Dear awesome person

join our team

We’re a passionate group of difference makers. The work we do matters. We get to positively impact the clients we work for and the customers we serve every week. We’re a tight-knit crew focused on bringing our best, encouraging each other, and enjoying the daily challenges our work throws at us.

Application

What we do

Circle Auction is a Kansas City based online auction house specializing in fine art, modern design, jewelry, art glass, and antiques. The company was started in 2018 with the goal to make the process of buying and selling exceptional objects at auction easy, intuitive, and enjoyable. We host six auctions a year and sell items to local, national, and international buyers.

Auctions are such an incredible service for buying and selling unique, noteworthy, one-of-a-kind, interesting, significant items. We want to introduce this world to a whole new group of buyers and sellers; making the buying process simple and enjoyable, while making the selling process easy and profitable.

three reasons to work with us

We get to handle some pretty cool things. From Fortune 500 Corporate Art collections to the estate of a local furniture designer/printmaker, we’ve seen our fair share of interesting items. A couple team favorites: Signed Andy Warhol serigraph (sold for $31,000), a collection of Thomas Hart Benton lithographs and original sketches, a pair of 1816 celestial and terrestrial globes (sold for $15,000), several original museum quality Birger Sandzen oil paintings (sold between $19,000 and $130,900)

Flexibility. We conduct 4-8 auctions a year and depending on the number of items, each auction takes 50 -150 hours to photograph and edit. There is a lot of flexibility with this role and some ability to set your own schedule. The schedule intensifies if we are getting close to an auction deadline and there is still a lot of items to photograph

Culture. Circle Auction is the sister company of the award winning Brown Button Estate Sales and they both operate out of the same office in Kansas City’s West Bottoms. Combined, both companies have 22 team members. If you ask every team member what they enjoy most about working here, culture will be near the top of the list. “People Matter Always” is our top core value and we work hard to create a work place that people enjoy working in.

Our Values:

Visual Excellence

We present a stunning visual experience to everyone who interacts with our auction.

Strategic Effectiveness

We are strategic in what we focus on and intentional about how we do our work.

People Matter Always

We ask the question, “How would I want to be treated?”

"I Am Responsible"

You are responsible for yourself, your role, and your growth.

items auctioned to date

price of our highest sold item

Star rating on Google & Yelp

Cups Of Coffee

“Profit isn’t a purpose, it’s a result. To have purpose means the things we do are of real value to others.”

-Simon Senek

Studio Photographer

We are on the hunt for a studio photographer to join our growing team and create the photo catalogue for each of our online auctions.

Studio lights, camera gear, and computer provided. You are also welcome to use your own camera setup if preferred.

Main Responsibilities:

Photographing each auction item in our in-house studio using a DSLR and studio lights.
Creating 6-12 images per item that highlight the different sides and details, accurately portrays the color, and includes a scale image.
Handling the wide array of items (from 6ft paintings to 150+ year old clocks) with care.
Using Adobe Lightroom (or equivalent photo editing software) to edit our images, clean up the backgrounds, and keep the whole catalogue looking uniform.
Upload images in the appropriate titles/formats to our auction cataloging software, as well as archive and organize across internal systems.
Be able to work under advertising and catalog deadlines.
Assist with additional marketing and supporting auctions as needing.

Requirements/Experience:

Background in studio photography (as shown by a professional portfolio) is a must.
Knowing how to use DSLR cameras, different lenses, and studio lights.
Ability to change studio lighting set up to create your desire outcome. Understanding how to adapt your lighting to photo the wide array of items we deal with: furniture, oil painting, mirrors, jewelry, glass, antiques, etc.
Degree in Photography is a bonus, but not required.
Proficient in Adobe Lightroom or equivalent photo editing software.
Visually creative with experience in product photography (preferred, not required)
Self-motivated when working independently (most of the job) while also working well with a team.
The ability to kneel, squat, or stand for extended periods of time while photographing as well as lift and carry up to 50lbs.

Pay/Hours:

This is a part time position. We conduct 4-8 auctions a year and depending on the number of items, each auction takes between 50 and 150 hours to photograph/edit. There is a lot of flexibility with this role and some ability to set your own schedule. As we get closer to an auction, the schedule intensifies and the week or two before an auction are more like full time hours.
Pay is between $18 – $25 a hour depending on experience, quality of work, and pace.

Please email portfolios to Info@circleauction.co

Studio Photograph Experience 100% 100%
Ability to light various subjects effectively like glass, metal, oil paintings, furniture, etc. 90% 90%
Artistic Creative Eye 85% 85%
Creativity and Writing Ability for Social Media 70% 70%
Photo Editing Skills 85% 85%
DSLR Expertise 95% 95%

Apply

Ready to take the next step?

Fill out our team application below. After it’s completed, send a link to your portfolio and your resume to info@circleauction.co (.co not .com)