Tara Pags wrote:
I just had an assistant hand out her card/ take her shoes off and put her feet on my dashboard and rip her kit out of the trunk of my car and scratch my entire bumper.

I didnt even have a talk with her I didnt know what to say I was so dumfounded.

Lack of common sense and consideration - two things that should be a given.

Elizabethmakeup wrote:

Lack of common sense and consideration - two things that should be a given.

She just started freelancing she only worked at M.A.C I believe, next time I work with her I will say something she is a really nice girl I just the car ugh lol

Tara Pags wrote:
I just had an assistant hand out her card/ take her shoes off and put her feet on my dashboard and rip her kit out of the trunk of my car and scratch my entire bumper.

I didnt even have a talk with her I didnt know what to say I was so dumfounded.

Ok that is really unfortunate if she did make substantial damage make her pay to fix it.
First thing i do is i never car pool with my assistants i like to keep things professional and especially on set if they rock up late or not up to standard its easy for me to send them home.

First thing is if i see someone handing out a card ( which i have years ago) i straight away go up to the person that she handed it out to and apologize to them about her inappropriate behavior on set and that i will not let that affect the rest of the team and it will be dealt with. ( All the production crews i have worked with appreciate this as it restores their confidence in you as the key that you are in control of your crew and wont let inappropriate behavior happen on set- most people when approached by an assistant had awkward conversations where they were pushing the cards into the directors hands promising half price rates certainly not professional and most production crew see through this )

Second thing i do is take the assistant aside quietly from everyone and just say that she is finished for the day and she is no longer required and to pack her things up and head home. If we have another 3 days of shooting i tell her i will call her tonight to let her know of her timetable for the next few days - that evening i call and say not to come in anymore. I found this approach over the years has avoided any on set drama and unnecessary drama for the rest of crew to deal with.

Mary wrote:

So this girl was telling her facebook friends about getting work...and helping make people happy and look good.... she left out the "assistant" part... I really wouldn't personally have a problem with that. It doesn't affect me in the job market. 

Calling another artist an "assistant"might insult them, especially in front of their friends...I think I might use the word "associate" "team", something like that.. Even though she was assisting you that day, she sees herself as an artist and she wants her friends to see her as an artist, thats understandable.


My best "assistant" ever is my daughter-in-law.... because shes humble, a very hard worker and never saw herself as a makeup artist.  She only started to get interested in it after she started assisting me.... She was paid to clean, set up, break down, go get this, go get that and powder the talent on set while I work on another talent. She never minded "assistant" because she didn't have aspirations to ever be an artist.

You may want to consider people who just work hard and have no desire to be artists....  These people can be trained to do just about everything you do...they may not have the eye and so you may have to pick the colors, but they can be trained to apply some of the makep.

Yes I was thinking the same and you just gave me an idea. Thanks!

kat makeup artist  wrote:
Kat MUA- Dont forget the mother in law we made happy too You are a wonderful assistant
Assistant- Kat! You and this word "assistant" haha i am qualified you know!! Haha 4 yrs ago lolll

Kat, this reminds me of a Field Work student at the Nursing Home my partner works at.  She got her panties all in a bunch when they mentioned to the patients that she was a student.  Why don't people understand this is not a bad thing?

Katie grace bouchard wrote:
wow... I hate to think that there are people out there that are potentially ruining jobs for artists like me... I would never want an artist who has more experience than me to say no to me because of someone else's behavior
that being said...
  I have been working on my own for 4 years now, I have a pretty decent portfolio, I work for a bridal agency, Im a hard worker with sh*t tons of passion for this and I wouldnt mind being called an assistant or told to get coffee for everyone... I would do (almost, ha) anything to work with an artist with more experience and talent than me... I dont understand my generation and the lack of work ethic they have. Even if the person you first work with isnt the nicest, thats just the way it is, no? you start at the bottom...
  When I started I jumped at the opportunity to work with a girl in my Esthetics course in good ol' beauty school (everyone else in class said "yeah sure Id love to go on a shoot with you!" and then never did anything about it) I worked with her for 6 months (until she moved to the other side of the country) and was paid once. I cleaned her brushes, got her coffee, did the "dirty" theatrical makeup, prepped faces, got food, watched her daughter ect. NEVER would I complain because I learned more with her in those 6 months then I did in any makeup/beauty course Ive ever taken... I would not be the artist I am today without her.


take what they give you, learn from them, be thankful, then move on to your next goal in living out your big dreams. thats all.

