This internship has been one of the most fun and most beneficial experiences I have ever had. It was really awesome to be part of a business and gain insight into the "real world". The biggest takeaway I had was how much of a business aspect there is to photography. You can be really good at the technical side of photography, knowing exactly how your camera works and how to adapt to different lighting situations, but being able to market your photos and create an occupation out of it is just as important, if not more. Working with professional lighting in a setting where you can alter any aspect of the image you want was really fun, I got to replicate photos that I've always admired taken by professional photographers. For example I got to create a black and white photograph with a pure white background, which looks awesome. Even though my passion for photography may not evolve into a career, it was a really great experience to spend time in a professional institution learning advanced portrait photography techniques and business strategies.
Today was the last day of my LINK internship. Allison did not have anything planned in the morning so she had me come in late afternoon to help out with some head shots. I helped out with moving lights around for each pose that the subject made. I also got to try my own lighting setups on the subject that turned out to look really nice and professional. To end my day I got to photograph one of the clients myself, which was really fun and an inspring experience. One of the photos I took actually got chosen as a final image that would be printed and sent to the client.
I spent most of the day today retouching photos from Allison's prom shoot. It was really fun being able to apply my skills I learned in earlier weeks to actual work that would be published for the client. Zoe Nelsen also stopped by for a site visit. I got to show her everything I have been doing and learning and all the contributions I have been making to the studio.
In the morning Nicole and I spent some time setting up a backdrop for the DHS prom shoot that is happening tonight. The theme for this year' DHS prom is The Great Gatsby so we had to set a gold backdrop with gold streamers in front of it. Then for most of the rest of the day I spent time on my project. I went through a bunch of the photos I took and started to choose some that I will use for my final portfolio. Then Allison helped me out with choosing one to actually print out to use at exhibition. I finished the day by going through some photos from a photographer based out of New York to get some ideas on special lighting patterns we could try out tomorrow.
After completing the second week of my internship I have gained tremendous insight into the world of professional photography. I learned a ton during my mentor interview. Being able to hear about my mentor’s journey into being so successful was very beneficial for me in a sense that I will be able to apply the skills my mentor has used to my own endeavors. Unfortunately, we did have plans to go outside sometime during the week and do more photographing with the utilization of sunlight but the weather was not very good; so we did get to spend more time in the studio focusing in basic portrait lighting. Next week Matt and Allison will be out of the office Monday and Tuesday. So I will only have to come into the studio for the last three days of the week, which is nice.
I spent most of the day helping out with preparing for the DHS prom. It consisted mostly of making sure the contacts for all the students doing the photoshoot were in order and designing an information card for both the students and parents. I got to design the card myself so it was a nice learning experience on the realm of graphic design.
Today I conducted the interview with my mentor. It was really nice to gain insight on my mentor's story as to how she became a photographer and how she runs her business. In the morning Steve Smith stopped by so I got to show him all the things I've been doing for the past 2 weeks and what I have learned.
Today was more of a chill day. I spent some time time editing more of the orchid photos from yesterday. I went through a bunch of Youtube videos on how to color correct an image in Photoshop, which I then applied to some of the photos I took from last week. I also came up with a few interview questions as I am planning on conducting my mentor interview tomorrow.
Today was the busiest day at my internship so far. I started off the morning by having a conversation with Matt about the role that social media has in communicating with colleges. There was not very much work related stuff to do so after we talked for a while we ran down to City Market to buy an orchid that I could photograph. After photographing the orchid I put the images into Photoshop where Matt taught me some techniques for creating really cool black and white photos (see below for one of the final photos.) Around noon Allison, Matt, Nicole and I went to lunch at Carver's with Carol Cardwell. For most of the time they talked about photography and business specifically in and around Durango. When we got back to the studio I finished editing the orchid photos and created both color and black and white versions of my final images. At the end of the day Allison and I walked over to the Animas Museum to help their staff out with setting up the lighting and photographing really old artifacts from the museum.
This morning I spent some time with Matt who showed me how stock photos worked. Then for most of the day I got to go on a shoot with Allison outside of the studio. We went to Greg Mann's dentist office where we did a photo shoot of his whole staff and their office. For the group shots and single portraits I worked the beauty dish while Allison photographed. I was able to learn a lot about shooting in the field and setting up shots quickly and efficiently without any planning prior to the shoot.
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Charlie Malone |