working as an assistant for free

I would also be interested in hearing some answers to this question.

I'm not a commercial photographer and (thank goodness) don't get that many people asking me to intern and/or assist with me. I think though that if I'd probably value someone less if they were willing to work for free. On moral and ethical grounds I wouldn't accept it, but to me it would speak about what value the person puts on himself if he is willing to work for free.

Then again, in this day and age I understand that people are willing to do this to get their foot in the door so I can see both sides of the issue. Would be interesting to hear from someone who have a couple of assistants on a regular basis and see what their take on this is.

I think though that if I'd probably value someone less if they were willing to work for free.

I'd value them more, because it tells me that they value my experience and knowledge.

As a past commercial photographer and custom printer, I have always considered it a privilege to pass on what knowledge I have. Indeed, one young photographer I mentored, went on to become an assistant for Annie Leibovitz. What use is knowledge if it is not passed on? Young people have a difficult enough time nowadays and those prepared to 'hustle' for their careers and passions, will always have my respect.

Before coming to B&H I shot for 20+ years and assisted wedding pros before taking on my own stuff so I've seen both sides. People who work for free are too often worth what they're paid and photogs who take on free assistants get what they're paying for.

If you're worth the time, you're worth the dime.

My PERSONAL opinion!
- Henry

I have hired many assistants over the twenty years I have been shooting commercial/industrial/architectural work. I have always paid the assistant. What I have paid them differs depending on the talents they bring with them.
When shooting text book work using ten kids in a shoot I would use a woman assistant with good skills with kids. If I had a shoot in a canyon where we needed to get equipment in I had an assistant I would call who was 6'7" and could lift my SUV. In the last few years it has been important that I use an assistant with good file management skills and experience tethered shooting through Lightroom. It all depended on what I needed from the assistant. All of them were paid in today's dollars $125-275 a day.
I have known photographers who used unpaid help they called interns. I have never had an intern only freelance assistants working by the day or at most a week.

It sounds like you have plenty of experience to be a paid assistant for the right person. Keep looking and contact photographers repeatedly. What has amazed me was of all the people who have called over the years asking to assist, 98% of them only called or contacted me once. Keep contacting them if you are serious about working for them.
Good luck. It is a hard time to assist with so many photographers under such pricing pressure.

I too pay my assistants when they produce something - it's only fair. True, I do have people often come and assist in truly menial jobs just to get a feeling of how a commercial shoot flows, but I rarely if ever trust them with something important and therefore it's much, much easier to justify not paying them.

As for how much, my price list usually breaks down assistant costs separately (usually as part of a complicated formula based on project costs, etc), so they know how much they'll be getting from the get go. However, this ALWAYS comes with the caveat of them having to produce what I hired them for at my specifications - otherwise, they get zilch...

Thank you for your insight especially from the commercial shooters. No offense to you non-commercial shooters but I am just looking for opinions of commercial photographers. I hope some more commercial photographers will weigh in. I am still not sure what route I will take and any advice form people in the industry would be appreciated. That being shooters or professional assistants.

Thanks

Using unpaid assistants is morally deplorable but sadly increasingly common. Very often when taking decisions about career steps in a creative industry, it pays to ask the 3 big questions:
Am I having fun?
Am I learning something?
Am I getting rich?
Three "yes" answers is perfection, two is good, even one is OK, but none means "Don't do it!" Quite frankly, if you can afford to work for nothing, you can only gain by doing so, subject to the above - if you're learning and advancing your career, fine, but do not tolerate exploitation.