We are hiring a full-time, 40-hour, in-person W-2 employee to join Zoe Larkin Photography in Oakland, California.

This is a creative production role combining high-volume wedding post-production (editing), wedding photography, and the opportunity to grow into much greater responsibility within an established Bay Area photography business.

Although post-production is the core of the role, this is also a hands-on studio position working directly alongside Zoe and helping with the day-to-day needs of the business as they arise.

You’ll be stepping into an established role with a fully documented post-production workflow, including detailed training materials and a comprehensive editing manual developed through our existing in-house editing process.

About Zoe Larkin Photography

Zoe Larkin Photography is a small, established Bay Area wedding photography company specializing in San Francisco City Hall, intimate weddings and LGBTQ+ weddings. Zoe has personally photographed more than 600 weddings, and since 2021 we have brought on a small team of associate photographers.

We photograph around 100 weddings a year. Many of our clients are planning smaller or less traditional celebrations, alongside a smaller number of large, full-day weddings. Around 70% of our work takes place at San Francisco City Hall, so the business operates at high volume and depends heavily on strong systems, consistent editing and efficient production.

The company is also highly content-driven. A substantial amount of our business comes through our website, blog, YouTube and social media, so the person in this role will be joining a business that combines photography, education, marketing and a growing photography team.

What you’ll actually do

Post-production is the backbone of this position and will make up the majority of the work.

That includes:

• Preparing sneak peeks
• Culling images in Photo Mechanic
• Using Imagen AI to assist with Lightroom edits
• Extensive and repetitive Photoshop work removing bystanders and distracting elements from City Hall weddings, primarily using generative tools — only basic retouching knowledge is needed
• Preparing final galleries for delivery

This is detailed, repetitive work, particularly the Photoshop involved in our City Hall galleries. If that sounds miserable to you, this will not be a good fit.

How the role breaks down

• Core day-to-day work: post-production
• Also required immediately: being visibly associated with the brand, including appearing in photos and video and speaking on social media
• Also required within approximately 3–6 months: photographing weddings independently as an associate photographer, with training provided.
• Potential additional work depending on your strengths and bandwidth: preparing social media posts using our wedding images, blogging and other creative or production work
• Future growth areas: client communication, sales, administration and broader business operations

Where this can lead

I plan to relocate abroad and step substantially back from the day-to-day running of the business in approximately 4–5 years.

My goal is to develop the right long-term employee into someone who can take on a much larger role within the company, with significantly greater responsibility and compensation.

As you become established in the business, that may include:

• Leading client communication
• Creating and refining wedding timelines
• Conducting sales calls
• Preparing contracts, invoices and other administrative work
• Taking greater ownership of content and marketing
• Coordinating our team of associate photographers
• Managing substantial parts of the day-to-day business

More responsibility would come with significantly increased compensation.

Who will thrive here

• You already have solid experience with Lightroom and Photoshop and understand professional photo-editing standards. We use Imagen AI extensively for Lightroom editing and Generative Fill in Photoshop, and I do not have the capacity to teach editing fundamentals from scratch.
• You have some existing experience photographing weddings and working with wedding timelines, with a foundation we can build upon.
• You genuinely enjoy detailed visual work and have a high tolerance for repetition.
• You are confident, personable and outgoing, and naturally comfortable talking to people and making them feel at ease.
• You communicate clearly and professionally, both verbally and in writing.
• You are reliable, organized and capable of managing your workload independently once you understand what is expected.
• You take initiative and are comfortable growing into greater responsibility.
• You want a stable creative career and can see yourself growing within a small business for several years.

You will be part of the public face of the company

I am looking for someone who is comfortable being visibly associated with Zoe Larkin Photography.

That means being on camera with me, including in talking-head social media content, and appearing in photos and video on our 11k-follower Instagram. Over time, I want clients and followers to recognize another trusted person as an integral part of the company.

If you strongly prefer to keep your face, voice or likeness completely separate from your work, this role will not be a good fit. 

Location and working environment

This is an in-person position in Oakland.

You should already live in Oakland or close enough that commuting here five days a week is genuinely sustainable.

The office is inside my home. You would usually work alongside me in the same office, though I am frequently out photographing weddings.

My husband and elderly mother-in-law also live in the home. My husband helps run the business.

We have a cat, so you must be comfortable with cats and cannot have an allergy that would make working here impossible.

The office is accessed by one internal flight of stairs within the condo.

Why this isn’t a remote position

Our post-production workflow is deliberately centralized in my home office, and the person in this position will work closely alongside me in the day-to-day running of the business.

There are several practical reasons why this can’t become a remote or hybrid role:

• We deal with hundreds of gigabytes of RAW files from each wedding, all of which flow into one central storage and backup system. Many of these files come from our associate photographers and must be downloaded, organized, cross-referenced and stored according to our established workflow.
• You’ll have your own powerful editing workstation with dual large monitors and blazing-fast internet speed set up specifically for high-volume photo production.
• RAW files, catalogs, working files and finished galleries need to remain organized in one place so there is a single source of truth and no confusion.
• Our backup process includes automatic offsite backups as well as regularly maintained local clone backups.
• The person in this role needs to be able to come in, open the current job and start working without waiting for me to prepare catalogs, package files or transfer huge amounts of data back and forth.
• A major purpose of this position is to take post-production off my plate, so the workflow cannot create a new layer of file preparation, uploading, downloading and handoffs for me to manage.
• This is also a highly collaborative role. You’ll work directly alongside me, learn the business closely, help with production and other day-to-day needs, and increasingly become involved in more areas of the company.
• Working in the same space makes training, troubleshooting, quality control and quick creative or operational decisions substantially faster.

Hours and compensation

This is a full-time, 40-hour-per-week W-2 employee position.

Normal working hours will be during the regular workday, most likely 8am–4pm or 9am–5pm. We are looking for someone who can work a consistent schedule.

Wedding photography frequently takes place on evenings and weekends. Those hours will typically replace weekday working hours. There may also be opportunities to work additional wedding hours for additional pay.

Starting compensation is $55,000–$65,000 per year, depending on experience.

We contribute 50% toward employee health insurance. Benefits also include two weeks of paid vacation, paid holidays and sick leave.

There is an initial three-month introductory period.

How to apply

Please complete the application form below. All applications should be submitted through this form.

The application is intentionally detailed so we can determine whether there is a potential fit before scheduling an interview.

Selected applicants will be invited to an initial virtual interview.

Finalists will be invited to the Oakland office for a paid practical assessment involving real-world editing and other tests relevant to the position. You will also have an opportunity to see the home-office setup for yourself.

If the application form below is still live, the position is still available.

Thank you for your interest.