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Home > Commerce > Business Resources > Speaking from experience > Becoming a photographer's assistant

A wealth of information comes from photographers discussing their daily experiences with each other in online forums and bulletin boards. The following thread (edited for this presentation) appeared in January 2005 on the APAnet forum managed by the Advertising Photographers of America. Permission has been granted by APANet and each individual to repost the material here.

Becoming a photographer’s assistant

I’d like to know what is the best way to contact photographers if you’re looking for work as an assistant?

I ask because I decided to use the phone and very quickly found there was no interest. I know for a lot of you, you’d probably say you find your assistants through other photographers, but of course that’s not going to help me.

I don’t just want to put my name in a database in wait, either. I want to know what works for you if a photography student, on the verge of starting her own career and eager to assist and learn from working photographers, were to approach you for work.

Also, I’m looking for part-time work, and one photographer was looking only for one permanent full-time assistant. Is this the norm? I was under the impression that photographers would have assistants when they’re actually on the job shooting and would have a few assistants whom they could call on to see if they’re available to work for a few days. Since I’m still finishing school, I’m not ready to be anyone’s full-time assistant. My teachers keep telling us to assist as many working photographers as possible, and they talk about it like we’d be working from assignment to assignment, so I was hoping it would be that flexible.

Thank you to anyone who could share their ideas. I’m getting ready to contact this huge list of photographers I’ve compiled in the LA area and just want to get their attention.

Sreedevi

 

Send a resume first

I have a policy that if an assistant calls me, I insist on receiving a resume before I will speak with them. It is a simple matter of professionalism. I don’t want to waste time meeting with someone who may not be qualified or have the skills I’m looking for.

Imagine how the photographer feels: a cold call from someone he has never heard of and has no idea if the person has any qualifications.

It is exactly the same as when a photographer contacts a potential client. It must be done professionally: Begin by researching the people you will be contacting and figuring out their needs. Then establish contact by mail, fax or email. After a short time, then it is OK to phone, explaining that you sent a letter of introduction and a resume, and explaining how you fit into their business. This is the hard part!

Remember that looking for freelance work is really a long procedure of establishing awareness of you and your services and then establishing a relationship.

That is easier to write than to do.

Bill Westheimer
www.billwest.com

 

Be available full-time

I echo all of Bill’s sage advice and will add this food for thought. Nothing will cause me to throw your resume in the trash faster than when you start to talk about your schedule. I get assistants who call me, send a resume, and then tell me that they are only available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays except every third Friday because of some bartending agreement that they are in with their roommate.

My point here is that I can’t remember the ever-changing schedules of assistants and am looking for people who are available full time as assistants. You might want to wait until just before graduation before a major push of self-promotion. Then hit it hard with cold calls, resume faxes (I still prefer faxed resumes), and follow-up.

Craig Wallace Dale
www.craigdale.com

 

Offer to be a second assistant

I agree with both Bill and Craig that it’s very important to present yourself in a professional manner. Having said that, I do try to make time to meet with young photographers — even ones who work in bars and camera stores part time. I started as a photographer working jobs when the boss would let me off from the local camera shop. I remember how hard it was to get started. Since you are a student and still learning and have no experience on jobs, you might consider offering to be a second assistant on a few jobs for no fee. This could help you gain work experience, get some valuable contacts and begin to build that resume.

I would also add that an assistant should be sure that any photographer he works for is honest and ethical and doesn’t take advantage of him. It would be a good idea to check with other assistants about what a photographer is like to work with, how quickly they pay and that sort of thing.

John Henley
www.johnhenleyphoto.com

 

Establish relationships

I agree with John: Offer to be a second assistant for free or little charge and start learning the ropes there and establishing relationships. It is all about relationships.

Angela Dieringer
www.saturnlounge.com

 

Charge less, but don’t work for free

Ethics of Unpaid Work

The suggestion that students work for free touched off a spirited discussion of when, or whether, it is ever justified to offer or accept such a deal. For clarity of presentation, ASMP’s editor has gathered those remarks in a separate page.

I agree with what is being said in general on this topic. However, I must say I dislike seeing seeing the recommendation of working for free. I did that once and it was the last time. The photographer was obviously being paid for the shoot and could afford the assistant fee. I had the experience and was very thoughtful and helpful throughout the shoot, but I had just moved the city and was desperate to work.

