Internship Update

As you have noticed there has been a slight pause in my discussion of my internship.  My team the Jackson Silvehawks had so many injuries that they had to fold for the rest of this season so the team could heal up.  One of our final games was actually a historic loss of 106 - 0. You may see some footage on ESPN about it as they asked for the video.

I am still doing my internship, but have switched for working for Saturday Showdown a local Semi Pro tv show. We didn't have a game last week due to the holiday and so far our season in Ohio has been brought to you by rain.  (Which by the way, this can make for fun pictures, if you aren't playing on AstroTurf).

One of the Summit County Storm players at practice falls right into a large puddle losing the ball.

When I ended my internship with the Jackson Silverhawks I actually had 4 different offers on where to continue my internship.  This is  the reason that I kept in contact with other Semi Pro teams. There were hints of problems with my team this season and I wanted it to be an easy transition for me so I didn't lose any time trying to find a a new team.  Before I actually even knew my team had folded I was contacted by The Rubber City Broncos, The Summit County Storm, and The Cleveland Cobras. Each team has something unique that could have worked out well for me.

The RC Bronco's does have a regular photographer who happens to be my best friend. So in choosing that team I would have worked with her. The downfall is we would often have the same photographs unless I shot on the opposite side of the field.

The owner of the Cleveland Cobras is a good friend of mine who normally shoots her own team. This might have been a fun one to do as I have only ever worked with male owners. It would have been fun to see how she does things differently. The downfall is her team's home field is up in Perry, OH and about a 2.5 hour drive for me for home games.

Which brings up to the Summit County Storm.  I did originally plan on just shooting the Storm.  The Storm is about 3/4 players I already knew because they were last year Silverhawks. The Coaches also were former Silverhawk Coaches.  The downfall with them was due to the Silverhawks folding for the year they had a schedule that had a lot of farther away games.

In the end I choose Saturday Showdown which was my 4th choice. Working with Saturday Showdown, I get to shoot a variety of teams.  I'm not just shooting the game but helping to do other things that the show needs. I did co-host one show and could be a permanent co-host if I had the time do it ongoing.  We have even talked some about shooting other types of football games after my internship is over.  I felt this was the best situation for me as I could work closer to home and had the most I could learn from them.

                          One of the RC Broncos's Players leaping over the fence for practice.

I have been able so far to shoot some for the Storm, and the Broncos as I'm often able to choose what I want to shoot. I hope that I also get a chance to shoot for the Cobra's before the season is over.

I can't say that my internship hasn't been eventful so far!

There is one thing to keep in mind as you get past week 5.  It really only effects anyone who is going part time as I am.  When you are at 5.5 weeks you will have to add on another class making it like you are going full time for the 2nd half of the internship.  This may not cause a problem in your schedule you just need to be aware of this situation.  If  you don't plan for this situation  even though you are still in the middle of your internship the school / financial aid department  reports you are not actively enrolled in school.  I actually didn't realize I needed to do this until I started getting warnings that loans were going to be due since I wasn't enrolled in class.

It was a bit of a bump in the road as we scrambled to fix this situation. I do recommend if you are shooting heavily for your internship or have a job that you choose a non-shooting class.  While I chose a class that works well with my actual internship it has been hard to get my required shots in with my work schedule.

As always, I look forward to hearing your feed back. (Yes it is OK you can totally freak out of the Silverhawks score.  In the 3 games we played we never scored a single point and lost at least 78 - 0 on every game).

Talk to you soon!

Jessi

Internship Week 4 - Game 1 - Renting if you don't own

Game 1 - Jackson Silverhawks lose to Lima 78 - 0.

Well the above photograph shows how our first game of the 2015 season went.  The  team has had a struggle having to start over with new team members when almost half the team left before the season officially started.  This game's score reflects the team trying to get to know new players and the task of struggling to learn to play as a unit.

So rather then talk about anything regarding the game I wanted to touch base on what to do if your internship requires equipment you don't have.  In some situations your employer may elect to rent or purchase equipment for you to use while you are in their employment.  Often times your equipment will be your responsibility.

Coming into this week's game I knew that as good as my Nikon D7000 is, it can't really handle a night shoot.  Now I could have just gone with my standard equipment to the game and shot as long as I could shoot.  I could rent a lower light lens like the 70 - 200 F/2.8 Nikkor lens that is a typical low light favorite.   Or I could rent a new camera.

