Event Photographers needed for Night Life in Atlanta, GA. Must have DSLR Camera, frame, external flash and diffuser for optimal images. Must be over 21, must have own transportation and flexible schedule preferred.

Knowledge of important Notables in the Hip/Hop community a plus.

Pay is $50 per Event/Party, networking opportunities availible.

email- george@alltheparties.com

Phone-770-873-3716

In other words....a "camera man". as those night club patrons would call me.

oh the days of the "Moet" bottle or "Tupac" airbrushed on a sheet as a backdrop,the cheap cardboard frame and the one and only Polariod Instant 600...those where the days. then along came digital.

But your right about the equipment you listed for the job,diffuser is a MUST and a decent flash.

Easy Money.

Most club photography has very low standards, but I set the bar high. Actually, one of my competitors set it high for Atlanta I just try to maintain that level.

"Easy money"? $50 for the length of the party, plus how much time for prepping images? Or is that the organizer's responsibility? Some of these parties last as long as wedding receptions and are a lot more labor-intensive and random.

How much "Event Shooting" do you do in (urban) Clubs Mr McG?

That $50 is guaranteed, free-lance at that same event might only make $10-20 for the night.

Its not the photogs responsibility to prep images for this event, and if the photog is working on his own, he has only time to take ,at a max, two to three photos, and he better get those right under constantly changing lighting conditions, then Print,frame and deliver the image to the patron in under 15 Min's, and that's a 4x6.

But back to the OP, this is Easy money, maybe not the hundreds that "pros" expect,( unless your lucky enough to catch someone in a compromising position, but then the image isn't legally yours) plus it makes you nothing more than papparazi.

But for what is required, $50 is easy guaranteed money...Gas in my Jag and Mountain Dew in my frig. :-)

And the network connections can lead to bigger opportunity if you catch the right celeb at the right moment.

I gotta agree with Mike here, while I havent shot "urban" events I have shot events for big business and yes it's A LOT of work. Just as much as any wedding I have ever shot.

Now if what you say is true about the photographer not being responsible for editing pics, etc, then I guess $50 isn't really all that bad for pushing a button... IF the drinks and women are free =) lol.

LOL....Women yes,Drinks...rarely...LOL!

Mike,

I agree with you, I don't care if the photographer is not responsible after the shot and just gives them to someone else to process. I guess the pay standard is lower in Atlanta but I don't know why. Hell the use of the camera, the charging of the batteries and gas to get to the venue.

What kind of profit are you working with. Three or four hours work, sorry just does not seem worth it. But then again some of us have done many things for free, I know I have.

George

From what Ive seen, Some of you are comparing High-end, gala "party" shoots and such with the totally different environment on an Urban night club (every weekend) with a free lance photog.

You cant.

I have photographed in clubs for 4 years, contract and free lance,and that $50 is profit.

things you haven't considered, You don't have to "pay in to the club"

or give part of your earnings to them at the end of the night.

Gas? Batteries? mute points.

All you are doing is shooting,it may take 30 mins,you may stay for 4 hours, doesn't matter.

Read the OP or follow the link to the site hes talking about.

$50 may not be much to those of you who make $1000 per shoot at High End parties and events...(but you dont shoot in Clubs.)

But I would not turn it down.

Diffrent strokes....

Are you asking because there is some you know here in Atlanta thats interested?

Thank you for providing so much feedback and you are exactly right on every point, except I don't ask Photogs to stay more than about 2 hours. The great thing about this opportunity is it weekly and depending on the demand you can work as many nights as you want.

More importantly is the hours never interfere with any other projects you may have.

Last year, I hired people to work as photographers, photographing fans at the baseball games for $10/hour, 5 hours a game, as many games per month that they could work. The home games averaged about 15 games per month.

I just got my 1099, I made over the course of the season 9K+ for doing that work. Still had time and opportunity for my other photography work. (now of course, my pay was higher as I was the "manager/supervisor")

As the digital saturation of photography continues, we are going to see 2 trends, very low pay for hourly work and very high end pay for specialized work, most of the photography for pay is going to be in the low end markets.

Oliver

(ps, I will be hiring for the 2010 season, soon)

Somebody said I was comparing the $50 of "easy money" to gala affairs. Well, not unless high school dances are gala affairs. You can clear hundreds of dollars per night at those, sometimes more.

A softball or Little League game can provide $200-500 in lots of suburban communities. Work out a deal with the league and shoot an "action" shot of each player. One photographer here charged $50 per "poster" print, which was a PS template where he plugged in a headshot, an "action" shot and one other misc. shot of the kid. He typically sold 10 to 15 per game he "covered."

There's easy money out there. It's boring and tedious money, but it's a lot easier than $50 to spend the night in a club, trying to hold a camera steady while people bump into you.

Mr McG, I didn't say You were comparing it to gala affairs, I said the $50 was easy money for the work.

