Have you ever been a second shooter for another photographer?

Or have you ever hired another photographer to shoot with you?

What is a ballpark hourly pay range? Looking through previous posts, I see it varies greatly by area and by job duties.

Here's the situation. I know another wedding photographer through local meetings. She is more established than I am. We have talked about business, marketing and our schedules. She asked if I would be interested in working for her. I told her that I would be glad to work dates that I didn't already have clients booked.

She called and left a message that she has an wedding in one week and wants me to shoot it with her. We missed each other by phone, so I emailed my questions regarding the job description, details of the wedding, do I shoot with my equipment or hers, compensation, etc. The result was her studio manager responding with a contract for me to sign.

The pay listed in the contract is $15 per hour!!! I'm insulted. That is about what I pay my teenage babysitter.

I don't want to offend her, but that is not what I expected. I have worked for as little as $25 (15 years ago shooting pictures of events for someone else) to $100 (shooting medical video footage for someone else). When I shoot weddings for my own business, packages start at $1900. I shoot portraits for a minimum of $48/half hour to a max of $150/hour for location portriats.

Can you give me a ballpark for an hourly rate for a second shooter for a wedding? I realize that this question could be answered better if I had details of what she wants me to do. However, I would like your opinion before I call her. What I do know is that I have no rights to the images. So, what I would be getting is the experience of working with her and the pay.

Thanks

i would say that second shooter rates are from $150 -500 for a full day. There is a huge defference in pricing. I would not work for her if i were you.

There's no way she can pay you what it is really worth. I think you need to come up with a reciprocal relationship - where you shoot for each other - and pay each other a flat fee of $100 or so just to cover gas, etc.

I know around here the going rate starts at 250 for the day. A lot of us photogs help each other out and either start at that price or we trade, you shoot for me I shoot for you. That works out really well.

Thanks for the quick responses. She is not one of the photographers that I could have a reciprocal arrangement with... although I agree that it is a great idea with the right person. She is busy and makes considerably more money per wedding than I do.

Shoot one or two with her at that rate. Let her see that you are talented and capable ... she might start sending brides your way when she is already booked. Counldn't hurt. PLUS, its very unlikely that you would book a wedding for next weekend between now and then, right?

Hi, Ethan, $15/hr is an insult. She values your work less than most non-shooting assistant. I would NEVER work under those conditions. After all, she is making plenty of profit even she pay you a decent day rate. You will be better of to shoot for Bella (I don’t do that either) on the days you are not booked. Ben

VA 300-600 a day.

You need to figure out what it's worth for YOU... is it worth giving up a free weekend for $15/hr? My guess is not... I know I get few enough Saturdays to spend with my family that I'd say no in a heartbeat.

Thanks, everyone. Your input helped me weigh it out. I contacted her to tell her that I was surprised to see that $ amount since we had never discussed compensation and was not able to work on those terms. She didn't seem happy, but understands.

Thanks, again, for helping me know that this was not a good match.