Help Wanted - Photographer Needed
My goal is to build a great photographic team. A team with very little turnover. A dependable team. A respected team. I am in need of a full time photographer, T-F 9-5, and weddings on weekends.
One associate photographer is needed and will be provided with a desk, an Apple workstation, phone, Solaris email address, business cards, and access to a complete Nikon camera system with backup equipment to photograph their weddings with. Associates will be paid $1000 per wedding photographed. I estimate that with our current marketing plans in place, an associate will be able to photograph 25 – 30 weddings a year, however this number could be higher or lower. There is just no way of knowing. Obviously though, it is in the best interest of Solaris Studios to keep their photographers shooting as much as possible. Once an associate has achieved two years of services he or she will be offered a percentage of the wedding albums sold from their weddings as further incentive / advancement.
Please continue reading if you are interested in the position....
Before you are an Associate Photographer at Solaris you are a Second Shooter, and before you are a Second Shooter you are an Assistant, and even if you have shot hundreds of weddings in the past, you will be required to go through the motions to ensure that you will be a good fit. How long this takes is partly up to you and your abilities. Because the pay for an Assistants position or a Second Shooter’s position pays much less than an Associates position, you will not be expected to work during the week, except for Friday night weddings. During the individual interviews I will require a resume and a portfolio. An application / questioner will also need to be completed.
The Assistant will first be expected to assist me (imagine that) at a minimum of five weddings, mostly observing and carrying equipment, until I feel that he or she is ready to pick up a camera. This introductory time frame will allow me to educate and also observe the assistant’s professionalism, promptness, and sense of urgency.
Once the stage of Assistant has been accomplished, you will then become a Second Shooter for a number of weddings. Once I feel that your work and professionalism as a second shooter warrants being seen on the Solaris Website and earns the respect of our clients, then you will begin to photograph your own weddings under the Solaris brand.
Education is a high priority for me, and I will make it a high priority for my Associates as well. Solaris will purchase annual memberships for Associates with the Professional Photographers Guild of Houston and the Professional Photographers of America. Associates will be expected to enter in monthly print competitions with the PPGH and nationally held print competitions with the PPA.
Further expectations of Assistants and Associates: Assistants and Associates of Solaris will be expected to participate in all bridal shows that Solaris attends. An Associate must be available on the same day of each week to meet with potential wedding clients. An associate must be able to photograph weddings Thursday through Sunday. Associates may be asked to travel so a passport will be required if such a situation arises but is not necessary for the interview process.
