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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
How many assignments do you shoot in a day?
Cary Edmondson, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Henderson | NV | United States | Posted: 12:39 AM on 08.23.06 |
->> I know it's never a good idea to put a number on the amount of photo assignments a photographer should shoot in a day. However, working as a relatively new photo editor for a newspaper with 3 photographers, I am trying to combat the idea that our photographers should work 4-5 assignments a day, (which my superiors would like to see) .. and still produce quality images at each assignment (and still have time to edit these images as well).
Personally I'd rather have my photogs cover 2-3 assignments a day because I want them to spend as much time as it takes to get the quality images we'd all like to see.
So with that being said.. how many assignments do you shoot in a day? .. and how many do you think would be too much?
Cary |
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Kelly Lacefield, Photographer
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Palmdale | CA | USA | Posted: 12:57 AM on 08.23.06 |
->> it depends on your deadline? "in a day' can change value. starting the day @ 9am, deadline before 3pm, our staff of 5 shoots on average 1-2 assignments during the slow months (when no one is on vacation). but on a normal hustle and bustle day it can range dramatically from 3, sometimes up to 5.
You really can not put a # on this subject. 4 assignments a day is totally do-able if your given ample amount of time between each assignment. and then you have to consider that every assignent vary's with depth and time.
things to consider:
1. the miles between assignments. (your area of coverage)
2. whether they have a good chance of having to play the hurry-up and wait game.
3. is it a "hit and go" type (advertising? or feature on an elder who can talk.....well, for a while before finding the thing you need for your pic)
I'm sure there are many more variables, someone is sure to add to this list of unpredictabilty.
day's when I have to start putting a time slot in when i can go pee..... that's not a good day. |
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Gabriel Hernandez, Photographer
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Harlingen | TX | USA | Posted: 1:24 AM on 08.23.06 |
| ->> Ive gone from 1 assignment to 6 in one day with driving over 100+ miles working 8-12 hrs. Assignments have consisted from a portrait to sports. I would prefer having 4-6 assignments a day to keep me busy. |
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Corey Perrine, Photographer
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Hudson | NH | USA | Posted: 1:46 AM on 08.23.06 |
| ->> 2-4 (average). |
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Neil Turner, Photographer
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London | UK | United Kingdom | Posted: 3:51 AM on 08.23.06 |
->> I average two jobs per day when we are busy. Being a national (UK) publication, the distances that I drive are pretty high and I rack up between 30,000 and 40,000 miles per year.
I often joke that a job takes on average one hour to get there, an hour to shoot, an hour to get back and half an hour to edit and transmit. Add on the half an hour each job takes to be briefed (and de-briefed) and that's four hours!
Neil. |
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Dick Van Nostrand, Photographer
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Bay City | MI | USA | Posted: 7:26 AM on 08.23.06 |
| ->> I would say 2-3 with time for computer processing. If the assignment requires additional time then 1-2. After returning from a normal day of shooting I would shoot any studio photos that came up as I was in the office on the computer. This would free another photographer with a later shift to work outside the office. |
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DJ Werner, Photo Editor, Photographer
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Beaufort | NC | USA | Posted: 8:11 AM on 08.23.06 |
->> don't forget reporters who give you incorrect driving directions -wasting precious moments..
and Kelly make sure you MAKE time for the time slot - just met a guy in kidney failure- came from too much stress on the job/hypertension and not being able to make the time to go-
he is on a machine now 8 hours a day--because his kidneys are damaged, he is on a waiting list for organs...
we have all been through those hectic days
no time to eat or go
not good for our bodies! |
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Mike Morones, Photographer
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Fredericksburg | VA | USA | Posted: 10:27 AM on 08.23.06 |
->> I tend to average 2 a day though lately it has been only 1. That being said, we are expected to NOT be hanging around the office (like I'm doing right now!) and out working on our photo columns, long term projects, doing research, etc.
As others have said, sometimes that one assignment can take a couple of hours to get to so suddenly "only" one assignment becomes a day-long ordeal.
It would be good to communicate to your bosses the advantages and benefits of longer term planning that will ideally free up your people to focus on quality by spreading out the assignments you know are coming your way. |
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Doug Steinbock, Photographer, Assistant
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Feeding Hills | MA | USA | Posted: 10:42 AM on 08.23.06 |
->> It all depends upon the assignment.
I've driven from Massachusetts to Philadelphia to shoot the Army v Navy football game. 1 assignment on that day was all I could shoot.
On the other hand, I could shoot 6-10 assignments in a single day if all local. |
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N. Scott Trimble, Photographer
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Tempe | AZ | USA | Posted: 11:56 AM on 08.23.06 |
| ->> I have about 200 miles today and trying to cover 7 assignments! But, I only have two tomorrow, in about 5 miles. Yo-yo time! |
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Jon Giffin, Photographer
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Rockford | IL | USA | Posted: 1:02 PM on 08.23.06 |
->> Understandably editors want high productivity out of their photographers. And I think the key is to give them what they want, by trying to deflect assignments that are un-needed and allow the photogs to shoot more pictures at "good" events and have them produce just as many pictures as the 4-5 assignments might produce.
