Need some advice on a job

Disaster_Area

Disaster_Area

Gadget Monger
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Dec 12, 2007
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So I've been asked to shoot a charity benefit for a local non-profit. This is going to be a fancy wine and cheese tux and gown affair with a fairly big budget. They're not offering to pay much, unfortunately, as a friend of mine works for them and suggested me... and I think they expect a friend discount. I can tell it will cause my friend no end of grief if I ditch out on the job (his boss has a loose grasp of reality ;) and basically expected me to do the job as soon as my friend recommended me.

I usually wouldn't mind doing this on the cheap for an NPO, but now I find out they want me to take notes and get the names of everyone I take pictures of... for 3 hours... is this normal?... the way they asked me it seemed like they where taking it as given that I'd be doing this. I've never heard of this. I've been asked to get shots of a short list of "celebs" at an event, but never to get EVERYBODYS names... it seems excessive, and daunting. What do you think?
 
I feel bad for my friend... he really didn't mean to put me in this situation... he thought he was doing me a favour as knowing what the budget for the event was, he thought they would offer a LOT more than they did, and he didn't know they'd be asking for this much work... he figured three hours of photo-journalist style candids.
 
If you are desperately trying to drum up some new business and contacts, bite the bullet and do it...but if you don't really need the work that badly, tell 'em it will cost them a lot more to do the kind of thing they're talking about. Or insist they pay for an assistant, too.
 
The "new" normal?

The "new" normal?

For a commercial job of this type this is not normal. If I shoot a party such as the one you describe, a car rally or even a wedding, I am not asked to get the names. If it is for a newspaper, obviously names are needed but it usually involves only a few shots.

What I have done on occasion is to ask for someone to be available to point out to me who is important. Maybe the organization can provide a volunteer -- or spring for some money -- to assist you and take names, It is most unfair to expect an event photographer to do that. You not only have to provide names but write captions.

Is there any reason why cannot identify the people after they received the images?
 
If this isn't your specialty then say this isn't my area of work and you would be better served with another photographer. I do exclusively corporate advertising and from time to time clients ask about portraits of family and weddings. I politely say this isn't in my area and I'm not comfortable doing this kind of work. I then make a referral to a friend who does this for a living. It gets me off the hook and no feelings are hurt and my clients/ friends feel I have their best interests in mind. Another consideration is your competence in this kind of work no matter the fee. If you botch the job whether free or at a high rate then you assume liability for any missed shots or anything they find fault with. Are you willing to take a risk? In this kind of situation I find expectations to be beyond reality and the pay to be at the other extreme. Over my career I have adopted rules that I almost never break. I do not shoot weddings, funerals, family portraits and work for my family (one exception) and rarely shoot for non corporate clients. With the exception of shooting some work for my brother I never do work for individuals. Everytime I have broken these rules I have regretted it.
 
I do feel comfortable shooting this kind of event, I've done it in the past a fair amount, it's the whole "writing down everyones name" that has me nervous. I think I'll just politely tell them this is not standard practice and if they have a few specific individuals that need shots that's fine, but I won't take notes the whole night. I just wanted to see if this really was a standard practice... who knows... maybe I've been doing it wrong this whole time :) I mostly shoot for less formal organizations (though not less formal events)... so I thought maybe this is what the larger corporations expect.
 
Boss who 'expects' you do this because of your friend needs a lesson in reality. Tell him if the charity 'can't afford' to pay you properly he should feel free to make up the difference from his own pocket.
 
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Ask him for a realistic sum of money. Your not doing it for fun and hes not doing you a favour.

Ive done something like this with the names and captions and its a pain in the neck, and when you dont get it right or dont have a name for a shot, all you will get is grief out of proportion to the amount your being paid.
 
very difficult to get great shots and take notes of names at the same time like a reporter. Then you have to match it up good grief. I dont like it.

However, its a Golden Rule of business not to work for friends or family. This is potentially problem ridden. Based on this Id dodge (no pun intended) the opportunity.
 
yeah... I'm going to do my best to dodge it, without getting my friend in someones bad books... at the very least I'm going to put my foot down on the names thing, waaaaay too much and yeah... I think it will majorly cramp my shooting style.
 
Best then to hire a photo student to take the names, give them shot numbers, tell them to write them down left to right consistently. Young women tend to be more conscientious than young men, better socially too. Lol. Charm makes everything much easier. If you don't have the names, don't give them the pics, getting the names is why they want the pics. Donors want to recognized for their good 'works' and the nice parties they go to. That's why the charity has the party.

Pain in the ass, wonder how much the cheese cost?
 
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Disaster_Area said:
I do feel comfortable shooting this kind of event, I've done it in the past a fair amount, it's the whole "writing down everyones name" that has me nervous. I think I'll just politely tell them this is not standard practice and if they have a few specific individuals that need shots that's fine, but I won't take notes the whole night. I just wanted to see if this really was a standard practice... who knows... maybe I've been doing it wrong this whole time :) I mostly shoot for less formal organizations (though not less formal events)... so I thought maybe this is what the larger corporations expect.
Click to expand...

Over the years I have attended a fair number of similar functions as a guest. There are two photographers here in Toronto who seem to do most of them. One is a husband and wife team and the other is celebrity oriented.

None of these people take names at these functions. The photos go to the hosts or organizers and they usually send them out to guests -- especially if they are shown with anyone more famous than they are.

You will go totally nuts trying to write down the names from left to right. You will miss shots and go even more nuts trying to match the pix up with the captions.
 
It's actually not unheard of for black tie events. I've done something similar in the past. This is what I've done (of course there are other ways to do this).

Set up somewhere near the main entrance where wll guests will have to enter. You set up lights, a backdrop, etc... and shoot a DSLR tethered to a laptop. Since it is a charity benefit, all guests will be more than happy to pose as they enter. Take down their names as you take their initial photo.

Then you can pretty much roam around during the rest of the event and match those photos back to the entrance photos and names.

Of course this works better if you have a partner, so you can tag team the assignment, i.e., one photog at the entrance, the other as a roamer.

Good luck.

-Keith
 
Whatever you choose to do, write the particulars in a brief contract and have it signed by the one who will pay you. People take my work much more seriously when I do this.
 
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