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Pay for photographer?

Jake L

Over the Curb
Dec 2, 2010
73
11
First Name
Jake
Sorry if this is in the wrong section

I'm having a hard time finding a balance between not spending too much on a photographer and actually getting good photos. Our inventory hovers around 150 new+used.

We want all vehicles photographed at about 25+/- for each vehicle in inventory.

Possibly 6-8 vehicles per day + editing + uploading correctly.

What would you pay someone to achieve this? Mind you, in 100+ Texas heat.

Everyone I've interviewed has nearly walked out on my when I tell them what I can offer them in pay. :(
 
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Hey Jake, attack it with a strong attitude. You should have no problem at all. You should also be able to get at least double what you're looking to get done uploaded daily... unless you're talking some ridiculous editing.

We pay about $11 per hour and have turnover every 6 months or so and i've never had a lick of trouble finding replacements. I could see if you're trying to hire pros but I think it's more then adequate to equip someone out of high school with a camera and stretch for couple local photography courses if needed.
 
I would wrap it into a floor sales, internet sales, or lot management position. Get a program that performs auto edits for colors contrast etc... Then follow up with an easy to use DIY system like the one I provide but there are many of them out there. Rather than hire someone try to get it done in house with someone that may be struggling a little with sales but is still hitting their minimum. Hiring someone to just do photos for a dealer would benefit a multiple rooftop that the person could make the rounds to the stores.

My opinion though. Hope this helps. Need any further help just hollar the photography is what I do for a living.
 
We've found freelance photographers that love to take pictures but lack steady work. I am very flexible with their schedule...and pay $14-18 per hour....they maintain their "side work" and I get better quality pics...two of my photographers hae been with me more tha 4 years each....( I have 4)
 
We've been back and forth on this a few times. Internally it's a bit of work, externally it can be expensive. I like Wayne's idea for freelance photographers.

We are currently looking into a 3rd party software that will allow us to streamline the process and use it internally, I'll update once we progress on it further.
 
I have 30+ photographers in the field (this is a service that we offer in WA).

What I see that everyone is forgetting about in this forum is that we alllive in very-very different places. If I put an add in WA for $3000/month with paid vacation, health insurance, can allowance (gas) and a few other benefits--I get 2 people to apply!

My second problem is the yearly turn. Let me explain; October comes and we may go 40-50 days with rain--non stop--and 25F. I lose 5 to 8 guys during that time.

I'm sure that TX at 100F is also hard to deal with...
 
I have 30+ photographers in the field (this is a service that we offer in WA).

What I see that everyone is forgetting about in this forum is that we alllive in very-very different places. If I put an add in WA for $3000/month with paid vacation, health insurance, can allowance (gas) and a few other benefits--I get 2 people to apply!

My second problem is the yearly turn. Let me explain; October comes and we may go 40-50 days with rain--non stop--and 25F. I lose 5 to 8 guys during that time.

I'm sure that TX at 100F is also hard to deal with...

Ha, if that is your pay for a photographer, are you hiring?:hello: We were thinking something along the lines of 10-12 per hour, no benifits and no gas allowance.
 
Ha, if that is your pay for a photographer, are you hiring?:hello: We were thinking something along the lines of 10-12 per hour, no benifits and no gas allowance.
Without going too far into specifics, we pay our current full-time photographer somewhere in that range (plus or minus a dollar) with benefits (paid vacation/sick time, 401(k) with match, medical, etc....all after enough time passes).

I was paid $10 per hour plus a certified pre-owned bonus when I was hired back in 2008 (right before the bottom dropped out) to do that and a few other minor duties.
 
Just wanted to throw my 2 cents in on this thread.

What I find interesting is that the dealers that take it in-house want to do it for $10-12 an hour. At that rate, you're getting someone that can also get the same $$ for less responsibility at Best Buy or the mall. Your turnover is going to be high because the people you're able to hire likely have the attention span of the salary you're giving them.

I guess what I'm getting at is, yeah, you have pay a Dealer Specialties, Auto Uplink or any other provider out there on a per vehicle basis, but you are contracting that vendor to provide a service that you can monitor. More importantly,you don't pay 401k, benefits, etc...On the other hand, if you stay in-house, hire a quality person at a decent rate ($14-18) that you can hold accountable for their work. Tying it into another role (Internet manager, lot person) only takes away from their core responsibilities...and hiring some kid at mall wages isn't always going to lead to quality.

When it's all said and done, your vehicle images are the first thing the customer is looking at to engage them emotionally to the vehicle. Isn't that worth a few extra bucks?
 
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