How productive is it for a photographer to drive an hour out of the way to shoot a mug or a grip and grin when they could be working a better assignment and bringing back quality pics.
Maybe explain to them that if your goal is to have the photogs shoot 2-3 assignments that even so they will be more productive and be bringing back just as many pics as if they had 4-5. Its really a debate over quality v. quantity. |
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AJ Mast, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Indianapolis | IN | USA | Posted: 2:09 PM on 08.23.06 |
->> So 3 photographers, 4.5 assignments a day= 13.5 assignments per day. In, I would guess, a 3 or 4 section paper? Sounds like, unless you are the best local newspaper in the country, there must be a lot of stuff being shot to fill inside pages.
You can’t argue on the number of assignments, because not all assignments are created equal. You have to argue on the quality of the assignments, and end result value to the publication.
Potato that looks like Richard Nixon = Little Value to the paper (community)
Documentary on a soldiers family coping on the home front = big value to the paper (community)
I might suggest monetizing the photo department as an asset and look at what it COSTS to shoot an assigment assignment, as a way to eliminate the lame ones.
Huh you say?
Take the entire photo budget (salaries, mileage, supplies, benefits…) for the year and divide it by the number of issues a year you put out.
So you have you average issue photo dept cost. Break this down further into a cost per hour of photo work per photographer.
Then for a couple of weeks, maybe a month, track the time put into assignment, and the result in the paper. i.e. 3 hours for a 1 column pic., 1 hour for page one 5-col with a 2cols second and a jump pic. etc…
Then you can come up with a number, $$$ is how much a column inch of photography costs.
Then you can use this as a tool for allocating resources: We can spend $$$ to put a one column pic in the paper buried on page C8, or I can spend that money (time) to make our A1 package stronger. Or I can use that time to turn a prep football assignment into tomorrows sports front, a feature for region and a pic for next weeks prep football preview.
Throwing the extra hour onto a quality assignments, raises the quality of the paper and decreases the cost per column inch for photography, as you are maximizing your travel time to increase your shooting time. |
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David Sokol, Photographer
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Reading | MA | USA | Posted: 2:00 AM on 08.24.06 |
| ->> I usually have about 2-3 assignments a day, 4 would be a busy day. Like whats been said travel time, correct location and/or waiting to meet someone, and processing time taken in account. |
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Chris Pietsch, Photographer
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Eugene | OR | USA | Posted: 11:52 AM on 08.24.06 |
->> The question of where the images might land is key. An inside image that is part of some weekly standing piece might be VERY important if there is a hole waiting to be filled.
Having said that, it is hard for me to imagine that ALL of those "assignments" are mission critical. If they are, then a case can be made for adding staff.
The challenge for you as photo editor will be to figure out where to put your assets. One day you should probably kill an assignment or two; the next day you will have to look one of your photographers in the eye and tell them how sorry you are as you hand them a stack.
To succeed in this gamble (like how I worked the Vegas angle in?), you will need to have a REALLY good handle on the relative importance of each piece as it comes down the pipe. If you are diligent in keeping the priorities straight, you will hopefully build some credibility for the day you have to tell somebody, "No, sorry, I don't have a photographer available."
I don't think it will hurt if your staff realizes the stakes either. If they can take advantage of the time you carve out for them to blow peoples minds with some great work, then everybody will feel better about the sacrifices.
Admittedly there is as much art to figuring this all out as there is to making exceptional images. But then, that's why you're making those big boss bucks, right? |
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Blaine McCartney, Photographer
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Columbus | NE | USA | Posted: 12:09 PM on 08.24.06 |
| ->> I shoot about 2-3 assignments a day, and anything else I come up with. That's not counting high school and college sports that are about to gear up. |
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Jeremy Harmon, Photographer
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Salt Lake City | UT | USA | Posted: 1:07 PM on 08.24.06 |
->> I used to work at a small daily in Idaho where we weren't allowed to ever cancel an assignment. One day I shot 8 assignments in 5 hours and even got a call from the sports desk to see if I could squeeze in a golf tournament Michelle Wie was playing at in Boise. They forgot to assign it. I didn't go to the tournament. That day I also set a record for the least number of frames shot on an assignment. I shot three. One to make sure my color and exposure where ok, and then a horizontal and a vertical to cover my butt for layout. Photojournalism at its finest, eh?
Where I work now this is not the case. Three assignments is a typical day, and I really try to avoid anything more than that.
When killing assignments, I always try to present an alternative. "If we skip this one, we can spend more time at this one which has a greater likelihood of good art."
At the same time, shooting the occasional speaker or building shot helps foster cooperation between departments. |
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