Maybe not for you or others who shoot at a different level than me.

But I do know about shooting in clubs, heck I will even go so far as to say something I have NEVER said on this site...I will call myself a "professional" when it comes to shooting in clubs.

There are many aspects to that gig that you may not have considered.

Maybe not easy to you,but cake to me. (and many others.)

Good for you. If it makes you happy, that's all that matters. I just wanted to put the comments folks have been offering into some perspective. I've just found that the connections I ever made in clubs didn't matter so much the next day when the hangovers set in.

I've been seeing ads along the lines of this on the New Orleans Craigslist lately. My general reaction is that I get a pretty good chuckle out of them.

From the perspective of an inexperienced photog with minimal gear and little, if any client book, maybe this is good pay. To anyone else, its not.

The "meet a celeb" aspect of it is also not worth much. Its also one of the most misused "come-ons" in the business. Entertainers get on stage, work (yes, its about the work), get off stage and get lost. They deal with people trying to "get next to them" day in and day out and most conciously avoid such situations. How do I know this? Because I worked in the music and movie businesses for about ten years.

Sorry, but I wouldn't put down a bag of Doritos for this offer and I'm a long damn way from being "all that." I'm not saying this to be a smartass - just providing a bit of a reality check.

It's 7:38 am in the morning which is why I am actually posting this..... (I can't believe I am doing this!!!!)

What the OP was about is just shooting random shots... Why? Because they want to use the photos to get even more people out there. (Mostly guys) What they are offering is $200 per month tax free in most cases which to the person who is sitting at home rubbing his camera wishing that a great gig would come up so he can make the payment on the credit card that he bought the camera with...

If you want the extra $2400 per year, meet some females who think they want to model, (For some, how many phone numbers you can get.) , this would seem to be a pretty sweet deal. Till you realize that the guy who is shooting against the backdrop over in the corner is taking home $800-$1200 per night 3 nights a week and you wake up and realize that you've been had.....

Think about it, the print on the spot guy is making in one weekend the same amount of cheese that you make in a year! And guess what! He gets the same phone numbers that you do but on top of that they have a picture that he gets paid for... Guess what??? You won't think about it until you see the backdrop guy roll up with a top of the line Nikon or Canon just so he can show it to you as you watch him put back in the bag and pull out an XT or a D40 to shoot this stuff...

Granted $50 per week maybe gas money, but if you are looking for it to be a stepping stone, then you'd better take the time to network rather than just enjoying the view...

Good points Randall....except He is paying that club to set up his backdrop,printers and lights, and at a large club,The photog has an assistant, More money out.

He is also going to have to cut in to "$800-$1200 per night" for the club management/owner.They wont let him shoot for free. Space is at a premium in all clubs. Oh lets not talk about the ever present threat of a fight, guess who's XT or D40 gets trashed? Also most clubs have the same Clientele EVERY weekend, they don't get Pics every weekend, Ive seen a club full of people and not one bought a pic.

As i said, I have been shooting in clubs for a while,and Yes,you made some good points, Let the Photog in the "corner" do his thing, Because your not in competition with him, If you want to do that, and put the time,energy and money into it,go for it.

That $50 is guaranteed....the Photog in the corner may do better,or may not.

Gary... Hate to break this to you but the $800-$1200 is his take home after he pays out... You don't believe me? I know several who do and one in particular who is just a hired gun... and he gets minimum $200 per night... and they are operating 3 nights per week. If you are at a jumping spot like ATL for you to make less than $1200 means you are slacking...

If you have a club with a 1000 people in it you should be able to gross $2k $200 for the rent $200 for the help and $200 for ink and paper still leaves you $1400...

You set aside another $100 per night for replacement printers and $100 for just in case you still have $1200 and that is in one night!... If you can maintain those numbers you are looking at close to $100k per year.... not bad for a "side hustle"

Now if you live in a smaller market, the numbers are going to be scaled down of course so ... be advised to all that read this... Don't think you are going to go into a club that holds 200 people and think you are going to make the same money...

Randall...Your key phrase: ( If you can maintain those numbers) :-)

Yes,it depends on the market, And that market is fickle, your examples are for a very,very small percentage of event/club photogs.

There is no guarantee of that amount, made over those three nights in that club. the club business has ups and downs. And yes,a club may be packed to capacity the first couple of months,then have a really dead weekend or week(s)... ,$800-$1200 a week, that's the exception,not the rule.

Add in the current economic climate, competition from other clubs and other photogs ( And I never give much credit to what other photogs tell me they make at clubs...why risk being undercut with someone with the same equipment?) or its a set-up to keep you out of the way.

And of course,the more exclusive the club,the harder it is to gain a foot-hold (How well do you know management/owners)

But Your right,some photogs will make a good amount in certain clubs that can support that,the vast majority will not.