Timing is everything

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I talk with a lot of new aspiring photographers, working as photo assistants, either still in school, or working their tails off just trying to make ends meet, trying hard to get more work assisting and gain in experience. Most of the time, these guys and gals are real hungry. They’re wondering what they have to do to get consistent work. They’re discouraged by the lack of photographers and studio managers calling them with the next job. They’ll usually say that they’re out there, pounding the pavement, knocking on studio doors, making phone calls, and sending emails. They get a job here and there, but they expect to be working a lot more than they actually are. They just don’t understand it.

The biggest reason for this lack of work is that you are just experiencing a downturn in business within your community. The second reason is that most photographers have anywhere from one to five assistants that they use on a regular basis, with another ten or twenty qualified and eager assistants waiting in their files. Depending on how busy a photographer is and the size of the productions they usually work on will determine their assistants base. Your job, at this point, is to be patient, but stay on the radar with them. There will come a day when you will get a call from them looking for an assistant because the regulars they use are not available or they want to work some new blood into their studio. This will be your chance to get your foot in the door and do everything you can to get call-backs from this photographer.

In the meantime, I would suggest that you at least send an email every three to six weeks, just to stay under their nose. Be persistent, but don’t be a pest. Send a couple shots from your portfolio along with a friendly note stating your availability. You’d be amazed how this will eventually pay-off. Just the other week I received a call from a photographer that I’ve had a few phone conversations with over the years. They had a job and called because they had recently received an email from me and decided it was time to give me a shot.

After twelve years as a freelance assistant, I have sent thousands of email marketing campaigns to photographers and studios, all over the United States. I get some call backs, I get some work. I have slowly built a client base of photographers who use me regularly. I don’t always stay super busy myself, but I find that when that happens, I start my marketing cycle again and more work will follow.

These days, the economy is making things hard for everyone. Many ad agencies budgets are next to non-existent as businesses are experiencing such tough financial times that the advertising dollars are the first thing to get crunched. And, as much as I hate to say it, many photographers are losing work to stiff competition and low-bidders, because the client wants more for less these days. The digital revolution and tough economic times have combined to cause some serious waves in the way the photo industry does business. Many photographers, assistants, and other creatives are simply having to batten down the hatches and do their best to ride the storm out. The patient and resilient will do fine, as long as they remain resourceful and diligent in their efforts to determine how they will adapt to the changes on the horizon.

Please share your thoughts about how the economy is, or isn’t, affecting your work as a photographer or assistant in the comments below.