I dont have as much experience as you nor am I signed with an agency, but my famous saying to other artists that have wonderful work is "I would love to assist you even if I have to hand you the makeup brushes!" I think if you really love the field and you are a professional you'll do whatever it takes. I used to work in sales and did biz to biz sales with a team of wonderful agents so I have some common sense about being professional. Some people are so eager and will step all over others to get where they want. I think it takes skill, professionalis, and ethics to make it even as an assistannt.

kat makeup artist  wrote:
Ok yes i know this is one of those things that are killed to death but i would like to do here in a constructive way. I want to make for myself a discussion paper on appropriate assistant behavior to cover all bases to hand out to any of my potential assistants i am looking at giving a go.

I have had a bad run of assistants that are not reliable, committed, and just down right rude and disrespectful. I have found it near impossible to have a couple of assistants that i can really rely on.
Oh and btw up until this point i have always paid my assistants very generously on every gig even the first one! I am certainly rethinking that!
I get extremely busy around bridal season and wouldn't mind having assistants to clean up and prep and watch and learn as it just speeds things up that little bit.

What i have found personally happening that is completely unacceptable is there is no respect shown for the senior artist or the hiring artist at all.

for example, recently i had a new assistant out on a bridal gig. we confirmed everything then the morning of the wedding she messages saying shes not coming she is too tired and pretty much cant be bothered.

I have others that have not picked up a brush since finishing their course do not have the necessary skills yet to touch a face yet not happy when i put it to them that on the first run they will be just watching and on cleaning duty till i can give them some personal tuition to improve their technique. They then wave around their " but im fully qualified i know what im doing" i quickly dont give these ones a chance at all as i can see the immaturity.

another one who had a first run was awesome did prepping and i allowed her to apply base with me doing the colour matching choice and final inspect before going further in my application. She was great and at that point i was happy to call her in on future jobs.

Then i saw the following day her facebook status updates... I will paste below taking names out. BTW she had a picture of herself fish pouting which i can not stand lol.
Made a Bride and her 3 Bridemaids very happy today! ♥
other friend- I thought u didn't know how to put makeup on ppl! Liar liar pants on fire
assistant- Haha i was learningg
other friend- Yea watever u say girl
another different friend- you are a liar! And since when are you working at mac?
assistant- Noooo ur getting the wrong idea! And t-shirt is from salon i worked at 4 yrs ago
Kat MUA- Dont forget the mother in law we made happy too You are a wonderful assistant
Assistant- Kat! You and this word "assistant" haha i am qualified you know!! Haha 4 yrs ago lolll

Last time i checked I was the person hiring yo to assist. You were cleaning brushes and prepping. The bride hired Me and my company to provide services. I did all the makeup and the hair so taking any kind of credit is not on! I will most certainly never call her for a job.

This is so pathetic. It seems the problem is with you not her. You said she was awesome at work and now you won't use her because of some comments on her facebook page that might imply she was the main artist?

Give me a break.

Thomas Van Dyke wrote:
Food for thought: One who demeans those with whom they have collaborated is at the same time both immature and unprofessional...

study set etiquette, k?

all the best on your journey...

+1

Sian Ryan MUA wrote:
Firstly I am shocked at all the assistants behaviours (bad ones obvs!) I am dying to assist muas but when contacting local (& further out) I either get no responses or a big no! I am just shocked at hearing these tales as I would give an arm to assist, for free and these people just dont seem bothered!

- Also, I dont think there is any shame in assisting or being called an assistant, its how we grow and learn as artists!

I am in the same boat here! Maybe it is a small town thing? I would love to assist also, it's a wonderful learning experience to see how another artist works the craft, you can/should learn something new everytime.

I've read Mary's list of what makes a good assistant a long time ago and i practically memorized it!

I think for the future, you should have a discussion with your assisants about keeping the business of your work off of facebook/whatever website.