Seeking Associate shooters

Associate shooters are contracted to Chris Jack Photography (WorkZerk PTY Ltd) to provide time limited private and corporate event photography services in a work-for-hire, sub-contracted arrangement in the Brisbane metropolitan area.

I am currently (as of May 2024) seeking TWO Associate shooters for upcoming assignments (immediate work).

Expressions of Interest

In the first instance if you are interested in being offered jobs as an Associate shooter for CJP, please email expressions of interest to chris@chrisjack.com.au addressing the requirements contained within this document (such as your experience, existing relevant portfolio and brief summary of camera bodies, lenses, lighting and modifiers you currently own/use).

Associate Equipment

Associates use their own equipment which at all times must include at each job location TWO good condition, modern Canon full-frame camera bodies (e.g.Canon R6/R6 Mark II/Canon R5/Canon R3/Canon R5C/Canon 1DX II/III) together with at least three professional quality lenses that provide redundancy for both wide, medium and longer zoom ranges from 16MM/200MM.

It is expected that these lenses would be L grade EF/RF lenses or their professional ‘third party’ brand equivalents (e.g. Tamron SP series, Sigma Art) and not consumer grade lenses such as kit lenses.

Specialist gear such as macro lenses, telephoto lenses above 200mm, softbox lighting, tripods are not normally required for event photography but may be a requirement for some jobs and therefore may be needed to be accepted for those jobs (where they might include quick food photography for example).

Expressions of interest from photographers with legacy camera bodies such as the 5D Mark III/IV or 6D Mark II may be considered where these are used as secondary or backup bodies only. Ultimately the equipment of the associate will be considered on an individual/collective basis.

Two on-camera speedlights are required on-site in your kit together with additional backup batteries, and at least four camera batteries (incl. the batteries in your two camera bodies) and 1 X on-site charger (for both flash and camera batteries). Ability to bounce light forward rather than to the ceiling using modifiers such as Gary Fong or MagMod Bounce (recommended) is required, as are gels to balance flash light with ambient light (at least half/full CTO - noting that these may have come with your original flash accessories or use MagMod Gel Holders/MagMod Gels).

A basic bounce umbrella setup is required to be taken to all jobs where requested only (at least 36 inches) for creating soft light for any group photos where time permits (for example, where it’s not possible to bounce light to a neutral coloured ceiling). This umbrella kit should include the umbrella, a light stand and an adapter to attach the umbrella and the Associate should have experience and skills required to achieve this.

It is expected that you have some sort of dual camera harness or clip system enabling you to shoot with two cameras at the same time. This is not required to be used throughout the event (this is at your discretion) but it must be available at every event, as it is the default, preferred method to ensure maximum efficiency and redundancy during key moments and project a professional image.

You should have at least six memory cards to match your camera resolution (in most cases 64GB but 32GB is fine for short two hours jobs) and they must be Sandisk or another leading brand name and in the category of ‘Ultra’, ‘Extreme’ or ‘Tough’ cards rather than less durable consumer grade cards. Two cards in each camera at all times always shooting in raw format is a necessity, with at least two extra cards as backups on hand (if cards fail or fill up).

Overall you should have complete backups/contingency plans for unexpected failures of all your equipment and to bring that backup equipment to each job, even if it may not be required, in the event of a failure, even for short duration jobs as there is ‘only once chance to get it right’. 

Payments & Costs

Associates are paid a base fee of $50 plus GST per job ($55.00) and an hourly rate of $112.50 plus GST per hour ($123.75) if the Associate is registered for GST and provides an ATO approved invoice that includes GST. If the Associate is not registered for GST they cannot charge GST, therefore the hourly rates should exclude GST.

The base fee is designed to cover some of the cost of gear preparation in your own time, petrol costs, parking costs (on average) and any toll fees you may incur during travel (which are not included in your fee). The only exception to this is ‘special large public events’ where additional parking or travel arrangements might be required such as Ekka, State of Origin etc in which case CJP will reimburse or pay extra if required but only if extra costs are determined and agreed prior to the event.

The difference between your fee and what the client pays is used to liaise with the client regarding briefings, quoting, marketing, job and backup management etc. and the actual editing of the photos.

*Associates must be registered for GST and include a valid ABN on their invoice to charge GST on top of the hourly rate above.

Minimum & Maximum Shooting Periods / Break Times

A minimum of two hours for all bookings. A maximum of 9 hours continuous shooting, noting that you are entitled to reasonable breaks for both meals and bathroom breaks etc, which will be discussed with the client (and normally scheduled into the timeline but also taken as required if short) including spontaneous bathroom breaks as required. This is part of the agreement we have with the client, therefore you may take short breaks at your discretion throughout the event (for example to use the bathroom or to eat meals) normally during downtimes or when guests are eating in liaison with the event contact.