The decision on what you need to do if you run into a situation like this is your decision however, it can be one that your employer can help you decide.  In my case, I knew that I'm about to be at a point to upgrade several lens and get another camera.  So for me renting equipment is serving a double purpose. It is helping me to make a decision on what to pick up first another camera or a lens.

Since I knew that I am going to be upgrading my camera in the next two months I decided to start with a camera rental.  I only rent from Lumoid because I love their customer service.  I can't ask Zachary in the buying department any question and he will give me an honest answer on what is best. He has honestly told me not to buy a camera that he could have sold to me for about $3500 vs. the camera I rented which I could buy for about $2000 from him. I told him that my two favorite things to shoot are bands and sports. I had already done my research to realize the Nikon D750 was an excellent low light fast camera. When I told Zachary what I shot he agreed the D750 is best with only the Nikon D4 (Which will cost me about $5000) being the very best.

I elected to follow his advice and I rented the D750 to shoot the game.  I am going to give you 3 different types of photographs to show you what this camera can do. I really pushed it to the limits shooting 3 different situations. With each situation I used the same lens a Nikkor film lens 70 - 300 mm F/3.5.  I purposely did not use a low light lens.  I have some future test I want to do with my D7000 and low light lens.

First the Art Skateboarding show. This gallery is where the skaters are actually skating. The gallery is in a large and very dark warehouse. I wanted to check the low light capabilities and also the cut off point where I would start to see noise when I do not use a low light lens.  You will see noise in the shot but it can easily be cleaned up in Lightroom. By the way the ISO..it is at 12,500.  Up to an ISO of 10,000 with a standard lens had almost no digital noise.

                                                         A skater at the Nosegrinders Skateboard Charity Art Show Opening.

Now there are many things I could have done to make it so there was less noise in this photograph. However, the point is if you are renting something for your internship make sure you get your money's worth. So this was 100% about testing how the camera could do before the shot was noisy.

The second thing I shot was our game.  At the game I used my normal camera until it got dark and then switched to this one. What I wanted to play with in this situation was the ISO Isolation that this camera can achieve.  It can pinpoint one person and make that person crystal clear and the other people or background around it blur.

                              The Lima Warriors were single minded in their pursuit to win against the Jackson Silverhawks.

The ISO Isolation is really cool...when it works. It is something that will take a bit of playing with to always get it to work the way you want it to. When you try it and it doesn't work you blur the entire picture. It will be the reason this camera is one of my next purchases.

Finally I took my kids to the park.  It was daylight so I wanted to see what it could do in average sunlight.  

The only way to use a teeter todder - Brother power.

In the end the important thing to remember is an internship is a job. Just like you should have the tools you need for your own business you need to make sure you have the tool your internship needs.  If you do elect to rent something have a plan to make sure you really get your use out of that rental! 

Game 2 is against the one top team of the PAFL the Ohio Golden Knights.  Can the Silverhawks with a much smaller team come back from their 78 - 0 loss? Only time will tell.

Jessi

Internship - Week # 3 - Community Involvement

                      One of the "future" Silverhawks at the football camp hosted by the team.

Since the official season doesn't start for my team until June 6th, I thought I'd share with you what we did to give back to the community.  Last Saturday we hosted a football camp for one of the local youth football organizations.  Several of our players and the owner of our team all started in this organization so hosting this camp is a great way to give back to the community.

I did not have to shoot this event at all.  It wasn't required and I didn't need to get the hours in for my internship as my time shooting during the season will equal more than the 110 hours required for my internship.  However, I very much believe that art is supposed to give back.  So I volunteered to come out and shoot the youth camp for the team.

There are so many opportunities that can come up just by giving back to your community with your craft.  For instance this camp gives these boys a chance to see that if they love football they can still play even later on in life. They can coach. They could play semi-pro.  They could help out eventually with the same youth football league that helped them become the players they will be one day.

The players who came out to assist really enjoyed sharing this camp with the boys. While it was hard work with lots of drills it was also fun!  Even as a photographer the expressions and honesty that the boys get on their faces when they play were great to see and shoot.  Sometimes at the Semi-Pro level the guys keep more of a poker face so you can't see the determination, the frustration and or sheer happiness that happens when you shoot children.

              While this was just one of the drills you can see that both boys took it very seriously!