In my opinion, if you have the education and drive, you deserve to be paid. If you have had no assisting experience, I recommend trying to intern before leaving school, or charging a little less — maybe 125 instead of 175 for the first day as a trial. As someone who just recently began shooting full time, I don’t hire an assistant if I can’t afford one for the job. Photographers are always very vocal about getting what they deserve for a shoot, and an assistant should be, as well. You paid for an education and have bills to pay; charge what you are worth. Too many assistants are taken advantage of.

That said, I found emailing photographers worked very well for me. I would ask if I could send a resume and set up a meeting in the future. Emailing allowed the photographers to respond, if they were interested, on their own time and not be bothered with a cold call. Don’t email any attachments until they ask you for the resume!

Dan Saelinger
www.dansaelinger.com

 

Be an unpaid observer

Regarding working for free…

I will often have an unknown or new-to-the-business assistant come to the shoot to observe the other assistant(s) on the job. It is not paid, as in essence they have nothing to do but observe, but I want the potential assistant to see what is involved in one of my productions. I do buy breakfast, lunch or dinner for the “newbie” and cover any tolls or parking he or she may have incurred.

I appreciate that no one likes to work for free, but I’m too afraid to take a chance on someone who is unaware of my workflow to start with me without seeing the whole production. There’s too much of a chance for things to go wrong.

David Durbak
www.durbak.com

 

Introduce yourself at a public event

Sreedevi, both you and your professors are right, as is the person looking for a full-time assistant. The reality is that photographers hire assistants to, as you might guess, “assist.” If they have lots of shooting work, and also want some help around the studio with management and marketing tasks, then they might look to hire someone full time, as they’ll pay about the same as they would for 135-150 individual days, and they get the convenience and attention of a full-time employee. If, however, they’re more like me and shoot more like 40-50 days a year, run an office that occasionally doubles as studio (rather than a full-time studio with an office nook), and only need an assistant for maybe 10-15 of those yearly shooting days, then I’d be crazy to hire someone full time.

As an assistant, there is real value in assisting with a variety of photographers to learn different business models, different personalities, etc. However, there is also real value in having a full-time job that pays you a salary and that allows you financial flexibility to pursue your own shooting career when you’re ready. I’d say it depends a great deal on what kind of shooting you want to do, and how soon you’d like to be on your own.

As for how I choose assistants, I keep a file in my contact database of all the assistants who contact me and when, if I’ve ever met them in person, maybe my first impressions, etc. I do have one guy that I use whenever possible, as we’ve worked together for four years and we each know how the other works pretty well. However, he also works with many other photographers, and he’s busy and will eventually start shooting on his own. So when the time comes, I go to my database and pick out two or three likely candidates, set up interviews, and decide who’ll be the next “first in line” on the call list.

In that scenario, persistence (not peskiness, but casual reminders two or three times a year) and good timing in contacting me will pay off, as will knowing your stuff, being honest about what you don’t know (I’m often willing to work with you and help you learn, but not if you’ve told me ahead of time that you knew how to do it!), and having a professional appearance and demeanor so I’m not afraid to take you with me when I’m in a client’s office or on their property. I don’t mind email or phone calls and, as I said, I tend to remember someone more when they come up and introduce themselves to me at an event. It’s called networking — welcome to the world of being a photographer!

There is a very good discussion of getting started as an assistant in two places I can think of. The first is the public section of the Editorial Photographers website, in the Frequently Asked Questions section. The other is in the ASMP Assistants section, where you’ll find some free reading and some for purchase.

Andrew Buchanan
www.subtlelightphoto.com

 

The beginner’s dilemma

My question as a soon-to-be assistant is, how do we get in contact with photographers as beginners?

I myself attend a liberal arts school in Ohio. I didn’t have the opportunity to go to a great photography school. While I am going to get a BFA in photography, the focus of my education has been almost too creatively oriented, to the point that my teacher only examines the effects of the photograph on the audience and rarely the means of getting there (he reserves the technical aspects for our own exploration). So I can’t walk onto a set and know exactly how to light it. I’ve never had the tools that the industry uses to even be able to explore. Whatever I have learned technically has been through my own research and experimenting.

Now I find myself feeling unprepared. I am about to make the move to New York in six months or so, get a crappy job, and start putting myself out there to meet photographers and try to find work. Is there hope? Where does the path begin? Right now I just feel like I am gonna knock on everyone’s door and get laughed at. (Maybe not that desperate). I am knowledgeable enough to handle myself in small-town Ohio, but there is a larger world that’s going to be foreign to me. I want to know how to get in, besides hope and prayer.