These breaks are included in your paid time.

Please note that due to the nature of busy corporate events or ‘on the spot’ requests from clients, these break times may change on the day, and are indicative only.

Where the client is conducting a full day event such as a conference or trade show and the coverage exceeds 5 hours, the client/CJP will either provide a suitable meal/food or you will be reimbursed at a flat rate of 2 X $30 for these meals if one was not or is not provided (for lunch and dinner). Lunch/dinner breaks will normally be scheduled into the timeline for this purpose in such situations. As always it is prudent to take snacks or meals with you as backup/contingency plans especially to meet your own special dietary requirements and because venues are not always reliable or punctual serving supplier meals.

PROXIMITY TO CITY

Almost all assignments are based in the Brisbane city or city fringe areas such as Fortitude Valley, Southbank etc. Therefore, you would ideally be located close to the city to minimise travel time and toll costs.

Public Liability

You must have current public liability and a copy of the cover must be provided to CJP to accept jobs. $15-20 million is recommended. Some jobs may specify $20 million cover is required.

Parking / Tolls

The Associate is expected to pay for parking, tolls and other out of pocket expenses (which is also what the $50+GST base fee contributes towards). Where there are no parking/tolls costs for that job (as parking is provided by the client) the Associate still receives the base fee as a flat fee.

Scope of Work

The Associate will be contracted and responsible for adhering to the photography brief and timeline provided by CJP directly. In this brief it will contain a timeline with specific times and activities which will be occurring such as ‘Awards Dinner Presentation’.

At all times during the shoot you should follow the instructions and requests of the main designated contact, or another person if the main contact has assigned them (in their absence). You should however be prepared to alter the timeline on request or to provide additional photos not on the list (such as headshots or group photos of VIP’s, executives or award winners) at short or no notice due to the dynamic nature of event photography or change of schedules and plans. For this reason, it is recommended that for most events you have a 24-70mm lens on one of your camera bodies (for versatility).

Where you have not been given notice or warning (for example to shoot a large group photo) you are entitled to advise the client that you will require the necessary time to prepare for that photo, such as setting up additional lighting or changing camera settings (for the best results and to preserve your reputation and that of the agent CJP).

Scope of photography for CJP Events includes and excludes the following:

  • Candid photography e.g. guests arriving, mingling, cocktail parties, networking, standing, socialising etc. where photos of guests smiling, and enjoying themselves are preferred (rather than simply shots of guests not smiling or interacting). Candid photography may also include candid shots of attendees receiving awards on stage (such as hand-shakes or looking at camera) or during any other activities (which vary in scope). In most cases these types of photos are expected to be captured using versatile zoom lenses such as the 24-70 or 70-200 (with or without flash at your discretion and in consultation with your main contact).

  • Group photos posed to camera such as ‘teams’ or ‘award winners’ are wherever possible scheduled into the timeline to allow you as the Associate to plan appropriate lighting and backdrops. Please note that in many cases you will need to scope out the best backdrops on the day itself, sometimes with very little warning from the client (so always be on the lookout for good group photo locations). 

  • Casual group photos may also be requested by any guests present at the event without notice, and these are normally captured ‘in situation’ or in other words, using the immediate backdrops and scenes available in the room, or by encouraging them to walk a short distance to a more flattering backdrop to avoid photos which are shot too wide, too close.

  • Large group photos of all attendees are also a common request, however clients are encouraged to schedule these into the timeline in conjunction with CJP, again to allow time for preparations and the best results.

  • Shots of exhibitors at trade shows etc, either people networking or sometimes empty stands, or stands with the exhibitors in front (according to the brief) are common event brief requests. Again, these can be with or without on-camera lighting, depending on your judgement.

  • Most photography during daylight hours will be captured with natural ambient lighting, however the Associate should be a confident and capable user of flash in both manual and ETTL modes to cover a wide range of potential scenarios.

  • The Associate will be expected when using flash to be capable and competent ‘bouncing’ flash off ceilings and only use direct flash where this is deemed necessary, for example where the ceilings are too high or are dark or non-neutral coloured (using a MagBounce for example).

  • For any flash situations where direct flash is required, the Associate is expected to be capable and confident of using and have available direct flash modifiers such as MagMod Bounce, Gary Fong etc. rather than direct camera flash.

