Sitting in the airport, waiting to fly into San Francisco airport. This is a huge accomplishment in the progress of my business and experience as a photographer. For the first time, I'm being paid, to travel to another city outside of my own to shoot content. It's a flat rate editorial, 5-8 page spread of fashion dealing with architecture and design of a newly remodeled house in the bay area that is owned by the vice president of a large, international bank. The magazine is new to the bay area but has establishment in others, this is a new market for them. They just had their 'launch' issue, but it didn't have any fashion / editorial content shot for it, it was supplied by 'national' coverage of events. All that means, is that I'm getting the first opportunity to have a spread in a new market that has yet to see a fashion spread by a photographer.
The editor of the new market is someone I've worked with before from a different city that the magazine is at and she took the job to move and expand this magazine, have more control over things. She's given me the opportunity to come out and shoot as well has meet some great people while doing it, she's been good to me; even if she is a little frazzled and is all over the place on details. She's a great person to work with and for that I have no problem living in the 'go-with-the-flow' attitude about a shoot, regardless of the prep time.
This shoot has ben 3 months in the making and from the first day the budget has changed 5 times, the page count has changed 7 times, the date has changed too many to count. What has been settled is that for $2,000 I'll shoot this new market. My girlfriend, acting as my assistant for the shoot is coming with me and she's got family who live in the bay area. Quick costs breakdown:
- Plane : 207
- Car : 164
- Gas : 4 million dollars. Ok, it feels like that but it will actually be close to 110
- Assistant : 100
- Misc supplies : 75
So after everything, I'm getting paid roughly $1200 to shoot content that will be seen by thousands and thousands of people in a market that has yet to produce other fashion spreads for this city.
20 minutes before getting on the flight , I receive a call from the creative director to touch base with me about the shoot. He's been out of the loop and wanted to see if I had any more info as the editor and him have been playing phone/email tag. After a few pleasantries he says to shoot some shots that have a cover in mind.
wow.
Cool. I stumble a little trying to act nonchalantly like covers are things that i'm used to shooting, which i've never shot one, and that I know the special lingo that goes along with shooting covers, to which there are none. I tell him i'll shoot a little wide and we'll talk about the shots once I have them shot and go from there.
but that would double my pay, at a minimum and hopefully maybe even get at least an additional $5,000. That would be a number that I'd be happy with, hell i'd be thrilled with. Plus the amount of exposure that I would receive.
Time to get on the flight and rock this shoot.
:: anonphotographer
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