I do have value and knowledge to lend to any situation; I know that right now. But how do I get photographers to take a chance on me when I am sure most won’t even reply to an email, let alone some kid’s resume that couldn’t fill a page even with 24-point type.

Justyn S. Shye

 

Go to meetings, mingle and network

One sure way to get photographers to notice you is to attend local APA and ASMP meetings. Start to mingle, start to network — more than anything, start to be seen in the professional crowd.

You will find a lot of information at those meetings. You will also be able to meet with other assistants in the area. Here in South Florida, most of the assistants know each other and recommend each other on a regular basis.

If you do decide to move to NYC, you’ll have the opportunity to rub elbows with a lot of people at these meetings. Take advantage of these get-togethers and you never know where they’ll lead.

David Durbak
www.durbak.com

 

Check out Hallmark; work for barter

You might think about doing a semester at a technically oriented school. There is a place called Hallmark in western Massachusetts that has a short program. A couple of months of this type of training would allow you to put your artistic vision and technical skills on the same level.

Yes, I know that another semester in school is the last thing you want to hear.

The other thing, if you are really just looking to get your technical skills up to snuff, is to find a mentor and work for your training from him or her.

This is different than working for free. Here, your pay is in learning, with expectations of instruction from your mentor. You would be bartering, let’s say, 5 hours of labor for 1 hour of instruction.

Zave Smith
www.zavesmith.com

 

Channel your fear into excitement

I rarely pay much attention to resumes except when I am hiring full-time help. Attitude and energy is what I look for. You appear to have both, and all you lack is experience. You are experiencing fear and that is a good thing, because you can channel that fear into excitement. If you are high on your work, people will be knocking down your door to get some of that for themselves. That will propel you right into wherever you want to go.

Just put yourself out there. That means going outside of tradional channels. Volunteer for local ASMP and APA functions. Hang out and be a presence, not a lump. This industry responds quickly to either approach, so be aware of what you are projecting. Be organized, professional, positive. Dress like, act like, talk like the people you want to hire you. Don’t succumb to insecurity of the inexperienced and fluff up what you don’t have, because everyone will know it. Be yourself. Love what you do. Don’t fall into the habit (trap), so common with photographers, of griping, pissing and moaning about the business. It’s not an easy business, but nobody really wants to hear more of that.

Philip Beaurline
www.beaurline.com

 

Next question: how to contact photographers

Thank you for your encouraging responses. I appreciate your suggestions. While more school is definitely the last thing I want to do, advice like attending meetings and just putting myself out there are things I’ve heard and will take to heart.

My next question: Is there a standard way in which to contact photographers one-on-one that doesn’t instantly cause rejection. What are the do’s of promotion and what are things that automatically hit the trash bin?

Justyn S. Shye

 

Two ways to go

I’m an assistant / retoucher / wannabe-photographer / exhausted working in NYC. I’ve managed to pay my rent and feed myself for nearly two years doing this (one year in LA, one here), but every single job I’ve gotten has been through a friend or some one I met on a previous job.

When it comes down to it, why would anyone hire you, when someone right next to them is saying, “Hey, a good friend of mine is probably available; I’ll call him/her.” So here is the deal. You really have two choices:

Option 1. Stick with your friends (or get to know the assistant community). It is a tight group of people with very few degrees of separation. Let your friends know you are looking for work. Jobs come up at the last minute all the time. If they know you are wanting to work, you will be the person they bring onto the job. And once you know a few people, well, then it is easy; then you have to turn work down.

Option 2. Intern. Yup, you wanna work for the really good people? Well guess what, you work for free, baby. Yeah, I know, it sucks; but that is the way it is.

Adam Voorhes
www.voorhes.com

 

If it’s unpaid, be sure there’s some other value

Some people have found that judiciously sought internships and the real-world experience gained there have benefitted them far more than the sum total of their conventional education.

Do I advocate getting stepped on, or used as cheap labor? No! Neither am I bashing photography schools or a structured curriculum. I’m just saying that with eyes open, someone can benefit as an intern in ways other than money, and it really shouldn’t matter whether or not it’s for school. I’ve had internships where the networking, learning experiences, and even use of the photographer’s studio/equipment were far more valuable than the cash I could have gained by “merely” getting paid. These perks would hardly have been available to me if I’d approached it as, “Sorry, no can do, I’m worth $X a day.”