  • The Associate is not expected to capture typical ‘portrait photography’ of (for example) couples at an engagement party where careful selection of backgrounds and lighting is paramount and the use of shallow depths of field for creative Bokeh (etc). In regards to portrait photography at events, only ‘to camera’ in-situation photos of guests will be arranged with the client, as CJP understands that scoping is required for portrait photography and additional lighting which is beyond the scope of ‘Event Photography’. The Associate may however take these types of photos at their discretion if they are comfortable doing so, or if the client allows the Associate time to scope areas.

  • It is common for guests or your contact to request quick individual ‘Headshots’. These are part of event photography, and can be taken at the best location in the immediate area using natural light, or on-camera flash if required. Often these are used to promote future events and it will involve the key speakers or VIP’s. 

  • Event Photography does NOT include wedding photography where an actual legal ceremony has taken place, but might include engagement parties, wedding celebrations or ‘wedding receptions’ only after the ceremony (but not posed couples portraits).

  • Event Photography does NOT include being asked to take photos of members of the public that are not part of a ticketed or invite only event, for example patrons at a bar or nightclub where their permission has not been pre-arranged.

  • Proactive approach of guests/attendees at events and requesting/suggesting that to-camera photos are captured is expected to be part of every event job where there are sufficient guests (more than a few) present. These are requested in addition to candid photos and a reasonable/fair number of these photos are generally expected as part of every event photography assignment to supplement candid photos. The client is encouraged to provide a representative from their side to approach guests and make this process smoother, however this is not guaranteed to happen in all situations (so some approaching of guests is required). You should be comfortable approaching small groups of guests who are in ideal situations to be photographed (not eating, looking happy etc) and to include these shots with every assignment (even if guests are mostly seated throughout the event).

  • The associate is not generally required to take the names of persons being photographed (aka social photos) at an event, without the assistance of the client or representative of the client due to the extra time this takes which would impact on the delivery of the expected number of photos per hour, and should be arranged by the client beforehand accordingly. In the unlikely event the client asks you to do this without warning you can still do this, but please advise the client this will be a time consuming process and request someone to help you.

Availability & Cancellations

Upon receiving a request for an ‘Event Photography’ booking CJP will notify the appropriate Associates taking into account their suitability for the job and their location within Brisbane, and send a ‘Booking Availability Request’ by email, and in some cases SMS or both.

The Associate is required to carefully check their availability and reply asap with their availability, effectively accepting or declining the job. This is not a contract to provide the job but merely a booking request. The client is still required to book the event and place an initial payment to confirm the job. Upon receiving the minimum payment the Associate will be notified as soon as practicable by CJP that the booking is confirmed. At this stage the Associate should be able to confirm and commit to the job and not renege from the commitment (unless sick).

After you have confirmed a ‘booking availability request’ in the affirmative The Associate is required to maintain a record of the dates enquired for and advise CJP immediately should these dates no longer be available due to other bookings or personal commitments. The Associate does not need to keep dates enquired on free until further notice or indefinitely, but should please notify CJP of any changes to their availability for previously enquired dates asap.

Please note: With Corporate Event photography often the quoting and booking/approval phase can take several weeks or even months. The Associate is not expected to keep dates enquired upon and ‘accepted’ free forever, only to advise CJP if they are no longer available for these dates (so alternative Associates can be arranged) and the clients booking link disabled until another Associate can be confirmed (to avoid a booking being received but no photographer available).

The client's agreement with CJP is flexible in terms of being able to postpone or cancel the event. Once an event has been confirmed with a payment from the client or confirmed by CJP it is unlikely to be cancelled, however in rare circumstances this may occur (even at short notice) in which case there is no liability for CJP to pay the Associate for the confirmed job, as CJP will not be receiving any income from the job. In rare cases where a job is cancelled within 6 hours of the event, the Associate shall be entitled to 50% of their expected fee.

Reliability & Punctuality

Reliability and punctuality is absolutely critical for Associates, and once an Associate accepts a job they are contractually obligated to attend (regardless of whether they might get more appealing offers/bookings from other sources including their own direct clients). The exception to this is where the Associate is restricted from attending to due prevailing government COVID-19 stipulations such as the need to self-isolate or quarantine, or a current COVID-19 diagnosis (subject to changes in government restrictions and requirements), or is sick or experiencing exception personal circumstances and is unable to attend, in which case the Associate should advise CJP at the earliest possible time by email in the first instance please.

In general terms you are expected to arrive 10-15 minutes before your scheduled start time, as arriving after the scheduled start time by any measure is strictly unacceptable. If you do arrive after the scheduled start time please advise CJP at your earliest convenience so this can be discussed and reviewed.

