[CaptainNH]

Firstly, congratulations on getting a paid gig!

What exactly does "help shoot" entail. Is it a second shooter or an assistant role?

There's a big difference between being responsible for getting the shots and the (still very important) role of carrying bags, setting up lights, changing lenses, backing up cards, etc.

There are two ways of looking at this too - the monetary value of your time and effort, and value of the experience you're likely to get out of it. There are lots of people who work second shooter or assistant for nothing just for the experience (I'm not suggesting you do this!!).

Looking at it from his side, it's his gig, he marketed himself and won the work, (I hope) he has paid for appropriate third party insurances - (nothing worse than burning down a school hall with an overheated strobe!), gear to pay for, and he has to deal with the PP and orders and printing and the like.

I don't know where I read it, but I have read that somewhere in the region of 10-20% might be about right for a second shooter, which assuming he's charging somewhere in the region of $100/hr [plus whatever he can make from the prints], would put you in the $20/hr region.

$160 might not seem like much for 8hrs hard work (and believe me, it will be mentally and physically draining), but also think about how he's going to pay you - cash?