got my first assiting job...advice?

rampanthamster

rampanthamster

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hi all, managed (through a friend of a friend type situation) to get my first assisting job this week, for two days. It's pretty decent pay...which is to say i was pleasantly surprised when told how much i'd get and would certainly have done it for less!

any way...the guy has been a pro for 25 years and we're going to a large corporation in london to take staff portraits and some interior shots i think. Basically he's told me i'm there to carry his stuff and get coffee when he needs it etc but i'm wondering if anyone could offer some general advice on how i ought to approach the day, especially bearing in mind that this is something i'd love to get into full time (well, photography as opposed to assisting, but it's all a process i realise!).

Many thanks!
 
Nice one! Great in.

An assistant's job is to allow the photographer to concentrate on taking photographs, so your role is anything that he doesn't -need- to be doing really.

Carrying gear, setting up and adjusting lights, fetching coffee, acting as a lighting test standin, downloading cards, watching lights to check that everything's firing, making sure that everything is rigged safely - all comes under your remit.

I work with an assisting kit, usually just little bits and pieces to make me not just 'an assistant' but an 'assistant who's always got that one little thing that I needed' - eg several sizes of A clamps, clothes pegs, blu-tak, safety pins, several colours of tape, leatherman, spigot, usb key (preloaded with lightroom and photoshop 30 day trials just in case, and in a passworded folder, bank details and scans of my passport - just so I'm ready for if an international trip ever does come up ;) *keeps dreaming*), latex, cotton and rigger gloves, spirit level, lint roller, small mirror, pack of fuses (mains and blade fuses for profoto battery lights)....... Not saying you need this of course, but at least having a leatherman won't hurt :)

Other key things - don't show up the photographer in front of their client. They worked hard to get and keep that client, don't make them look unprofessional in front of them! If you notice that they've left the iso at 1600, or they've knocked a dial and they're overexposing everything, or a flash isn't firing, DISCRETELY let them know - don't go 'oh you numpty you've turned it to snowstorm ISO'....

Remember everyone's name and coffee order. Write it down if you need.

If you're not sure of how a light, or stand, or camera, or anything, works, ASK! far better a stupid question than a broken light or broken subject.

I generally don't sit down unless the photographer is too, ditto eating. Your job is to be ready.

There's some good resources here:
http://www.photosmudger.com/search/label/assisting
http://madphotoassistant.wordpress.com/ (caution: gets lighting geeky)
http://aphotoassistant.com/
http://www.mac-on-campus.com/CareerCenter/PhotoAssistantGuide.aspx

Tom does some neat assisting workshops at Calumet Drummond street, only £30 and worth a punt if you're interested in more assisting work :)
 
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