Proud Photography Blog

Every Photographer at some point will need the support of his or her team.  This could be your assistant or a technician, it could be a make up artist or a hairdresser, and it could be your models or your agent.  Being someone that people want to work with, works in your favor because with a good reputation, you will be hired again and again.

Here are some tips on working with your colleagues.

1.    Communicate

At the end of the day everyone, including photographers will have different personalities.  Some people are more outgoing and friendly (this is a plus) but some people are quieter and shy. Some people are more likely to bark orders and get results this way, some people are softly spoken and speak to individuals.
Whatever your style is, remember that it’s important to get your message across to the right person at the right time.

As the photographer you tend to be in charge of a shoot.  This means that you need to take control of the situation and make sure people know what they are doing.  You could communicate well for example, by getting the groups together in the beginning and making sure people know what their jobs are.

You must make sure that you communicate throughout the shoot, which means updating people throughout the day on what is happening what is going right and what is going wrong.  There’s no point being too shy or not directing people because that is what they expect from the photographer.

2.    Be Transparent

When dealing with colleagues before, during or after a shoot it’s important to be honest and work in a transparent way.

For example, if things need improving in a shoot then you have to be able to tell your colleagues in a tactful way that things need to be changed.  If there is a problem before the shoot, such as during the booking stage or if you have hired too many people and need to get rid of one person then you need to be fair and honest with the person you are rejecting.

3.    Be Supportive

Being patient is important when working with a team.  If you are dealing with people who are inexperienced and are unsure of themselves, their confidence will not be boosted if you are also clueless or if you tell them off.

The way to get the best performance from someone is to encourage them and be supporting without having to deal with any in depth issues (you are there to do a job after all).  Always offer words of support and make people feel like they can do their best on the job – models and assistants for example quite often benefit from this kind of encouragement.