There are perhaps two different types of assistants: One is at it with the goal of learning and using it as a stepping-stone to becoming a pro shooter. The other type (the “professional assistant”) approaches it as a job and an end unto itself. Most assistants fall somewhere in between, and that’s okay, as long as a high degree of professionalism is maintained in any case.

Frankly, I’d rather have the first kind, whether they’re getting paid or not, as I derive a lot of satisfaction from passing along whatever I’ve learned so far. If you’re the second type, you’d better know more than me, LOL! Half-kidding, but truly: Be able to hit the ground running, and if I have to hold your hand, you won’t be coming back. And if you’re somewhere in between, so am I.

I didn’t become a photographer for the money, but in order to fulfill my life’s passion — although I am in business to make money, and that’s a dichotomy I face every day. By following my business sense, am I disavowing my passion? Or, by following my passion, am I keeping food off the table? Finding this balance is never easy, but I believe it’s the essence of being a successful professional creative person.

I do agree that getting your foot in the door is the worst reason to work for free, assistant or pro. There’s a reason the carrot is on the end of a stick! Being a go-getter means doing whatever it takes, being proactive and keeping your goal in mind. So, anyone even considering an internship should approach photographers with the idea of interviewing them as well — tactfully and without disrespect or arrogance, but with the intent of ensuring that the relationship will be fulfilling in whatever way you’d like it to be, money or not.

Jeff Navarro
www.navarrostudio.com

 

The upside of interning

Why interning is good (from someone who hates the idea of interning):

Irving Penn
A friend of mine graduated from Brooks and flew to NYC to intern for Irving Penn. Six months later she was one of his assistants. Now she is back in LA starting her career, and her name is in the acknowledgments of his new book. Her name is in Penn’s book! Top that. You can’t.

Richard Avedon & Hero
Another friend interned for Avedon, become his assistant. Unfortunately Avedon died, so now he is Hero’s assistant. Wow! who can say they assisted Avedon and Hero? Cameron can, because he interned.

I have more stories, but I think those two basically say it all, so here is the other side of the coin.

When I work on a job as an assistant, and we have a 3rd or 4th who is green right out of school, it drives me crazy! They have no idea what is going on, and I or my second will have to stop what we are doing to help them. It doesn’t make the day easier (the only reason they are there) and we never hire them again.

I even feel a little bad for the first couple of photographers who hired me right out of school — and paid me! I would never hire someone right out of school. I would never hire someone I don`t know.

Yes, you could just burn a couple of bridges until you get the hang of it. Or you could come onto a set as an intern to get a feel for the chaos and for who does what, when and why. Then after a couple weeks you have a positive in, and a decent reputation.

Adam Voorhes
www.voorhes.com

 

If there’s heavy lifting, I want to be paid

Wow! I didn’t expect so many responses. I appreciate everything that everyone had to offer as advice. I haven’t actually assisted another professional, working photographer, but my schooling has been very thorough and I have used all kinds of equipment, including all the studio equipment. I feel that knowing how all the equipment works should mean something; but if I haven’t actually assisted a pro photographer. Is the experience I have meaningless when I go looking for work as an assistant?

I guess the thing is, I’ve been at least trying to do some photography professionally myself. I live in Los Angeles, so I can manage getting some work sometimes doing headshots for actors or shooting live shows for musicians. I’d like to get into more areas of photography (especially commercial photography) and just feel that seeing how other photographers work would really help me — especially with the business side. I read these threads all the time, and there’s still so much that I’m having trouble with truly understanding; I need to see what people are writing about.

But I do feel that if I’m going to do work for someone and schlep all their equipment around, I should get paid for it. I was sort of shocked that so many people suggested working for free, and sometimes I think I’m crazy when I ask for money for work, but isn’t that the nature of work? I want to thank Leslie for making me feel not so crazy about it.

I read everyone complaining in these threads about those photographers who work for small amounts of money and how that’s ruining business for the rest of you — but you don’t realize those photographers are us. We want to be paid for the work we do, yet at the same time, no one talks about how much money one should get for a particular type of job. So if we can get $400 to do a shoot for one day, we’re ecstatic. If we were able to even get $150 to assist a pro photographer and learn the ropes, including the business side, I think in the long run it would be worth it for everyone. But if we’re not getting paid for all that manual, back-breaking labor, I know I’d just eat it up and shoot a wedding for $800. Students are poor!

