Tag-a-long Needed for May 8th Wedding in Arlington TX

[Chantal]

I need a Tag-along who's willing to shoot for free. Sorry it's not in my budget. The wedding is May 8th at 7:00PM in Arlington. I need a tag-a-long who is experience with weddings and has your own gear.

Please PM with the following:
Camera:
Lens:
Flash:
How many wedding you have shot so far?
Your Website:
Email:
Phone:

Thanks,
Chantal Brown
Photography By Chantal
photographybychantal@gmail.com

[kayumangi]

Wow, you're looking for an experienced 2nd shooter yet you're not willing to pay a dime. I hope you realize that TPF is not the same as Craigslist.

Mind you there is difference between a paid gig and free one. Free ones are called Tag-Alongs and paying ones are 2nd/3rd shooter gigs.

[Chantal]

Hi Kayumangi. Sorry I don't know the difference. It's not that I'm not willing to pay a dime I just don't have the budget for it. I'm not expecting the most experience but the one who have done a wedding or two and is willing to get more experience by tagging along with me.

[kayumangi]

I don't follow the budget part because normally when you quote a wedding you ask the B&G if they require a 2nd or not. If they say no then you don't hire a 2nd. Or you bundle the 2nd's fee into your whole package like other folks do.

I just hope when you find your tag-along you won't misrepresent them to your client as your second because that is just plain wrong.

The whole contention is about respecting everyone's time, a 2nd is usually somebody who is as competent or even better as you because God forbid if something happens to you, your 2nd will fill-in your shoes, so having them shoot for free while you earn a profit from the B&G is considered exploitation.

Good luck.

[PhotoDude79]

grabbing ju ju beans....

[toverman]

It's probably a good opportunity for somebody, so I wish you luck (honestly).

What you might find is that your being a member since last August but not having participated much in the forum could be a liability. I know I'd be more willing to help someone – even without pay on occasion – if I "knew" them a little better. Just a thought.

[Chantal]

Thanks Toverman. I haven't contributed much in this Forum but I have been doing a lot of reading. There's so much information out here and so many talented photographers I am just impressed of all the help everybody is willing to give. I'm more than willing to help someone else too because I've been there and love to pass on the knowledge. I always love to tag along with any photographers as long as I gain the experience and the knowledge. Even if they don't ask me to shoot I'm willing to carry their gears, hold their light stand or just about whatever. I'm so obsessed in learning about photography.

[WarrenG]

Chantal,

Just a thought, but you may want to put some more specifics in your post. How long are you wanting someone to shoot for? Is it an hour, three, five, eight? Also, you may want to clarify some specifics with regards to the images. Are you wanting someone to shoot images that are going to be given (or have been sold) to the client? Or are you planning on teaching some stuff to someone, and they can shoot for their own portfolio? Is there anything exciting or special about the wedding and reception that might entice someone to want to come shoot? E.g. - location, ceremony, etc.

Generally, I pay my assistants (probably never enough )and I pay my second shooter(s) as the client is expecting two people and images from different perspectives. Even if the wedding is low balled (my bad for accepting too little for too much) I feel I have a moral obligation to pay a second shooter if the client expects one. With that said, I have exchanged services as a form of payment in the past (I will second or assist for you if you second for me, etc) so there are some alternative methods in which to "pay".

If I have a tag-a-long, it is an opportunity for that person to learn in a "hands on" environment, but in no way is the client expecting that person to be providing any work (images) for them.

I hope this information is helpful.

W

[CallMeAl]

Chantal,
You are right when you talk about how much help and info are available on the forum. There are not many places where you can get the honest critique and advice from such experienced photographers.

However, when you ask for a second shooter (normally a paid position for an experienced wedding photographer) but say you can't pay because it's not in your budget...it's no different than a bride coming to you saying they want you to shoot their wedding, but they can't pay you because it's not in their budget. It's true you might find someone to take the job for the experience, but it probably won't be the quality that you'd like.

I learned early on when I joined they forum that there's a lingo involved that I wasn't completely aware of. So don't worry that you didn't know about tagalongs vs second shooters, etc. But the quicker you learn that, the less confusing your posts might be when you need a tagalong as opposed to a second shooter/assistant.

Good luck.

[ziffle]

Originally Posted by PhotoDude79

grabbing ju ju beans....

do you have any room on the couch?

I got peanut M&M's.....

[Chantal]

Okay, I was able to figure out how to change the original post title from 2nd Shooter to Tag-a-long. Hopefully that will clarify things.

WarrenG - Thank you for the information! You are very helpful! I'm observing every information like a sponge. I looked at your website and I am so impressed with all your amazing photos. PLEASE let me know if I could tag-a-long. I'm willing to help out at anyway. I don't think I could ever stop photographing or learning.

Honestly this is my first post asking for a tag-a-long. I hope my next post I will be more informative. However, I will provide my tag-along with additional information about the wedding and B&G.

Craig - Thanks so much for the information as well. Yeah, there was actually a post about the definition of a tag-a-long vs 2nd shooter. Darn, I shouldn't have overlooked that.

[S-Man]

http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum...d-shooter.html

http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum...ded-today.html

http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum...ng-needed.html

[Chantal]

Thank you Sam! Thank you everyone who PM me. The spot is filled.

[David Whatley]

Start and finish time? What part of Arlington, how big a wedding?