Internship in Review

 First of all let me apologize for no Friday Ambassador post for the last few weeks.  Starting a new job and finishing the last of my internship was just enough to throw me off course when I came down ill.  I can finally wrap my brain around the fact it is Friday!! (Trust me that is a huge improvement over the last few weeks!

RC Broncos Celebrating another win

Much like the Rubber City Broncos celebrating what was another win to their road to becoming the 2015 Cardinal Division Champs the end of my internship is a celebration.   There are things that happened behind the scenes that make this internship difficult at times.  I will not go into detail about the difficulties because I think that in the end what challenges us makes us strong in anything that we do. 

Instead I wanted to share some generalizations about what I learned over the last 11 weeks.

1. No matter what you expect from your internship it will be different.  

This isn't a negative thing it is just an observation.  What your employer things is your job may not be what you thought your job with them maybe.  While I was the photographer for my team and eventually the TV show my job wasn't just to shoot pictures.  

At times I played personal assistant with responsibilities that had nothing to do with actual photography at all.  However in the end I learned what it was like to be an owner of a Semi-Pro Team. I learned how difficult it can be to be an owner.  I learned how much more there was to getting the games ready than just may part.  In many ways, I got to know various players better which in the end gave me better shots this year.  

2. Something will go wrong.

This seems like a silly concept but if you are expecting an easy internship I'll be honest in most cases something will go wrong! It could be personally related - equipment failure. It could be something completely out of your control.  

The point is you can't dwell on that and let it stop you from being the best you that you can be during your internship!  Your internship is ultimately about you getting the most out of it.  If you don't feel you are getting all you can out of it talk with your employer and make suggestions about what else you can do. Or even ask for more work.

3. You may have to nag a little about time sheets.

Depending on the employer you are working with you may have to push a little politely to get your time sheets signed off.  

First of all try not to get frustrated. You may see that your grade is going down because of late time sheets. Keep your Internship Advisor in the loop and if need be she will also intervene for you.

This will seem huge for you as you are working your tail off.  Don't sweat the small stuff this can be worked out.

4. Get it in writing - Yep I said it don't forget a personal contract 

The school will give your employer a general contract and in the process you and your employer will define your roll and your duties.

What isn't included is how your employer wants you to hand things.  What you should and shouldn't put on your time sheet per your employer. Just some general physical rules that you can both look at to know that you are on the right page.

Without this document someone or both parties maybe come confused.  It may not help to have emails and conversations about how to do things.  Your employer maybe very busy and if communication isn't clear from either party this can become a problem.

I will tell you that my internship was interesting and not at all what I expected it to be. It had it's ups and it downs.  My internship adviser introduced me to a graduate student who had a bit of a difficult internship.  He and I discussed that his  internship, while difficult, really gave him a great start. He considers it one of the reasons he has had so many successful magazine covers to his name.  It helped to give him some amazing contacts that helped to get him where he is today.

So don't forget to intern!

Happy Friday Everyone!

Internship Week # 2 - Making Connections

RC Bronco's Helmet 

While I shoot for the Jackson Silverhawks we had a weeks down time.  I didn't want to waste a week not shooting for my internship.  I contacted one of the other teams that had asked me to shoot for them this year who is in a different Semi-Pro League.  I helped them obtain their photographer Tonya who is one of my best friends. I asked if it would be OK for me to help Tonya shoot the Bronco vs. Storm game since I was off on Saturday.  Their owner Jimmy told me I was welcome to shoot any game for them that I wanted. 

While I'm not going to go into the details there have been some issues with my team the Silverhawks that the team is trying to work out.  In the off chance the team can't work out the problems I needed to think what I could do to save my internship. Several teams and organizations have offered to step in and help taking over my internship if something were to happen to my team.  Since  3 of these parties would be at this particular game it was a good way to do a bit of investigating to see which of the 3 might be a good fit for me if a new organization is needed. 

Most of the coaches and players on the Summit County Storm are well known to me as 3/4 of the team or  were all part of last year's Silverhawk team.  While the Broncos do have a photographer at this point the Storm does not have one full time.  The Storm is actually the first team that asked me to shoot this year however we failed to make a deal in a timely manner which is how I ended up shooting for the Silverhawks instead.  I do know the Storm is willing to work with me as an intern.

After shooting side by side for awhile Tonya and I elected to split the field. She stayed on her teams's side and I   shot on the side of the Storm. I was shooting both teams equally since the Storm had asked me if I would be shooting and indicated the person who normally helps them with photography had to do videography. I always shoot both teams at every game and share pictures. It is one of the reasons that I was asked to shoot for 5 teams this year. The players actually asked their coaches to try to get me as their team photographer. Networking with the players and the coaches are good ways to make connections at this level.

We freely share images on Facebook for the teams to share digital images from the games.  I sometimes joke I think there are more football players on my Social Media sites than friends or family. It is a good way to get more traffic to your Facebook page as well too.

The Bronco's Fame Brown captures the ball and lands at my feet as I backed up towards the sidelines to get the shot.

Images like this that are often my favorite shots but surprisingly they are not the shots the players share! They like to raze the other teams pointing out who pushed whom, or who took the other player down.  

Earlier today one player posted an image that had 8 images - 4 of mine and 4 of Tonya's posted back and forth in the discussion.  Not only were teams that knew me in this discussion but players that I didn't know from different teams.  This is a great way to get my name out so that when this season is over I again can pick the team that I really want to shoot for.  I like to see which shots the players like best so I can make sure at the next game to try to get a few more of those types of shots

This type of shot is something the players are more likely to like 

Everything you do as an intern has the ability to define your future. So do the other photographers in this field who you meet.  

Tonya and I weren't the only photographers on the field that Saturday.  The show Saturday Showdown was shooting video and photography.  Their photographer Jennifer quickly introduced herself to me and between shots we were able to discuss many ideas and photographers.  Jennifer and I exchanged contact information.  

The owner of Saturday Showdown is Wally.  Wally had asked me about doing some work with him on his show earlier in the season but I was already under contract. Jennifer introduced me to her boss Wally who remembered our conversation.  He and I talked for awhile and he discussed getting some of my work seen by a larger audience. He told me several places I could get some of my Semi-Pro shots seen.  He asked me to make sure to give him a call so we could talk about a few things later. Wally has indicated to me he would gladly take me on as an intern if I would need to change from the Silverhawks.

Later in the day Jennifer introduced me to another photographer Bryan. We talked about the types of photography that we shoot. Bryan asked me if I ever did any 2nd shooting especially for weddings and I told him that I did. He also runs a photo booth for weddings.  He gave me his card and we exchanged information.

One of the most important things to remember is to follow up with your connections! 

It doesn't help to meet people or collect their cards and never do anything with the information! I made sure to add all 3 new contacts to my Social Media sites.  I followed up with a conversation with both team owners and the owner of Saturday Showdown.  

At the end of the day it is your internship. You can do the bare minimum  you can to get by or you can really make it into something strong!

Going into week 3  we are discussing Phone Etiquette and Listening Skills.

The Silverhawks are hosting a youth camp on Saturday and Sunday night. I'm looking forward to getting some great shots of the kids.  Right now we are scheduled to get storms so hopefully it will even out.

If you have any questions so far about being an intern or anything else please let me know! 

Have a great Friday!

Jessi