But the advice otherwise that you all gave was helpful. I guess I’ll probably just email some photographers and offer to assist them and see who asks for a resume. Finally, I guess I should join APA/LA, and then maybe I can go to the next meeting. Thank you all.

Sreedevi

 

It goes way beyond what you know

I’m a photographer who has assistants fresh out of school, armed with portfolios, calling every week. I was once one of them myself, doing the exact same thing.

What is being an assistant?

With some exceptions (and I’m sure that there are more around the entire photo world), I’ve not hired an assistant right out of school that could light a shot in their own book again, if a client were standing there looking at their watch and yelling that this needs to be done faster! The most amazing assistants I’ve seen are the ones who shine the brightest when things begin to work unlike you planned. But you get the point.

So does that mean that one should go work for free for a long time to learn it? I don’t think so, but I will say that in fields such as accounting, nursing, computer technology, etc., people get out of school with most of the knowledge that they need to jump right into work and make a competitive salary, with merit-based financial rewards. To get in with a well known photographer may be through taking a 6-month or 12-month internship. But most of the working people that I know just need to know that you can hit the ground running, and if they were impressed, would often not let you work again without compensation.

I guess it comes down to balance: getting quickly paid what you’re worth (which can only be determined though seeing you on set or through very trusted recommendations), and quickly proving that you’re worth it compared to other assistants charging what you charge. This is often proved in the less-than-ideal situations in which there is no substitute for having done things over and over and over. And most noticeable above all of this is the attitude with which it’s all done. Photographers are trusting their living to you, as one day you will entrust to your assistants.

David Johnson
www.davidjohnsonphoto.com

 

Orientation session reduces the risk

Imagine a multi-location shoot, with several people from agency and several people from client in attendence. Add in talent and stylists, location fees, props… I’m sure you get the picture by now. Potential expense from serious error could easily hit five figures and cost the photographer a client and perhaps reputation — at which point photographer might have to resort to flipping burgers!

That being said, I always pay assistants. When someone has impressed me enough to hire them, I set up an appointment for them a couple of days before the shoot. They receive a two- to three-hour orientation from me (or another assistant I use) on my lighting gear, computers, set etiquette, etc. (Cameras are not covered at this time, you won’t be touching them for a while.) I, or my assistant, is donating this time to the newbie for training. Obviously, this training is unpaid, and is really only a basic introduction so the newbie has a foundation to begin working from and doesn’t feel completely lost on the first job. Also, any new assistant is only introduced to work on simpler jobs, ie: a few corporate headshots, or gaskets shot on white background. If he or she survives those jobs, they are put on my call list for assistants.

Someone else expressed concern about not knowing how to light a set. Don’t worry about it. Your portfolio should indicate to me that you have some understanding of the princples of lighting; learn and get confident handling my lighting gear. You will learn something new about lighting every time you go out. Unless you work for a photographer full time or repeatedly as a free lancer for a couple of years, you will never “light” anything for them except in setting up lights exactly where and with the modifcations specified by the photographer.

Jon Lisbon
www.photografis.com

 

You have to ‘pay your dues’

Remember that even the most experienced assistants started out with no real-world experience on their first job, so the answer to your first question is “no.” You can successfully start assisting with or without any photographic experience and with or without any formal photography training. The same is true of becoming a professional photographer. Some of the famous photographer’s names mentioned earlier in this thread have no formal photography training and/or no experience as a photographer’s assistant. In photography, being good at sales, relationships, and business is more important to your success than your training, experience, or even talent. The same is true of assisting.

I landed my first assisting job by asking one of my teachers, and a successful commercial photographer where I live, if I could borrow his Fuji 6x17 for two weeks in exchange for assisting him for two days. It wasn’t cash money, but the fair market value of the rental gave me an assisting “day rate” of $245. The highest assisting rate that I know of where I live is $200. In addition, he liked my work, so he lets me use his name when I apply to assist for other photographers.

In my experience the characteristics that will help you most obtaining and retaining photographers to assist are:

Keep in mind that a person’s photography, and their success as a photographer, is closely tied to that person’s ego and self esteem. Add to that the fact that most photographers that are still in business had to pay a high price in terms of time, effort, skill, and some luck to be successful. Many photographers feel that they have paid their dues and they expect young photographers to do the same. So don’t be surprised when some of them ask you to do things that you feel are beneath your level as a photographer or as an assistant. Just smile and do the job.

