photography is about:

1. Lighting control
2. Composition
3. Giving what the audience wants to see

And SCHNURBART your precious client didn't reject us. If your client knew what you are doing now then they might have dropped you like a brick.:bsmilie:

Good Luck

 

[matt_lee]

Not true. That's what seperate the best from the ok.

The real pro photographer is one who already has the whole thing worked out then have the assistant(s) to set it in accordance to their specs.

If not then the fella behind the camera is called "camera operator" or "cameraman".

Photography is about:

1. Lighting control
2. Composition
3. Giving what the audience wants to see

And SCHNURBART your precious client didn't reject us. If your client knew what you are doing now then they might have dropped you like a brick.:bsmilie:

Good Luck[/QUOTE

hmmm..

I am not really one to get into disagreements online and i agree totally abt your list of what photography is suppose to be.

This is a different genre of photography, but speaking solely from my experience and observation, while working for a couple of very good fashion photographers, I find that they are not strong techically at all and will just tell their 1st assistant what kinda of feel they want and the 1st assistant will get the 2nd and 3rd assistant to set up the lights accordingly. Most of the time, i reckon the 1st assistant can run the whole show.

But once the model comes on, bang, its like flicking on a switch, there is so much chemistry that i am surprized that they dont tear each other clothes off and start making love right there and then. Most of these photographers i assisted for actually former models who dun really care for lighting or megapixels, they pretend to know when u talk to them but i guess they are just sprouting stuff they read on the internet. hahah

and of course technically this leads to acouple of problems too, i have been in shoots where the photographer is so engrossed in interacting the model, he/she is unaware that the flash is not firing, if the assistants were not around, i am pretty sure he would have shot up the whole card before realising it.

And of course this is the US, where you can make a pretty decent living as a assistant, i know a couple of 40 year-old assistants who are definately good enough to shoot but just do not want the hassle of dealing with clients. They just make assisting their careers.

I guess photography as a passion and photography as a career is different. As a career as long as you can deliver to cilents the final image, i guess it doesnt really matter how much you know

i think the same analogy applies to photography on the whole. I bet an architect with zero photography knowledge can take a great architectual shot with the right assistant.

 

[matt_lee]

ok yah just in case you are wondering, no, i didnt get the job .. hahha

 

[vince123123]

What a waste, you are one of the people who knows what assisting is all about . I tend to prefer assisting to shooting for commercial jobs

I would have applied too, but since he has found one already, too bad .

However I would say that not ALL photographers are lousy technically and depend on their assistants, its probably those realyl arty farty or ultra creative types which are like that. They tend to make up for their technical idiocy with really great creativity. Other photographers may be somewhere in between.

 

[tommon]

Good on you, Vince. Well said and done.

In a company, you will need all the help from each other. Matt on those high profile shoots usually those who can deal with clients will be doing the more high profile shoot. How do you know if those 1st or 2nd and 3rd Assistant don't actually do those wveryday shoot?

just FYI, most of these "assistants" would have attended a briefing and already knew what was needed to be set up. The Photographer simply seems to bark out the orders to "wai yang" for the clients to see. LOL

 

[hondasleeper]

Shooting fashion and shooting architecture are totally two different areas of photography. With fashion you can do whatever you want and still call it fashion or your style where as architecture you seriously need to know what you are doing. You can't just walk in like a prima donna and expect things to be ready. It takes hours to set-up 3-4 hours to light an extrior, if you're lucky. Then you need to figure out if you are going to use strobes or hot lights or a combination of both. How do you balance the interior lighting with the exterior ambiant light? There area alot of technical questions that need to be addressed and you need to have the answers or at least a solution. If you don't you have no business trying to "wayang" your way through the job, it'll come back and bite you in the butt. The image won't lie. If you say "don't worry I'll fix it in photoshop", god help you.

I kinda agree with Matt the architect can visialize a good shot, but what it'll take to pull the shot of he'll have no clue i.e. lighting. Architectural photography, shooting interiors and exteriors, takes alot of equipment, time and know how to get the shot.

Would you know how to shoot an interior with mixed lights in 1 shot? Not many people would.

I am not trying to put anyone down but just giving my $0.02, based on my experience.

