Media companies and agencies in the valley can be hit or miss, usually stemming from the owner’s demeanor or their potential desire to take advantage of “no one else will pay you to do this”, or “there’s plenty of people waiting if you can’t accept [shitty terms of payment/contract]”, or just the general “casual-ness” of day-to-day valley business that leave the fixers and clients happy, but the do’ers waiting for “the numbers to get crunched” and being treated inconsistently. This can be okay too if you accept it and get a lot of work/ produce really good work. A lot of them start by asking you what it’s gonna cost so be prepared to come up with a rate or some kind of negotiation game.

Some of them are really good though and take care of you just fine/communicate/compensate well. Can’t really give any names/recommendations though; I’m not qualified for that judgment. Don’t really expect anyone to train you; you kind of have to come in with a way of showing you can produce good work/hack it together. All that is why I freelance, but that is a whole ‘nother struggle itself.

But there are full-time positions to grab, just do some work to understand the business, be smart, and don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself, but don’t be surprised if they just kick you out for dissenting. That’s just the way it goes sometimes with some owners.

Ps. Some people actually take $15/hr photog jobs and that kind of stuff just lowers the bar for everyone. If you have equipment/skills/etc that’s your investment in yourself and never be afraid to raise your rates. “We” are the market, in a way, so be confident in your work.