Are assistants shooting on your set?
I was recently told that on some David LaChapelle shoots, David shows up on the set with the music from his DJ cranking and starts dancing around. His 1st assistant can often be seen shooting while he is in the midst of grinding up against an Art Director. I also understand that Terry Richardson does something similar on his sets, multiple point-and-shoot cameras can be seen clicking away; models, assistants and Terry are working that index finger. I
7 Responses to “Are assistants shooting on your set?”
Angela says:
October 31, 2009 at 11:27 am
Knowing David, I’m not even a little surprised.
Chris New says:
November 1, 2009 at 4:33 am
Completely unrelated to your post and to portraiture, you should check out these beautiful images:
http://sandermeisner.nl
Bill cahill says:
November 1, 2009 at 8:05 pm
This seems like a non issue . Being a still life photographer , my assistants don’t know how to light, they can’t set up my shots, if they happen to click the shutter doesn’t make them the photographer. Being a photographer is more than clicking
a shutter. As far as lachappelle, it’s his set, the assustant isn’t the one that came up with the ideas and put the production together. If assistants want to claim these shots as their own, they need to put their name on the door and get the clients and then they can call themselves photographers .
Brian Bailey says:
November 2, 2009 at 3:24 pm
I have had an assistant shoot on rare occasions. I personally don’t have a problem with it, as it’s my shoot, my production, my vision, and if it’s self assigned, I’m footing the bill. Plus I generally compose the picture, set my exposures and handed them the camera. I can’t even think of the last time I had an assistant shoot.
Tony Donaldson says:
November 3, 2009 at 8:15 pm
This depends on what is discussed up front. On a recent shoot I had an assistant allowed to shoot behind-the-scenes stuff as he saw fit. He came up with beautiful stuff, and that was picked up by the client and he was paid for it. If I’d have asked him to shoot, different story. If it’s my shoot and I ask an assistant to shoot for me, the images are completely mine. I still credit the images accordingly. If the images are the assistant’s, with my permission, they’re his/her images and he/she can then license the images. It depends on the way the shooting is set up, up front.
He’s A Director says:
February 16, 2010 at 2:52 am
ill say this, David & Terry are directors first and foremost. The images are theirs regardless of who snaps the picture.
regarding Bills comment: actually David doesnt even come up with most of the concepts. He has a very talented art director who has been the genius behind the images for many many years now.
and yes when he shows up on set he does have the dj crank the music and sometimes will dance around. but he is creating an atmosphere that shows in his images. remember he is a DIRECTOR.
Bill Cahill says:
March 22, 2010 at 10:45 am
Director or Photographer, same thing. Lets just make up a new name, lets call photographers entrepreneurial image makers, all just a name.
Really its just legal thing. for example Mattell has staff photographers, the images the photographers shoot don’t belong to them, they belong to mattell. Those photographers are hired full time by a company and any work they accomplish while in that capacity is owned by mattell.