In a matter of 2 hours I shot over 1200 shots and I could easily have shot more.  I know that when we finally share these images with the players, their parents, and coaches they will appreciate them in a different way than my older players do.  It opens up a new market for me to shoot in shooting youth sports as well as Semi-Pro  I honestly wouldn't have tried to shoot youth sports before doing this camp.

It also shows the players who came to help out at camp another future. One where they are the coaches and not the players.  So some of the photographs I took highlighted them in coaching or mentoring roles too.

Not everything that you during an internship has to be expected or the bare minimum that you can do as I have said before.  The more that you take what is given to you in your internship and make it your own the more you will get from your internship!

Next up! Tomorrow.  We travel 3 hours away to play the Lima Warriors Football team.  I'll save what I did to make sure I was ready for this first game that starts at 7 PM for next week!

Any questions please let me know!

Jessi

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

Week 1 - Internship - Loyalty and Not my job!

Let the fun begin - final full practice before the Season starts.

So first of all I can truly say I survived week 1 of my internship! It was a bit of an unexpected bumpy first week caused by rain and a few unexpected twists within in the team this week.  I'll be first to say if there hadn't been unexpected twists I might get bored. I love the unexpected challenges that drive other people crazy.  I love impossible odds and embrace change! Yes..you can think it that girl is CRAZY! I think that often it is surviving that fire of any unexpected challenge is what makes us stronger photographers! It teaches you to think on your feet!  Which leads me to this week's post.

The first two days I expected to shoot - weather got in my way! I had hoped to not shoot at the Sunday practice simply because I had plans to shoot a fun horse event up in Cleveland.  However, it didn't work out that way so I shot at practice on Sunday.  

Our practice field was taken so the team had to play someplace where the grass was more than a little bit too long.  I won't lie I loved it! (Sorry guys - I know it was hard to play in).  It made for fun creative shots that I won't have a chance to shoot again.  I won't lie I had a lot of fun looking for some fun angles that made it look worse like the one below.

Making the best of an unexpected playing field trying to not get lost in the grass.

These weren't ideal shooting or playing conditions but sometimes you have to go with the flow and make the best of the situation.  In my case I had fun shooting funny shots like this one.

The biggest issues of the week involved the loss of   some team members and fundraising.  I actually almost spent more time this week trying to brainstorm fundraisers because of deficits that our unexpectedly small team has caused. While trying to make sure our team has the best year and best field possible we realized we would need to do some fundraising to help our goals.

The question that might come to mind is why as a photographer is it my job to help with that? I did my job I showed up. I took pictures. 

I have yet to ever work with any client where the job was clear cut like that! When you shoot weddings you play wedding planner helping keep the bride from being stressed out.  You are sometimes the shoulder to cry on if something doesn't go right.  In fashion you might be making clothing work with pins, clips, whatever you can find!  The point is your job isn't just to hold a camera and you need to  be prepare to embrace that as an intern.  Your main focus will be to use your camera in most jobs that you do but that doesn't mean you won't be wearing multiple hats too.

I am supposed to be on vacation in June.  I have the privilege of helping to shoot a very important to me cake smash session.  I agreed to help my other friend who is a make up artist / hair stylist with a shoot or two while I was in town.  I loaned out my daughter as a model.  Even though I am acting as a photographer while on vacation when I realized she also needed another model, I agreed to step in.  You never know what will be asked of you when you are "just shooting".  You have to be ready to forget the words even mentally "that's not my job". Your job is anything that makes it easier for you when it is time to pick up your camera.

As I though over the loss of a few of our players this week it brought me to the other thing I learned this week - loyalty. There will always be something out there that looks better on paper than what you have.  If you are a music photographer that might be wanting to shoot the big shows. So it can look good when you have a chance to help assist another photographer at a big show.  However, if you are contracted already to shoot some local bands what does that really say about you if you go shoot the big show.  Sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture. The choices that we make in our careers will stay with us for life.  Sometimes it is best to earn your place in your given genre.  Start out shooting the smaller venues and move up to bigger venues as your skills grow.  When the bigger venues look back they will notice if you are a team player and how loyal you were to the the last person you worked for.  They will notice if you do choose to leave and move on to a better situation   how you ended your relationship with your last client or employer.  Did you leave the right way?  No one may comment at the time, but that doesn't mean they will not notice and not hire you if they are afraid you will leave the next time something better comes along.

If you commit to something commit to it 100%.  Even if you see it won't work out to be the perfect situation you had hoped for you will be able to have pride in yourself for seeing your commitment til the end.  As an intern this is an important lesson to learn before you do have something better offered to you and you have to make a snap decision.

