Guides
The parts of running a studio nobody documents.
Practical answers to the questions that come up once you start hiring crew. Free to read, no signup, and each one is complete without buying anything.
How to pay a second shooter
Day rate vs hourly, what to agree before the shoot, when a 1099 is required, and how to work out what you owe without a spreadsheet.
Read the guideHow to track crew hours on a shoot day
Why memory and group chats fail, what to record per person per session, and how to produce hours nobody argues with.
Read the guide1099 vs W-2 for photo and video crew
What actually determines whether your crew are contractors or employees, why the label in your agreement does not decide it, and what misclassification costs.
Read the guideWhat goes on a call sheet
The fields a call sheet must carry, who needs to receive it and when, and what goes wrong when it is a text message.
Read the guide