I have a buddy that is shooting a pretty big wedding in september. He has asked me to second shoot..
I have a few questions. But the first and most important is how much is a fair price to charge for this?
Ask him what he's willing to pay. How much experience with weddings do you have? What will you be doing? shooting? moving gear? How much does he normally pay 2nd shooters? What's the going rate in your neck of the woods? Will you have rights to use your images in your portfolio?
Not getting answers to such questions is a good way to make your buddy into an ex-buddy.
I have a buddy that is shooting a pretty big wedding in september. He has asked me to second shoot..
I have a few questions. But the first and most important is how much is a fair price to charge for this?
Ask him what he's willing to pay. How much experience with weddings do you have? What will you be doing? shooting? moving gear? How much does he normally pay 2nd shooters? What's the going rate in your neck of the woods? Will you have rights to use your images in your portfolio?
Not getting answers to such questions is a good way to make your buddy into an ex-buddy.
good questions. which is why i love this website... :)
I don't really know how to get the answer to the question about average price of second shooter in my neck of the woods though...I don't think just calling up the local studios and asking would get me an answer. any ideas?
I do know that this is HIS first big wedding..that he needed a second shooter for. Mostly he has been shooting smaller weddings.
this will be my first wedding. I am going to take on a few jobs as second shooter before I branch into this kind of photography on my own. :)
I have a buddy that is shooting a pretty big wedding in september. He has asked me to second shoot..
I have a few questions. But the first and most important is how much is a fair price to charge for this?
Ask him what he's willing to pay. How much experience with weddings do you have? What will you be doing? shooting? moving gear? How much does he normally pay 2nd shooters? What's the going rate in your neck of the woods? Will you have rights to use your images in your portfolio?
Not getting answers to such questions is a good way to make your buddy into an ex-buddy.
good questions. which is why i love this website... :)
I don't really know how to get the answer to the question about average price of second shooter in my neck of the woods though...I don't think just calling up the local studios and asking would get me an answer. any ideas?
I do know that this is HIS first big wedding..that he needed a second shooter for. Mostly he has been shooting smaller weddings.
this will be my first wedding. I am going to take on a few jobs as second shooter before I branch into this kind of photography on my own. :)
I'd still just ask him what he was thinking about paying. Negotiate from there.
I think I got about $50 second shooting my 1st wedding, that was in 1993. I didn't get any of the images for my portfolio either, which I regret because I captured several unique shots.
$25/hour if you use your own gear. You are responsible to deliver the RAW after tossing out the bad ones (blinks, missed focus, etc). Use of your images by you is negotiable -mostly how you use them (no web or direct mail as we don't use the same wedding in our ads, but prints, albums are fine)
This will vary tremendously from area to area, photog to photog.
Start with a base pay of say $150 - $300 depending on how long the shoot will be and if you will be doing any editing. Take less if he is willing to teach you editing, lighting, or camera skills.
Make a deal with him. Kinda like a bonus plan. If your pics sell good you get a little more if they don't then it hasn't cost him any extra.
Ask for full rights to your top 10 pics and limited rights to the rest.
If the B&G want enlargements or extras (of your top 10) you split profit 75% you 25% him. Go 10/90 or 20/80 for the rest. It's a no risk + reward setup.
I helped as a 2nd shooter for free, with rights to use my images in my portfolio, to get some experience before I started shooting on my own.
I paid $50 to my assistant (with no experience) the first wedding or two and then increased from there, maxing out at about $150.
Of course all of this also depends on what your buddy can afford to pay. Just getting experience can be invaluable, especially if you have never shot a wedding.
I just turned down a non-shooting wedding assistant gig for $200. I'd ask for a lot more as a second shooter. But we're in different markets, so can't really say what a good rate for you would be.