So in closing I just wish our leaving team members well on their new teams and wish them a great season this year! It was great to get to be part of your careers.  I do truly hope to see each of you reach your true potential.  It has been nice to see how well this team has worked together to help each other be better players.  

This shot seemed metaphoric as we can't see who is left to catch this ball.

This week in class we are looking at Time Management and learning to multitask and prioritize. Both of these are important to learn as photographers and as busy students.  

Next week the team doesn't have practice and the formal pictures were put off due to the holidays. Upcoming we have a youth camp and formal pictures as we regroup and prepare for our season to start.

I hope you enjoyed the view of week 1.  I look forward to your thoughts!

Jessi

Let the Waiting Begin

Image Courtesy of Graphic Stock

While it is only day 2 of my internship I was hoping to have some cool images to share with you but instead I have the first lesson I can share from my Internship - be prepared to wait.  Things don't always go as planned!

I actually had 2 different shoot scheduled before today.  Last weekend I had scheduled to shoot the model that I am working with for our football team.  The shoot was part fashion for her and part team shooting / special projects for us.  The location we were shooting was an outdoor location.  Fear of looming storms had us reschedule for a different day.

So I planned to shoot my team the day before my internship actually started.  Practice cancelled due to our insane 40 degree weather in May.  We had hoped to do a few cool shots we could use for future fliers and we want to test a few things we will  be using for our formal shots next week. The formal shots we had to reschedule.

Today we have a practice. Well it looks like rain so it maybe rescheduled.  So now we are down to Sunday. I actually had plans to shoot a cool horse event on Sunday but it looks like I may have to  go shoot the team instead. 

I don't believe in being stagnate even though I've not been able to shoot.

Yesterday the owner said to me we should come up with one more fundraiser for the team.  We tossed around a few ideas and came up with one that we thing will be fun and raise a bit of money.  NO!! You just have to wait and see I'm not ready to spill the beans on this one yet!

So what have I learned so far as my first two official days of an intern?

1. Sometimes you just have to be patient!                                                                                    Even the best laid plans don't always work out in any  business.  This is especially true if you are an outdoor photographer.

     2. Make a back up plan or maybe 3!

         The only thing you can do to combat when things don't go the way you want is to have a

         a few back up plans.  While the internship is approximately 10 hours a week some weeks you

         due to things going wrong you may work 2 hours and the next week you may put in 20 hours.  

         Just like with any job sometimes you have to put in overtime when it is needed.

  3. Don't panic!

      You do want to make the most of your internship but panicking when things don't go right won't

      help you at all. 

Part of the internship process is about learning to work in a professional environment. This week's discussion is about 7 behaviors that that a professional has to balance. I can tell you that at least one of those behaviors had to come into play this week so I didn't freak out on my employer over things going wrong. 

In reality no matter what type of photography you shoot things will happen.  Clients won't show up. Equipment will decide to not work.  Your entire concept for a shoot may suddenly fall apart on you and you will have to scramble to make something work. So in a way this problem is exactly what you want to have happen in an internship! It is a good lesson to learn while the stakes aren't so high.

Fingers cross everyone that we don't have a bizarre blizzard, or monsoon this week so I can share some of the images taken late this week and what we are doing with them as we wait for our season to start!

Upcoming projects before the season starts include team photos, modeling shoots, fund raiser, and youth football camp! It will be a busy few weeks. Our official season starts June 6th.

Part 2 - Final steps in Applying for an Internship.

We took a little break last week so I could clarify something about the internship application process.  As it turned out there was a glitch with my paperwork! I wouldn't have realize that if I hadn't been writing this blog for all of you! So I'll clarify the mix up which I doubt you would run into since it was a bit of a freak accident.  (No worries it has been cleared up!)

Step 3 - Your Return Email from the Photography Internship Adviser

Shortly you will receive and email back for your Photography Adviser letting you know if it sounds like your internship will be approved.  The internship guidelines and next steps are reviewed as a reminder.

Here are the next steps and the guidelines!

1.  Find out when you can start.

The Silverhawks run at Football Camp 2015

You have to find out from your your Adviser or Financial Aid Adviser  when the start date of your 11 week billing cycle that falls the closest to your project start day of the internship.

This to me is the most important part! 

