Freelance · Open
Portrait Photographer
Join the Mammoth Collective. Think of us as your booking agent: we handle the clients, contracts, and logistics. You show up and do great work, with our kit and our lighting, under your name.
- Where
- Detroit-based events plus fly-out conferences and trade shows nationwide.
- When
- Half days and full days. Some multi-day conferences with travel days.
What you’ll do
- Run a full portrait studio: pro strobes, modifiers, backdrop scenes, tethered instant delivery.
- Shoot portraits non-stop for 4 to 5 hours: volume photography, crowds of people, every group posed and lit.
- Pose people fast and make them feel good about how they look. High volume, high energy, long days.
- Nail exposure and framing in camera. Zero edits; the photo lands on the guest’s phone in seconds.
- Pick up the kit from our Detroit office before the event and drop it back after.
- Set up early and ready to go? If other event staff are still getting last-minute things done, ask if you can help. We always go out of our way to help when we have time.
- Represent Mammoth on site. If a guest asks, you freelance, and this kind of work runs through Mammoth.
- Keep the setup clean and the line moving. Take breaks we plan for.
- Be promoted by name. Clients can book you specifically through us.
Who you are
- A strong portfolio. Send it with your application.
- Already in motion: actively shooting and doing your thing. We help you get better and learn our signature style.
- Experienced with volume photography and crowds of people.
- Confident with off-camera lighting and posing.
- Charismatic and steady. You keep the energy up for 4 to 5 hours of shooting without a break in quality.
- Reliable transportation and a valid license. Cases go in your vehicle.
- An experienced portrait photographer who knows studio lighting and can work solo.
- A freelancer who likes being part of a bigger team. Solo headshots and studio work stay yours; live, high-paced event work is what we do together.
- Willing to record a short meet-me bio video so clients see who they’re hiring.
Not for you if
- You need to edit to get a good photo.
- Loud rooms and long days drain you.
- You’re not comfortable being on camera yourself.
What it pays
- Rates start at $700 per half day (up to 5 hours of shooting) and $1,200 per full day. Setup and pack-down included.
- Travel days (no shooting): $250 per day. Driving to events: $25/hr plus fuel. Lodging booked for you; fuel, hotel or Airbnb, and meals reimbursed.
- Agreed in writing before every event. We bring all the equipment.
Full detail in How We Pay.
The process
How hiring works
1. Apply
Fill out the short form on the role you want, with a link to your work.
2. Phone screen
A real conversation about you, not a script.
3. References
We ask for three, and we call them.
4. Offer in writing
Your role and rate in writing.
5. Onboarding and training
Paid training: the videos, a quiz and a hands-on day at the studio. You sign The Standard.
6. Shadow an event
Work an event as an apprentice.
7. Work
First event, then the next.
Apply
Sound like you? A few questions, then it’s in front of us. Before you start, read The Standard, the rules everyone signs.