Where do you start?

[itsanaddiction]

I'm a photography major at LSU and really want to start shooting more professionally but under someone. Last summer I e-mailed a lot of photographers but received hardly any response. There are few job openings. SO the question is, if no one answers when you e-mail about interning, and there is no one who has job openings, where do you begin?

 

[EBphotography]

I'm a photography major at LSU and really want to start shooting more professionally but under someone. Last summer I e-mailed a lot of photographers but received hardly any response. There are few job openings. SO the question is, if no one answers when you e-mail about interning, and there is no one who has job openings, where do you begin?

You could always try doing some stuff on your own. Go to your school's sporting events, concerts, etc. Try to get a mini-business going for yourself. Thats a good place to start for experience, because you set your own schedule and just how committed you want to be. Plus, make a little cash on the side by trying to sell the photos!

 

[Buszaj]

I know that some major newspapers run internships during the summer. You fill out some forms, send a portfolio, and just apply to it.

 

[kellylindseyphotography]

I'd say pick the field you want to go into... Lets say you want to shoot baseball. You want to be a baseball photographer. You there have a clear idea of who you want to be and want you want to shoot.

Then you go about doing it. lol. Go to some games, on your own. Build up some port. pictures. Work on all your skills, your exposure, getting to know your camera, post processing work. Have 5 nice ones printed and matted to show to someone that you want to impress... either the coach at the baseball team, or a newspaper. Find similar baseball shooters in your area and have them look at your mini 'folio. Keep at it and you'll get there

 

[JIP]

You could try making up a resume and having a good physical portfolio with prints and actually showing up at these studios and trying to get into see these people. An email is fine for a message but a little too impersonal for contacting a person for somehing like this I am sure these guys get a million emails a day and ones like this might get deleted before they even read them. Aonther thing to try would be to mail a resume with some kind of collage printed to show your images and possibly ps skills. Remember if you are in a town with a photography school any potential employer gets a million contacts like this a day so you need to stand out.

 

[christopher walrath]

Do any photographic faculty take on something similar to an intern, all-around grunt if nothing else? You're under a wing and get brownie points besides. Photographic faculty at other schools. Community college teaching. Work at a photography gallery. Just ideas.

 

[itsanaddiction]

I can check but as far as I know they don't. Unfortunately we won;y have 2 professors (i think) maybe 3. And the rest grad students. but great ideas!! thank you

 

[Paparoksguitar]

Connections. Well atleast that's like half of it IMO.

First shoot your own stuff so you can prove, I want to learn, and will absorb information like a sponge.

Then i would suggest take a couple photos over on a cd or your prefered media, and meet face to face.
A kid's mom in my grade does some portraits, and so I'm going to meet with her very soon to set up an internship type thing, We know her because she did shots of my sister awhile back, and i kind of know her son..briefly.
Just look up local photographers and see if you know them in some way.
But connections are very important. I would say go try to meet them soon though, that would help.

That's just what I would suggest based off of the current experience I'm in.