Entry #10

Overall, this internship has been a wonderful experience! I have learned so much from Tammy about photography, editing, and running a business. She was a great mentor- patient, kind, and knowledgeable in every subject! She allowed Hannah and I to be very independent through our experience and offered us many opportunities to share our opinions. We each created an entire coffee table book on our own and took many of our own pictures at weddings. I strongly recommend this internship to future interns. I feel very fortunate to have obtained my position. Hannah was also great to work with. We’ve had some great adventures together over the past several months of working together, and I will always remember the stories we had to share. Together we met many new people and were able to use our networking and business skills and each event that we assisted photographing.

There are several things that I would recommend to upcoming interns. I was glad that I kept a running record of things that I completed throughout this internship to put in the blog. After a little while into the internship, I had trouble posting some of the entries online, and also realized that Hannah and I would only be able to reach about 150 hours of the internship. Thankfully, I could adjust the entries on my computer to put them online, but I learned that it would have been best to just continue posting them online, and adjust the hours later. Also, I would definitely recommend to future interns that they obtain an internship early and search for one that will offer a very hands-on experience. That is what Hannah and I did and I wouldn’t trade in a minute of it!

Entry #9

Dates: 10/8-11/14

Activities: Assist photographing a wedding, take senior portraits of Hannah (alongside Tammy), assist photographing a bar mitzvah, edit senior picture

Technical Information: Light meter, 3-4 Canon DSLR Cameras, Sony a330 dslr, video light, ceiling flashes, Adobe Photoshop, Bridge

Reflection: Hannah and I had an incredible end to our internship! Our last wedding was such a success and it turns out that my cross country coach even knew the bride! She used to run cross country for Apex and she and her maid of honor were both captains in their senior year. We were again able to use our own cameras (Sony a330 dslr) to shoot some images of the bride before the ceremony. Along with our last wedding, October and November included a senior portrait session, but this time, Hannah and I were the models! When one of us was not being photographed, we were able to use our cameras to photograph alongside Tammy. This was an especially nice time because it allowed Tammy some one-on-one time with each of us to extensively teach us more about aperture, shutter speed and ISO while photographing. I was difficult for her to stop shooting at weddings for a teaching moment. We were also able to go back to her studio and edit some of our very own pictures. Instead of just enhancing them and increasing the exposure, we were showed how to use different masks and other very detailed editing techniques on Photoshop. It was a really neat experience.

Unfortunately, Hannah could not make it to our last event, a bar mitzvah! Photographing a bar mitzvah is much different than photographing a wedding because you have an entirely different group of people to encounter. At this event, I was able to use one of Tammy’s cameras instead of my own to photograph with her throughout the entire event! I felt pressured, as I had never used the camera before, but once I was able to get the settings straight, it came much easier to me and I had a blast! This is probably the experience that makes me the most proud, because I stepped up to a challenging task with confidence and did my job successfully. Tammy told me that the pictures turned out beautifully and we received a very kind thank you note from our client, letting us know how much she loved the images and that her entire experience with us was wonderful. It felt great to read the note knowing that I did a great job and pleased a client to the fullest extent.

Entry #8

Dates: 8/8-9/10

Activities: Assist photographing a wedding, edit pictures using Photoshop

Technical Information: Light meter, 3-4 Canon DSLR Cameras, video light, ceiling flashes, Adobe Photoshop, Bridge

Reflection: September offered much better weather to us than July did as we photographed our second to last wedding! Ali and Jon Mark were a beautiful couple to photograph and some of their images can now be found on Tammy’s blog as well. One of my favorite parts about the weddings is the exit of the bride and groom. On many occasions so far, the couple has left through a tunnel of sparklers. During this time, it is my job to set up the video light, used to provide a greater capacity of light to be shined on the bride and groom as they are walking through the tunnel. The light makes the picture turn out more clear, and it is easier to edit as you do not need to increase the exposure as much. Before summer came to an end, I was also able to get two more editing days in at Tammy’s studio. I finished my coffee table book, sorted and edited hundreds of wedding pictures, and watched a video tutorial on how to use new features on a blog that Tammy is considering downloading. I watched the video, took notes and was able to teach Tammy how to start the new blog. We had some trouble with the software at first but eventually got the glitches sorted out!

As I have progressed throughout this internship, I have definitely been given more responsibility. I have been able to edit many pictures on my own, take many of my own pictures to send along to the bride, and my ideas and opinions are often very important to making a decision at a wedding or event. I have accepted these responsibilities with great pride as I am proud that Tammy considers me a trustworthy employee that she can count on as a responsible and efficient assistant.

Entry #7

Dates: 7/14-7/20

Activities: Assist photographing a wedding, edit pictures using Photoshop

Technical Information: Light meter, 3-4 Canon DSLR Cameras, video light, ceiling flashes, Adobe Photoshop, Bridge

Reflection: It’s July and the hot, sunny weather is here! This presented us with more challenges at our July wedding! Carrying heavy camera equipment while wearing thick black dress pants is not the easiest of tasks! We also had to search around the wedding location a little bit harder to find places in the shade to photograph the bride, Lauren, her husband, Lance, and their bridal party and families! It’s all very worth it through when you get to put down the equipment and shoot a beautiful summer wedding. Hannah and I have become very skilled at efficiently moving everything around as well as at trading off positions are “director” and “stylist”.

This month also presented us with the opportunities to edit more in Tammy’s studio. I started working on creating business cards for our next wedding using Photoshop and the templates Tammy has on her computer.

The most frustrating thing that I have encountered so far is learning everything on Photoshop quickly. It is difficult for me to see something one time and be expected to repeat it right away. Tammy has been very understanding and while I was first learning how to use the program, she sat with me and observed me as I edited a picture step-by-step. This way, if I had any questions, she was right there to answer them so we could get any confusion cleared up and out of the way.

Entry #6

Dates: 6/28-7/6

Activities: Edit wedding photographs, update Tammy’s blog/website, create a coffee table book of images using Photoshop

Technical Information: Photoshop, Bridge, Macintosh desktop computer with Safari

Reflection: The end of June and beginning of July has been a great time for use to unwind and focus on editing pictures. The beginning of the internship was filled with weddings and school activities that it was difficult to find enough time to sit down awhile and start working on heavier technology-based part of the internship. I have learned how to use Photoshop to properly edit the wedding photographs. I am also starting a new project: coffee table book. This is a product that Tammy offers to her brides that involves us choosing the top 200 or so wedding pictures and compiling them into a hard cover, 80 page photo book. These books take a lot of time and effort to create and cannot wait to see the finished product of my hard work!

To pursue a career as a professional photographer, you need extensive training and education on proper use of cameras, camera settings, lighting, and modern editing technology. Many colleges offer photography classes for people interested in the field. It definitely takes some time to be considered a professional. Once you have the photography skills, you also need business education to learn how to start or work for a company and earn money. Many photographers have majored in business and entrepreneurship to pursue their goals as a professional photographer. This internship has opened my eyes to the fact that it takes a lot of time and effort to becoming and being a professional photographer. It is an incredibly busy career that includes a lot more than just taking the pictures. It has made me realize that I may not want to pursue this job as a career, but continue my photography on the side. It has always been my dream to pursue a career in which I am able to work with children. While in some cases throughout this internship so far, I have been able to interact with kids, it does not make up the job. I do wish photographers were given more credit for their work sometimes. I have been able to experience the hard work that it takes first hand, and I, along with many other people, never noticed how much time they put into their jobs.