How to pay a second shooter
The short answer
Most second shooters in the United States get a flat day rate as 1099 contractors. Most are paid within 14 to 30 days of the shoot. Before the shoot day, agree the rate, the hours it covers, the overtime terms and the delivery date. Put it in writing. If you pay one contractor $600 or more in a tax year, you must collect a Form W-9 from them. Then you must file a Form 1099-NEC for them.
You hired someone for a shoot. Now you need to work out what they are owed and when to pay it. You also need to know what paperwork the tax office expects.
Step by step
- 1
Agree the rate in writing before the shoot
Write a short agreement. Put in the day rate and the number of hours it covers. Add the overtime rate past those hours, how travel and mileage are paid, and when you will pay. Spoken day rates cause more pay disputes than anything else. To one person "a day" means eight hours. To another it means "until we wrap".
- 2
Collect a W-9 before the first payment
Ask for a completed Form W-9 before you pay anything. Do not wait until tax time. Someone who shot for you eleven months ago is hard to chase for a tax number. And you cannot file a 1099-NEC without it.
- 3
Record real hours on the day
Log start and end times per shooter, per session, on the shoot day itself. Working out hours from memory two weeks later underpays the crew every time. It also starts disputes you will lose.
- 4
Check the files arrived before you pay
If the agreement says they hand over cards or send picks, check that happened before you pay. Holding back pay for work already done is a different matter, and carries real legal risk. The check here is that the agreed files arrived. It is not a judgement of quality.
- 5
Work it out, write it down, and pay
Add up the base rate plus any agreed overtime, travel and expenses. Send a statement that shows how you got to the figure. Then pay by the agreed method, inside the window you promised. A payment that arrives with a breakdown almost never gets questioned.
- 6
File a 1099-NEC if you crossed $600
Add up everything you paid that person across the tax year. At $600 or more you must file Form 1099-NEC and send them a copy. That is usually due by 31 January for the year before.
Where this goes wrong
Paying a day rate for a day that ran twelve hours
If "day rate" does not say how many hours, a long wedding turns a fair rate into an unfair one. Set the covered hours and the overtime rate up front.
Holding back pay until someone judges the quality
Holding back a contractor’s earned pay until a manager approves it is risky. It looks like the control an employer has over an employee. Check that the files arrived. Do not hold back pay because you did not like the images. If you are not sure, ask an employment lawyer in your state.
Missing the $600 line because the payments were split
The $600 line adds up across the whole tax year, not per shoot. Four $200 shoots cross it. Keep a running total per person.
Treating a regular second shooter as a contractor without thinking
Someone who works only for you, on your schedule, with your gear, may count as an employee. The IRS or your state may say so, whatever the agreement says. The penalties for getting it wrong fall on you, not on them.
Questions people ask
What is a typical second shooter day rate?
Rates vary a lot by city, experience and type of shoot. Any single published figure will be wrong for most readers. Set yours against local rates and the shooter’s experience, not a national average.
Do I need a 1099 for a second shooter?
Yes, if you paid them $600 or more in the tax year and they are not a corporation. Then you generally must file Form 1099-NEC and give them a copy. You need their completed Form W-9 to do it.
How soon should I pay a second shooter?
Within 14 to 30 days of the shoot is normal. Whatever you choose, put it in the agreement before the shoot and stick to it. Paying on time is the main reason good freelancers come back.
Can I pay a second shooter only after the client pays me?
You can agree that in advance. But it is unpopular, and it pushes your client risk onto a freelancer. If you do it, say so plainly in the written agreement. Do not spring it on them after the fact.