Help need - just been asked to be a Carnival group photogpraher

GailJ · Feb 21, 2017

Ok _ i am at loss here - at the last minute I have been asked to be the official photographer for a carnival group in the Caribbean
So 150 members - how do I manage who has access to what photos and who has paid
done a google search but not found anything useful
Unfortunately the group has already paid their carnival fees (photography not included) and the first time I see them is on carnival day - when they all meet for breakfast and get changed
Thanks

480sparky · Feb 21, 2017

My guess is you're only going to be pushing shutter buttons. Your work will be managed by corporate.

vintagesnaps · Feb 21, 2017

Say no thanks if you don't know how to do this. You can try ASMP or PPA for resources but it takes learning how to do something like this. Let them find a pro who does this type work; they can use the Find a Photographer feature on ASMP's site.

Trever1t · Feb 21, 2017

Ahhh Carnival! What island?

dasmith232 · Feb 21, 2017

^^^ This would be easiest (just pushing the shutter button).

If you are being paid with the specific assignment to be a photographer, at someone's direction (from the creative aspect), then you're doing what's called "for hire" work. I do this all the time as a corporate photographer. You shoot what they want and because it's not your creativity but theirs you do not retain the copyright. You also don't get to circulate any of the pictures on your own.

On the upside, you shoot then hand over the SD card and you're probably done. I'm still involved in the post-processing because I know the people in that group pretty well. On the other hand, there are days that it's "less fulfilling".

On the other hand...

If you *do* have to keep track of who's paid, then you might be acting in a way to retain the creative aspects. That opens up a whole world of possibilities (and work!). One possible thing that you might want to do is as simple as a sign up sheet: name, contact (email/phone), paid (yes/no) and frame number. As you're shooting, you'll call out the frame number of the picture to whoever is helping you. They'll note that on the sign-up sheet next to the name that you just shot.

I don't know how organized, official or formal a carnival operation is. In a less-than-ideal case, you can each person/performer fill out the sign up sheet *after* the picture, where you tell them, "sign up over there, and you are frame # such-and-so".

At that point, you've got a list of names, contact info and frame #'s. Your work can then begin. You'll get the occasional wrong frame number. But you'll have a whole sequence of numbers before and after the errors and it's pretty easy to fix.

Trever1t · Feb 21, 2017

to answer your question, you should really direct your question to the one who asked you to be the "official" photographer. Maybe he's expecting free, who knows. Having grown up in the Caribbean I know, what most here do not, things are not the same in the Islands Mon.

Vtec44 · Feb 21, 2017

Trever1t said:
to answer your question, you should really direct your question to the one who asked you to be the "official" photographer. Maybe he's expecting free, who knows. Having grown up in the Caribbean I know, what most here do not, things are not the same in the Islands Mon.

That would be WAY too easy!!