Showing posts with label connections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label connections. Show all posts

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Networking, Forums and Clubs, OH MY!

Hello everyone! I am your new Thursday Ambassador.    It is a pleasure to meet you all, and I am honored to be here.  I am going to share some of my photos, though this post is geared toward networking and meeting other photographers.

Joining groups and getting involved in your field of study can be one of the best moves a photography student can make.  Networking, clubs, online forums are just a few of the ways you can really make your presence known, and get your name out.  You can also gain valuable inside information into the market, and learn about new and old techniques (and maybe share your own).  Getting involved in your career and meeting like-minded people will be very important for your photography career.




Google+ is a great place to start, especially with the Photography Student Professional Network.  In fact I highly recommend that you start here, since this online community is specifically for the Art Institutes online students. Here we can connect with faculty and other students, and post our work, if we care to.  There is a wealth of information specifically geared toward AI students, and everyone is very welcoming (I found from experience).

Connections is another AI-based platform to connect with other students and faculty.  Connections has chat rooms, and groups to join, based on your career path, be it graphics design or photography, or one of the many other majors AI offers.  

PhotographyTalk is a great place to meet photographers from all over the world.   This is another social-networking platform, with the exception that this one is solely for photographers.  There are different groups, and blogs, and if you don't see a blog or forum you are looking for, you can create your own.

The Photography Forum by SLR Lounge has contests photographers can enter, tutorials for different programs, and threads where you can post your work and have it critiqued by other photographers, outside of school.  The articles are awesome and very informative (especially for college students who are still learning).

Nothing beats joining a local photography club in your area for getting connected with local photographers.  Running a search using your preferred search engine should lead you in their direction, if there are any where you are.  I was surprised to find that there is a club in Carson City, NV, a few miles from where I live.

Below I have included links to all the websites I mentioned above, aside from a search engine. (This is my first post, so I am not certain I submitted the links correctly.  If they don't work, you can copy and paste them.)






*I am not certain if the link to Connections will work. You have to be signed into the Campus Common to access it.  If the link doesn’t work, simply sign into the Common, hover over the tab that says “Campus Life”. In the drop-down menu click on “Get Connected”, and when the screen refreshes, click the button that says “Get Connected”.   If you have any problems opening Connections from there, you will probably need to disable your pop-up blocker. 

Happy Thursday, everyone!  I hope everyone has a great day!

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Cloud connections

 Reaching out and getting involved in the variety of online communities available through the photography department is a a great way to jump-start your education and inspire you as a student and a professional.
Here are a few places for information and inspiration:


 The AiO-PD Connection Team would like to invite you to participate in the Connections Photography Group. This group is for both student and faculty – get involved and stay connected. Please create your profile, post examples of your photographs, keep up on Photo Department news and resources, as well as have the chance to participate in some competitions and opportunities exclusive to Connections.
What is available within the Connections Photography Department Group? 

  • Blog – updated by Photography Faculty
  • Forums and discussion including Monthly Shooting themes and Discussion Topic
  • RSS feed of many great photography sites
  • Student and Faculty Features
  • Helpful documents and resources
  • Competitions & Scholarship Announcements
  • Information on the AIP-OD Virtual World Student Photography Gallery
To Join Connections:
Login to the Student Common and Visit: http://aiconnect.thecampuscommon.com
Set up your profile
Navigate to the “Department” tab and find “Photography” and “Join this group”

Newsletter:




First Year Focus and Fire


Targeting newly enrolled students, we will ask AiP-OD operations to email regular notices of this blog to students. The information is geared towards soft skills necessary to do well in online photography courses, how-to tutorials, connecting with the Help Forum, and otherwise providing practical and basic information. The blog is organized into themes, such as “Make it Mondays”, which always covers a technique, Website Wednesdays, which will features a helpful website (such as Lynda.com), and Photog Friday which will always feature a photographer from different areas of the industry. The blog will be authored by Melanie Fiander, Senior Full-time Faculty using her Google + account.
 

The Blog of Professor Philips


Targeted at 3rd and 4th year students (but available to all through the PSPN), this blog presents a friendly and experienced professor that helps to guide students into the photography industry. The blog is heavily focused on what is going on in the contemporary world of professional photography featuring reviews, links, and commentary that introduced near-graduates to the diversity of the industry. In addition, the blog will features Skype recorded interviews with industry professionals. Stephen John Phillips, Senior Full-time Faculty authors the blog.




Photography Student Professional Network Center


The PSPN is simply the place that brings all of these activities together in one virtual location.  Any student and faculty member can post in it and it will reblog and feature special posts from The Blog of Professor Phillips, First Year Focus and Fire, and Student Ambassadors. This will also be the place where webinars and exhibition can be announced in addition to Connections. Students and faculty will join this community through a Google + account, which is free. Google + is heavily utilized by photographers and is a great networking and portfolio hosting site for students.