Performing Search and Building Your Queue: Part 1
If you’re like me, the process of finding out who is available to second shoot or assist for weddings is a pain in the butt- to put it nicely. Locally (Philadelphia) we have a few great social media photographer groups, but even leveraging those can be time consuming. It goes something like this. 1, (9:42am) Post a need for a second shooter in the group with the date, location, rate, and a few other details. 2, (9:44)Go off and do something productive while you wait (or, if you get sucked in, wind up watching videos, reading comments, and whatever else we do on social media). 3, (11:12am) Check back in the comment section of your post to find that 23 people responded and said they’re available. 4, (11:15am) Begin to look at different websites, blog posts, full galleries, etc. 5, (12:51pm) Start to build a shortlist of people who would be ideal candidates. 6, (1:32pm) Message the person at the top of your list. 7, (2:12pm) “Hey man, sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I just realized that I committed to shooting with someone else that day. Good luck!” 8, (2:21pm) You reach out to the next person on the list. 9, (2:58pm) “I think I’m able to do it, let me check my husband’s schedule to make sure he can watch the kids” (3:19pm) “I’m good to go Nathan! Excited to work with you. Send me the rest of the details when you can” 10, (6:12pm) Send over the rest of the details. 11, Cross fingers and hope no other issues arise.
Sometimes the process is shorter than this- Like when a trusted peer says they’re available and you’re able to just pull the trigger with them quickly. Sometimes though, it is way longer- Like when it’s a prime Saturday in October and the photographer you had lined up for several months prior bails last minute. Whatever the case may be, the process stinks, wastes time, resources, and can add stress to your life that doesn’t help you in any way.
Friends, I knew there was a better way to do this. I searched for a solution and after quite some time, I realized no solution existed. So we built it.
ShootWith.Me kicks down the door and rides in on his trusty steed
I want to take a moment to tell you about one of the features I am most excited about because I believe that it is going to save you so much time, whether you’re looking to hire someone or you’re the one wanting to get hired. Oh, what the above scenario doesn’t even mention is that those 23 people who responded- they also responded to like four other requests the same day. They have to stalk photography groups and wait for studios to post requests for assistants, second shooters and associates. I digress.
We build ShootWith.Me to make it so that in one short visit to the platform, you can enter in the event’s details and what you’re looking for, what you’re wanting to spend, location, gear, etc and then PRESTO! You see a list of all of the people who align with your job requirements. You can check out their individual profiles, read a short bio, see their reviews from other jobs they’ve been hired for- All in a matter of minutes. As you find people who are a good match, you can add them to your queue. Once you have as many or few in your queue as you want, you can send the job offer to the list and they’ll be offered the opportunity to work with you, one at a time, given the amount of time you allow for them to make a decision. So whoever is in spot #1, they’ll get x amount of time to accept or decline the job. If they decline or run out of time, the next person will be offered the job. So on until someone accepts it. All of this happens automatically within the ShootWith.Me app. There are so many other awesome benefits to the way we built it that I cannot wait to show you so that you can experience them for yourself.
ShootWith.Me eliminates stress, time wasting, and streamlines the process of finding the help you need for sessions and events.
Be on the lookout for a post soon about picking the right people to put into your queue.