 My 11 week cycle date starts on May 14th and it ends on July 29th.  The Semi Pro-game season starts on June 6th and goes until August 2nd unless we make playoffs.  If I hadn't worked with my adviser to figure out my start date correctly and I thought I could start on June 6th I could have missed my chance to take this internship. As the next 11 week cycle date inn't until July 30th and I would have missed almost the entire season.

The question you might ask is what am I going to do during the first few weeks of my internship.  As you know I actually started shooting weeks ago.  I have several different things I will be shooting. I don't want to give out all the details in advance but we are working at making photography something special for our team this year since I'm doing my internship.  Would it have been a problem if I couldn't shoot or didn't have something worked out?

Not exactly.  It all depends on how you and your employer work it out.  The class lasts for 11 weeks. During hat time you have to put in 110 hours or on averaged of 10 hours a week.  If for some reason I couldn't shoot on one of those weeks and your employer didn't have work for you yet that is something that can be worked out as long as you put in your hours later in your internship.  If you are worried about that you can discuss it with the Photography Internship Adviser.


2.  Let your adviser know you are approved so that she can take the next steps required for your internship class.

The Photography Internship Adviser will ask you to let your adviser know you are approved he or she can take the next steps required for your internship.  About 4-5 weeks before the internship is supposed to begin you will be doing paperwork with the Internship Adviser.

Step 4 - Reviewing your approval with your adviser.

Once you speak with your adviser your adviser will either offer to keep track of when the next steps needs to be  done or ask you to keep track.  In my case my adviser offered to keep track of when we needed to take the next step.

In my case I had an adviser change so I actually brought up my internship to my new adviser. She confirmed everything was handled and scheduled me into the internship class.  At this point I thought everything was handled and only realized while writing this blog to you there was an error.   I had never filled out any paperwork with the Photography Internship Adviser.  Which leads me to Step 5.

                                              Step 5- Filling out your paperwork

This was just a slight clerical error but I want to give you guys the steps so it won't happen to you.   4 or 5 weeks out contact the Photography Internship Adviser if you haven't been contacted.  The adviser will send you paperwork to fill out about your internship and a list of rules to make sure you are successful in your internship.

                                                  Here are the some sample questions

• Brief overview of the company you will be interning for.
• Overview of the job you will be doing.
• Overview how this job relates to my major.

The other questions were about your schedule of work.  Any pay that you would be receiving, and your proposed end and start dates.

The paperwork is filled out with contact information for your employer.  You sign your contract stating you understand the terms of your internship.

                                       Step 6- Paperwork is sent to your Employer

Your employer will be sent an email with paperwork for them to fill out.  I was copied on this email.  It also stated that later on time sheets and other paperwork would be sent over as well.

Step 7- Your adviser schedules your Internship Class

We finally made it to the end of the line! When your adviser is told all the paperwork is in or possibly when the proposal is sent to you in Step 5 your adviser will get you scheduled in your internship class.

As I go through all the issues that arise during my internship I will be sharing them with you.  If you think of any questions that you have along the way be sure to ask! It can be about anything related to the internship, shooting sports, or any related topic that strikes you! I would love to see us get into some great discussions!

           Getting ready for Game time.  I'm ready for the 2015 season let's hope the team is too!

I look forward to sharing this journey with you!

Jessi

What does it mean to Invest into your Internship?

We will continue the 2nd part of our Internship paperwork next week.  I wanted to confirm that nothing had changed in the process before we went on to part 2.

While my actual internship doesn't start til May 14th it was very important to me that I start to make good connections with my team.  Most of these players I have never met  before at the Silverhawks have almost a completely new team this year. Shooting early also gives me a chance to warm up my sports shooting skills that I haven't used for the last year.

Football Camp

Football camp was my first actual chance to see our players.  Camp was a 2 days.  The players were a bit weary of me as they really weren't sure what I was doing.  The players I did know from last year were excited to see me but in some ways, I had to prove to the team that I'm on their side.  A photographer could be there taking photos of their flaws to point out to the coaches.  My job is more the team cheerleader. I take photos that highlight the players skills.

                        Practice makes perfect for the player and the photographer 

In this shot it is a good action shot or is it?  The ball is just out of the shot the player has slipped on the grass so his feet have slipped out of the shot.  I like it. The player might like it but does it really show what a good player he is?  No.  Would I suggest he use it to show his skill? Maybe.  The point is he has better shots and not only do the players need practice but I need practice. If I had just had my lens a little farther back it would have been a better shot.  