 

[ellery]

Shooting fashion and shooting architecture are totally two different areas of photography. With fashion you can do whatever you want and still call it fashion or your style where as architecture you seriously need to know what you are doing. You can't just walk in like a prima donna and expect things to be ready. It takes hours to set-up 3-4 hours to light an extrior, if you're lucky. Then you need to figure out if you are going to use strobes or hot lights or a combination of both. How do you balance the interior lighting with the exterior ambiant light? There area alot of technical questions that need to be addressed and you need to have the answers or at least a solution. If you don't you have no business trying to "wayang" your way through the job, it'll come back and bite you in the butt. The image won't lie. If you say "don't worry I'll fix it in photoshop", god help you.

I kinda agree with Matt the architect can visialize a good shot, but what it'll take to pull the shot of he'll have no clue i.e. lighting. Architectural photography, shooting interiors and exteriors, takes alot of equipment, time and know how to get the shot.

Would you know how to shoot an interior with mixed lights in 1 shot? Not many people would.

I am not trying to put anyone down but just giving my $0.02, based on my experience.

What Mat mentions about fashion photog is true for some but even for those that it was true for it does not stay that way. You learn things or you sink even the boring tech bits.

Lighting an interior with strobes and still look like ambient without going thru photoshop is a skill, some thing which is a daily thing in certian commercial work. Some thing that I need to help get done regualarly nor would I say I can do this alone quickly smile I need about 10 mins more than my senior photographer who would need maybe 5 to 10 minutes from standing start. Shooting without understanding how is done would be challenging..... imagine shoot see screen make adjustment, shoot see screen make adjustment till it right...take too dam long. Client would start to panic after 2nd or 3rd try.

 

[matt_lee]

I guess the point I am trying to put across is that I feel assistants are pretty undervalued here in Singapore or maybe I am just not in the right circles. I didn’t mean to say all photographers are useless which of course is not true, but rather you can be a crap photographer but achieve a decent photo with a good assistant. Instead of someone to just to carry your equipment around, assistants are also extra pairs of eyes and may suggest that little extra sparkle to turn your shoot from good to great.

I dun understand your remark abt not knowingly whether if those 1st or 2nd and 3rd Assistant don't actually do those everyday shoot? I assume you are talking abt a photography company or studio? That true but I was referring to a job where clients go to a particular photographer becos of their style. I do agree with you Tom that everyone works better hand in hand as company but I was referring to 1st , 2nd , 3rd assistant as actual rankings rather than quantities . A 1st assistant probably has five years or more experience and has the skills to go solo. A 2nd assistant probably 2 years experience and takes charge of the laptop and CF cards and general data management and your 3rd assistant is most probably a grunt worker, carrying most of the bags, shifting light stands, running to get coffee. Smaller scale photogs may just have the one or two assistants but I have been in shoots where we have up till 5 guys holding lightstands.I have been in shoots where everyone just sits around waiting for the 1st assistant to arrive while the photog smoozes with model in makeup. I even know of some photogs who would cancel shoots just becos their 1st assistant can not make it. Once again, I am not saying that all photographers reply solely on their 1st assistant, but rather a decent shoot can be obtained with a crap photographer and a capable assistant. And of course as a 1st assistant if you are that good, you probably would be working for 2 or 3 high profile photogs anyway and getting an easy 2 grand a week without having to worry abt equip cost, retouching, studio rental and most of all, you wont have to play ping pong with clients.

I guess it applies to any form of photography. It all starts out with having an image in mind and being able to convey the image to some one who can put that image into print. What I am trying to say is that I feel that with some of the U.S photographers that I have worked with, they perform a role similar to a art director or stylist here. They direct the shoot or model in tune with the image they have in their mind. The stylist just chooses the clothes to fit the theme and adjusts the model but try to pose her yourself and you probably get thrown off the set. The photographer takes the camera from the assistant and shoots with his/her eye and works with the retoucher to get the image he/she wants While the stylists that I have worked with here command everything from the pose of the model to the feel of the shoot, it is as a photographer here that I feel like a camera operator. Of course I just might not be working with the right circle of stylists. Ha

Anyway its great to hear all your views, think we stepping way out of this thread’s purpose. Maybe someone should start a thread on assisting.
Some extra reading here : http://www.popphoto.com/americanphotofeatures/2642/the-best-photo-assistants-in-america.html
And of course if anyone is looking for a part time experienced assistant, leematai@gmail.com  peace out

 

[vince123123]

Yeap, the culture in US and in Singapore is quite different indeed. Here assistants are more of the 2nd and 3rd types you have mentioned. They never really level up to the 1st type - and most who level up, dont feel like they should be assistants anymore.

 

[sprintist]

hey simply to speak, a caddie to a pro golfer is also well verse and already very talented right? dont flame me..haha:bsmilie::bsmilie: