Today I am going to share with you how to find associate photographers. We will go over what to look for and where to find them.
I feel like at Amanda Rai photography, we have a very unique and special approach to finding associates. We don’t scour Facebook groups and have posts with “ISO associate photographer” or we don’t ever look for second shooters, we never have to panic and search for associate shooters or second shooters at all.
That’s the beauty of having a team you never have to worry about where you’re going to find your associate shooters where you’re going to find your second shooters. You just have a team and a pool of people that you love and trust to pull from.
Where to Start
So what we like to do at Amanda Rai Photography when we are in need of hiring an associate photographer is we will first put out the listing to our social network. This could be social media, this could be your email list, this could be word of mouth.
However, you can get the word out to your social network that you are interested in hiring somebody. That is the first step and as you tell people that you’re interested in hiring somebody you really need to be specific on what kind of person you’re looking for, and what kind of skills you want them to have.
Here at Amanda Rai photography, we do not care if these people have no photography experience. In fact, it is almost better if they don’t have any photography experience. We do not care if they’ve never picked up a camera.
That is not what we’re looking for.
What to Look For
So what are we looking for when trying to figure out how to find associate photographers? What we’re looking for is someone who has good character.
So how do you find someone who has good character? How do you know if someone has good character? That’s where your social network comes in.
If you have someone that you know and trust and they know and trust someone else, there’s like a transfer of trust there where you can have that person vouch for that potential associates care.
So we put the blast out there that we are looking for somebody who has a servant heart who is joyful, who loves to be a part of something bigger, who wants to have fun, who maybe is a little bit creative, who is excited about learning and growing with a team.
Intake Questionnaire
From there people will reach out that they are interested we usually have a questionnaire a little intake form that just asks a few questions.
This is the form that we use initially just to kind of get people’s information if they’re interested in applying for the position.
Application Forms
After people have filled out this intake form then we will send out an email with the applications.
We will send out an email that has like a PDF of the job descriptions so they kind of know what they’re getting into what the job actually will entail. And we actually never hire associate photographers.
We only hire assistant photographers, so they can become assistants with a Amanda Rai Photography and then they can grow to be an associate photographer.
That way we know that these photographers will have a good standing character and that they’ll be excellent photographers by the time that we are sending them to be leaves shooters at our couples weddings.
The email will give that PDF that job description and we’ll say we would love for you to apply and then we have a little bit of a more in depth questionnaire and then we ask for references we asked for them to write a personal mission statement.
Interview Process
Once I get all of those applications, I will read them and then from there I will select the people who I would like to do a quick little zoom interview. I will go into more depth with my interview process in a future post!
Final Thoughts
So to answer the question, how to find associate photographers, it’s really this long game. You really have to be patient you have to be able to invest in somebody and teach them and train them on how to be a photographer.
We find people out there who may want to be a part of something maybe they want to be a part of a team and they are looking for an exciting side gig. You know these people are not professional photographers. They are usually people who are professionals in the workforce. Maybe like a teacher, a guidance counselor, a behavior therapist even stay at home moms and we give them this opportunity to make additional income and be a part of something bigger and be a part of our team. Then we take the time to train them.
It could take up to six months before they become assistant photographers. And then from there they can grow. I hope this was helpful and helping you dream and really start to think about building that associate team to scale your business.
I do have a freebie for you that answers some of those top burning questions that you might have.
I’m so excited to share and really reveal what we do here and what’s been working for us so I’m rooting for you and I’ll see you next time.
More Resources:
HOW TO START AN ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHY TEAM
