Every now and then I get these miniature, totally random epiphanies about things. I have my addiction to photography forums to thank for this condition, actually. I very strongly believe that you learn by teaching. Or to be less cliche, but more verbose- putting enough energy into creating a worthwhile answer to a serious question will often cause us to, well, have an epiphany. We realize something that we’ve obviously known all along in our subconscious, and that “ah-ha!” is part of what helps us do better next time.
Anyways I was thinking about one of the stereotypes of the photography industry, one that is quite relevant in the wedding photography industry in particular… The stereotype of hiring an assistant / 2nd shooter, and then having that other photographer go behind your back and “steal” a referral that “should have been yours”… Even those who are not professional photographers, I’m sure you know what I mean, or at least you can imagine the stereotype that might surround this.
The logical “answer” to such a problem is, duh, to sign a contract with all your 2nd shooters etc. that dictates how a 2nd shooter should conduct themselves. Obviously I don’t need my assistants passing out their own business cards at a wedding where they’re assisting ME. That’s crazy, and downright disrespectful! And in general, I’d expect an assistant to speak highly of me to other wedding guests, refer them to me if they’re in the market, etc. etc.
But then I got to thinking, what about after the wedding? Does a 2nd shooter become fair game? I mean surely a bridesmaid can hunt down ANYBODY they want on facebook etc. Then I got to thinking again- Ya know, I’m fine with that. If I’m out of someone’s price range, or if my style of photography is just not what they’re looking for, then why would I try and force myself on that client? I wouldn’t. Then, I got to thinking one last time… For what *other* reasons might a client be “going behind your back”??? Aren’t most all the possible reasons indicative that YOU the primary photographer have bigger issues to deal with? Is your assistant taking better pictures than you? Ouch. Does your assistant have a better personality / attitude than you? OUCH!!!!!! In either case, it seems to me like you’ve got WAY bigger fish to fry than going after an assistant for one measley booking they stole.
I shoot weddings for Blue Shoe Photography with my good friend Eric a few times a year. We always work as such a team, a unit, that whenever there is talk of future weddings, it’s always “gosh, we need to get Eric and Matt to shoot our wedding too!” The same thing with all the 2nd shooters I’ve had assisting me at my weddings- If we work as a team, and both have a positive, friendly attitude, anybody who sees us working together (and is getting married soon themselves) will automatically think of us BOTH. As a team. What a great position / status!
Hopefully anybody who has been in business for some time is thinking “well duh, this is just basic logic!” …I know! But doesn’t it help to keep things fresh in our minds, instead of cluttered somewhere in the back of our subconscious? I don’t know about you, but writing these things down really helps me do a better job of living by them…
Take care,
=Matt=
(How they managed to build such a structure without a single modern-day crane continues to amaze me…)
Seville, Spain; October 2008 - Nikon D300, 17-55 @ 17mm, hand-held, RAW image processed in Bridge CS3.
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