You should be at your place of work 15 minutes before you have to begin to prepare your camera and flash and make some test exposures so that everything is ready when you start work.
30 minutes after the ship arrives in port work begins for 2 or 3 of the photographers on the gangway. Photographing the passenger as they come ashore takes about 3 hours. The time depends on when the ship arrives in the port and that varies.
The passengers disembark the ship and you and your colleagues take photos of them as they come down the gangway. Ideally, you should take 2 photos of every guest so that we can chose the best one later.
When the passengers are all ashore you return to the photo office to prepare the photos you have just taken. The passengers want to see their photos so you should present the pictures in the digital video display as quickly as possible. Even though speed is important, you have to be careful not to make mistakes. Nobody will pay for a photo collage with spelling mistakes or the wrong date!
The quicker and more efficiently you work the more free time you will have. When you have finished your work you can make use of your time however you want to. Just make sure you are back punctually for your next task.
When you accompany the tours you have to be at the start point 15 minutes before the tour begins so that you are sure that the tour does not leave without you. You will be informed about the time, the bus number and the meeting point by the team manager or the tour guide. This will give you enough time to check your equipment again, present yourself to the guests and explain what you will be doing on the tour.
There are approximately 20 different tours arranged in every port. Selected tours will be accompanied by you and your colleagues.
It is important that you let the passengers board the bus first and always be polite and friendly. During the stops the guests have time to enjoy the highlights while you concentrate on taking destination photos for the photo DVD an to use in the photo collages.
You should always remember that the most important thing is to take good pictures of the guests. Your job is to capture the important moments for the passengers and to use your creativity to take the best possible photos of the passengers.
The tours are usually about 5 hours long returning to the ship by about 1 pm. Some tours take all day and return to the ship late in the afternoon. When you get back to the ship you will have time to have a a shower and a meal. Later you will have to prepare your photos and present them in the display. On the tours you have more time for the photos than on the gangway so you will have lots of pictures of all the guests and you will have to sort them out before you display them.
The concept of the digital Video wall and display makes it possible to show the photos without printing them all. We only print the photos that the guests buy. That also means that all the photographers have to print out the ordered photos and sort them into envelopes and give them to the passengers that have ordered them.
The photo shop is centrally located on the ship close to the display area. The photographers have to be present here during pre-arranged opening times to help the passengers and answer any questions they have. Friendliness and helpfulness are very important in contact with the guests and help toward a successful cruise and photo sales.
We also offer the passengers photo shootings. The guests can book a photographer for an individual photo series on land or on the ship.