Payment & Photo Provision

CJP will pay the Associate at the completion of the job and the provision of the expected number of raw photos exceeding the amount required e.g. 70+ per hour of shooting, within 24 hours of receipt of invoice. Where the expected number of photos is not obtained, the Associate is required to advise CJP of an explanation of why this was not possible (for example due to a small number of guests, prevailing weather conditions etc) so this can be advised to the client and procedures or changes to shooting style implemented to avoid this outcome, in the future. 

Note: The client is expecting 60 photos per hour of coverage, which is why we recommend providing at least 70+ raw images per hour of coverage. In most cases this is likely to be higher e.g. 100 photos per hour, taking into account burst shooting, test shots etc. The Associate is welcome to remove ‘bad’ photos from the set of photos provided to CJP (at their discretion), or simply provide all photos captured so CJP can cull those photos appropriately.

Associate is required to provide a valid tax invoice to CJP for the total due amount. No payments can be made to the Associate until a valid tax invoice is received. Payment will be made upon receipt on invoice after the event, within 24 hours.

Provision of Raw Files

The Associate is required to supply the requisite number (70+ acceptable photos per hour of coverage) raw, acceptable photos (those in focus etc. and well composed and exposed) or ALL PHOTOS CAPTURED to a Dropbox folder or other such service (e.g. OneDrive or Google Drive) noting that this number is at least 70 per hour of shooting. Alternatively, the associate may simply provide ALL photos taken which may be much higher than 70 per hour (preferred).

The deadline is 8AM the next day of the event to have the photos fully uploaded from a full day event the day before, as CJP will need to download, select highlights and edit these providing them to the client (about 15 photos) often before midday the next day.

For events that end before 3PM in the afternoon the upload deadline is 9PM the same day.

Once the photos are uploaded, please send the link to chris@chrisjack.com.au but the actual Dropbox link should be shared to rocketretail@gmail.com

The Associate is not required to edit the photos. If CJP requests editing of the photos and the Associate agrees this service can be provided, they will be paid an additional 30% extra for the job (of the total fee to the Associate).

An expectation for the delivery time (uploaded) of the raw photos will be discussed with the Associate before they accept the job, so there are no misunderstandings or missed deadlines. Please understand that CJP is still required to edit these photos, export and supply the edited photos to the client, so receiving the raw files asap is critical to the workflow.

In some cases an additional fee may be negotiated to ‘rush’ upload the photos immediately after the event the same day e.g. ASAP (within a few hours of leaving the event) in which case a $25+GST rush upload fee may be added to your invoice (providing the Associate is available after the event for this purpose). The exact deadline will be discussed and approved by the Associate to ensure it is achievable for their workflow and infrastructure.

Photographer Work For Hire & Photo Usage

All photographs taken and delivered to CJP pursuant to this Agreement shall be deemed works made for hire, as described above, and CJP shall be sole owner of the photographs and of all rights, including copyrights, in such photographs including the raw files. CJP hereby grants a limited, temporary, nonexclusive, licence to Associate to use, reproduce and publish the photographs in connection with advertising or marketing of the Associates services with the Photo Usage Caveat below, unless otherwise stated beforehand (for example where a client has specifically requested non usage of all photos before the event or specific individuals within those photos before or after the event) or until such permission is revoked in writing at the discretion of CJP for any reason.

In its sole discretion, CJP may (or may not) credit Photographer as the creator in connection with CJP’s use of the photographs created pursuant to this Agreement.

Use of photos taken by the Associate for their portfolio is permitted 30 days after the event, allowing time for the client to mark photos as confidential if required. As an additional precaution it is not permitted to use photos containing minors (persons under 18 years of age, or appearing to be) by the Associate without express permission from the client, through CJP (for example a kids birthday event where minors are present).

Photo Usage Branding Caveat

The Associate is not permitted to use the clients personal name, company name or brand in association with the photos, which would imply that client booked the Associate directly e.g. by captioning the client's name under the photo, or including the clients name in any ‘Client List’ or showing images in the Photographers portfolio that include any name directly or indirectly (e.g. signage/clothing/branding/logos of any description).

Use of photos for the photographer's portfolio should be non-descriptive in nature such as candid photos, presenter photos etc where the client cannot be identified (in the opinion of CJP).

At all times where photos are used by the photographer in their portfolio, the continuing usage of those photos are at the discretion of CJP as the owner of the works and any photo usage by the Associate may be revoked in writing without notice for commercial or other reasons (including but not limited to requests from the client to not use these photos) by CJP.

This caveat applies to all and every usage of those photos by the Associate in perpetuity including social media, blog posts, website usage or other usage including private or non public usage, digital and non-digital (such as printed portfolios books, albums or presentations).