The thing that helped me the most in learning how to assist (and how not to assist) was hiring my own assistants for my own jobs, especially for out of town travel assignments. There’s nothing like being in a third floor studio and finding that a battery just died, and having your assistant ask you (the photog) if you wouldn’t mind bringing her up a soda on your way back from the equipment trailer. At that point I would have paid her to not be my assistant any more.

Three good references that I haven’t yet seen posted here are the APA “The Assistant’s Manual” , the book “The Photographer’s Assistant” by John Kieffer, and the Assistant Gallery on the Mamiya website.

You seem to value your time as an assistant and want to be paid fairly for your time, expertise, and grunt work, but then you say you’ll shoot a wedding for $800 with the justification that students are poor. Of course you can charge whatever you wish, but you’d be a lot less poor if you charged $1,600 (or $2,400) for that wedding. At $800 you are likely taking away a job from a professional wedding photographer that could have hired you as an assistant. Can you afford to hire an assistant at your assisting day rate if you are only charging $800 for a wedding?

Daniel Katzenberger
www.k-usa.com

 

Checklist of tips

Adding to Dan’s list of assistant characteristics, here’s a list of tips I posted on EP last year (with some additions):

Steven Noreyko
www.stevennoreyko.com

 

The one that got away

I spent a good amount of time working as an assistant in the 1970s and 1980s in New York, both on-staff and freelance, and this is how I went about looking for work.

First I found the photographers whose work I most admired; then I called them asking for a job interview. Is it really that simple? Well, yes, it is.

You’re going to have to do some research. Likely starting points are Workbook, Blackbook, etc. Look at pictures, see who’s doing what YOU want to do when you grow up, and call them.

I didn’t get what I wanted right away; it took some time. But once I had the right experience and developed both skills and a reputation as a great assistant, I was writing my own ticket. I worked every day; I worked for the people I wanted to work for; I turned away everyone I’d never heard of or had no interest in working for. I only made one mistake.

When I started out, I wanted to work for Richard Avedon. I called his studio manager for an appointment and had an interview with him (never saw Avedon) and I was put on the waiting list. In the meantime, I landed a job assisting another photographer, then another.

After three years in the biz, I began freelancing as an assistant, started making some serious money. The phone rings; it’s Avedon’s studio manager: A job opened up for a third assistant; would I like it?

Sure, I reply, and how much does it pay?

Pay??? You want to get paid???? He’s astounded, and we agree that I won’t take the job.

Big mistake!

I’d love to know what was going on behind those doors, and I should have moved into some low-rent cellar somewhere and eaten only canned tuna to be able to afford to work for free at Avedon’s studio (at least for a few months) if that’s what it was gonna take. Sadly, the opportunity didn’t come around again. I missed it.

Fast forward to the here and now…

What I look for in an assistant (besides the usual: redcap service; good attitude; hunger to learn the biz; watch lights flashing; timely reloading; etc.), and what I want most, is an awareness of “what comes next.” This is something too many asistants don’t exhibit, and it’s a crucial skill. Knowing what comes next keeps an assistant the proverbial “step ahead of me,” and it’s often what separates the men from the boys (that’s just an expression; I hire women too) in the assistant biz.

You can only acquire this awareness from shooting your own pictures, and I can usually tell in the first ten minutes of a shoot if the assistant has it or not and if I’ll be hiring him/her again. So, while assisting, don’t neglect shooting your own pictures. It’ll serve you well.

Then there’s the question: What’s a fair salary?

Currently, I’m paying between $175 and $250 per day to the freelance assistants I’m working with. The higher-priced assistants are the most experienced AND the most on-top-of-things when on set — and experience doesn’t necessarily put you in that class. Working every day doesn’t make you a great assistant. Intuition, knowledge of the process and anticipating (and being ready for) the next move is what makes a great assistant. I’ve seen some really experienced but lousy assistants. I only want to hire assistants who are like I was when I had that job.

(I’m sorry to whine that great assistants are few and far between, and I’m sorry if you get the impression that my ego is over-inflated when it comes to my own career as an assistant, but there are some subscribers to this forum who knew me when and can vouch for my claim: At the time, I was one of the best assistants in New York, period.)

But back to working for free: I turned away an opportunity to work (for free) for one of the greatest photographers ever to live, and I regret it to this very day. Of course, hindsight is always 20/20.

Joe Pobereskin
http://pobereskin.com