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 Martin Schoeller: "When I assisted Annie Leibovitz, we took planes a lot. I always took a car service to the airport, and I was always the last assistant to arrive. One day when I showed up, Annie had already checked in. She was quite angry with me. It’s one thing to come after all the other assistants, but showing up after the photographer you work for is especially bad."
Diana Bezanski: "In assisting you have to pay your dues, sometimes in ways you don’t expect. I was
going on a cross-country shoot with a photographer (who should remain nameless), and his sons, ages 6 and 10, were coming with us. As we were getting ready to leave, his wife shoved something at me -- a to-do list. It said, ‘Make sure the kids do their homework, sharpen their pencils, eat their meals, take showers,’ and on and on. It was humiliating. And the worst part: There was no ‘thank you’ at the end!"
 Frank Ockenfels III: "Neal Slavin always carried about 27 cases of equipment, and I was his only assistant. On one shoot, during a massive heat wave, the client saw me unloading the cases by myself, and he pitched in to help. Neal ripped into me, saying that if the client ever touched a case again, he’d fire me. At the next airport, the client insisted on helping me again, even though I asked him not to. Neal yelled at me again. This happened three or four times. Afterward I was supposed to continue with Neal in Europe, but I told him to get someone else. He just stared at me and said, ‘You’ll never make it in this business.’ Ten years later, when Neal set up a production company, they called and asked me to join them. I told them to forget it -- he probably didn’t remember me, but I’ll never forget what he said that day."
Michael Murphree: "After apprenticing with Annie Leibovitz, I went out on my own, shooting for a number of magazines, occasionally assisting to make ends meet. I got a call to assist from a photographer who was shooting the cover for a magazine that published a lot of my work. I didn’t want to assist him, but he said he really needed my help. I called the magazine to find out if anybody I worked with was going to be there, because that would be awkward. They told me no, so I said okay. When I showed up, everyone [I worked with] was there! Somehow I became the scapegoat -- whenever they got pissed at the photographer, they yelled at me. Things went from bad to worse, and the magazine never asked me to shoot for them again. That was the last assisting job I ever too."
 Jonathan Mannion: "After I assisted Richard Avedon, who taught you how to handle any situation, I wanted to check out Steven Klein, so I dropped by one of his shoots. I wasn’t supposed to work, but they asked me to be third assistant. It soon became obvious that the first assistant had had a few too many the night before and nothing was going to happen unless someone took control, so I did. When Steven said he wanted to get in close, I moved the camera in closer, to a spot I thought he would like. He got real pissed off -- I apologized and moved the camera back, but I marked the spot with a piece of tape. Making his selects, Steven realized that most of them had been taken from that spot. He gave me a funny look -- and then hired me right on the spot."
Greg Heisler: "One day, when I was Arnold Newman’s assistant -- I was very green and intimidated by him because I was so young -- he told me to rent a Hertz car. I’m from Chicago, where everyone owns a car. I got the rental and picked up Arnold. Not knowing that people in New York City don’t always have cars, I innocently asked him, ‘Is yours in the shop?’ Arnold gave me one of his looks and said, ‘What do you mean? I don’t have a car.’ I couldn’t believe it -- how could someone famous not own a car? Aghast, I turned to him and responded, ‘Is business bad?’"
 John Huet: "I was first assistant for Al Fisher, one of the top shooters in Boston. We got a job with Laura Ashley that was going to be shot on location with top models. It was a big deal for me -- I had to call in books from New York, pick stylists, hire a crew, stuff I’d never done. I was very excited and nervous. The day of the shoot came, and we were on the beach, with the models, the Winnebago, the sunrise ... but in all the excitement I’d forgotten the light meter, the tripod, and the Polaroid back. And I’d only brought one extension cord so we couldn’t set up lights. When I told Al, his expression never changed. He never raised his voice. He just walked over to the client and told him that the light was so beautiful he’d decided to use natural light, and he said that he preferred not to use a Polaroid. His calm demeanor convinced the client that everything was okay. When I asked him later if he was pissed, he said that he was livid -- but a photographer should never let the client know there’s something wrong. I never forgot that."
Paul Aresu: "I’ve always been a Rolling Stones fanatic, and when I was assisting Tom Arma we got to shoot Mick Jagger’s girlfriend, Jerry Hall. When we were done, we went to lunch. She said, ‘I have to call Mick,’ and I said, ‘Oh my God -- I love Mick!’ She took me to a pay phone -- these were the days before cell phones -- and she said, ‘Here, you talk.’ My hands trembled as I took the receiver and said, ‘Hey, Mick, how ya doin?’ It’s those little perks that keep you in the business."
Monte Isom: "I got a call to assist Greg Heisler at the White House, photographing President Bush. You only get five minutes with the president and you have to be tight and ready to go. We set up in the West Wing. When Bush comes in, Greg says, ‘Mr. President, I’m Gregory Heisler, I’m going to be shooting you today, and this is my assistant, Monte Isom.’ Bush kind of chuckled, then he got this weird light in his eye, stuck out his finger, and said, ‘Maaahhnnnteee!’ From this point forward, it’s like I’m his fraternity brother. Greg would say, ‘Mr. President, can you please look over your left shoulder?’ and Bush would say, ‘You mean at Maaahhnnnteee?’ When Greg wanted to shoot his hands, Bush said, ‘Just don’t shoot my belly button.’ Then he turned to me and said, ‘Don’t tell anyone about my belly button, Maaahhnnnteee!’ I nodded and told him, ‘Your secret’s safe with me, sir.’ When we got back to New York, I immediately called to cancel my future assisting jobs. I knew it wouldn’t get any better than telling the president of the United States that his secret was safe with me. That was the day I stopped assisting and became a photographer."
Jason Langer: "After graduating, I got an offer to be Mike
Kenna’s first assistant three days a week. I learned more in four months assisting him than I did in four years at university and became utterly committed to fine-art photography. I wasn’t making enough to make ends meet, though, so I decided to dip my toes into commercial assisting. I worked for one day -- and then quit. All I did the entire day was hold a bounce card. It was really insulting, especially since Michael had let me do everything possible. I decided then and there that I’d only eat rice and beans if that’s what it took to stay in fine art."
-- as told to judith gelman myers
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