I posted most of the Day 1 shots where the team could see them before Day 2.  It was still about getting them to trust me.  They now can see there maybe some opportunity shots like this one but there are many more shots that make them look good.  I went into Day 2 of the Football Camp with a more relaxed team. Did they all trust me yet?  Not yet but they were warming up.  This is one of the reasons I choose to shoot some before my internship started.

In many ways this shot is a much better shot.  While I still need to work on getting used to framing for sports again, clearly this plays caught this ball. The ball is in the shot and you can see the determined look on his face.

Good shot for both player and photographer but a closer cropping would have eliminated the guard rail.

Now that the team has started to get my purpose for photographing the games they can't wait to see the shots and I giggle about how many questions I get on when the newest shots will be posted.  At this point about half the team has added me on Facebook and part have liked my FB page.  We haven't yet decided where we will post all of our pictures so I posted some on my FB page and some on my regular page.  The team links to whatever place I post pictures.  These Camp Pictures were only posted on my actual FB photography page.

Going into our first pre-season game I had already decided to post all Pre-Season game pictures on my personal Facebook page.  One of the reasons that I had 5 teams ask me about shooting last year is I always share pictures with teams that we shoot.  The reality is while I'm shooting my team I'm also getting great shots of the other team. I don't care if the other team has a photographer or not I share my shots with the players on my personal Facebook page,   I then put any shots I love on my FB photography page and my website.  I had 5 teams ask me to shoot because they players asked the owners to try to get me as their team photographer because I did that last year.

Pre-Season Game 1

Our first pre-season game was with the Cleveland Patriots.  I didn't know very many members on that  team but there was at least one former Silverhawk on the team.  

Each time I shoot I am refreshing my skills getting me ready for the our first real games.  This field was a very small field where the goal posts were actually in the right location.  However the team made it work. Here is one shot I took of our team.

                                Warming up you get a glimpse of the new uniforms.

While I very carefully choose this angle so we could see the backs of several players uniforms and the woods behind us I will actually be cropping out the first player whose feet you only see.  I would rather have had the front of our really cool uniforms but sometimes shooting in the city you have to take the shot that looks the best.  The forward shot shows express way ramps and a comfort inn sign.

I also took action shots of both teams as they played. Here is a shot where my team wasn't winning but it was a great shot for the other player.

                    The Cleveland Patriots run with the ball but Our Hawks are close behind.

That shot while it shows the city which is a bit of a distraction is still a good shot for both teams. The Patriots have the ball but my Hawks are right on them. It is also a good shot of our new uniforms.

When this game was over I talked to one of the coaches and let her know that I would post all photos and the Patriots were welcome to tag or grab shots of their team.  They were surprised but they thanked me. She made sure my former Silverhawk player knew how to add me.

After these pictures were posted I added 30 or more new contacts and had a lot of players thanking me for giving them the shots.  My photos were added to my team and the other team's Facebook pages giving me a huge amount of exposure on each photograph.

The reality is your internship is going to be what you make of it.  What did it cost me to shoot these 3 days? A few hours each day with some very light editing for light only.  What did I gain. A team that knows they can trust me.  A new team that knows that not only am a I a good person and photographer but our team the Jackson Silverhawks also appreciate their hard work when they play us.  Plus I am filling my sports portfolio with a variety of teams not just my own.

You invest in yourself when you make sure your internship isn't just a way to get 3 credits!  

I hoped you enjoyed a glimpse into the coming weeks! 

The Journey to Internship

                                                  The flyer the Silverhawks made for me.

As the Semi-Pro Football Season is about to start here in Ohio so is my internship as the Photographer for the Jackson Silverhawks.  Officially my internship starts on May 14th and ends July 29th however I will already be doing some work with the team starting this weekend.  It struck me that the journey to my internship as well as the time I spend as an intern could be an interesting series for the Friday blogs.

So the first part of the process is how did I end up with this really cool internship. It is a process that I started as soon as I started at AI in 2013.  I knew I wanted an internship.  Before starting at AI I had taken a photograph class at our local zoo and met a wonderful photographer who pointed out to me how many great groups we have in Ohio for photographers.    I took another class at our local library where I met another photographer who pointed me to a few more groups. Both introduced me to some wonderful people who were willing to help me on my photographic journey.

The one thing that I started to see is how important connections can be when you start looking for an internship.  I didn't just have one internship offer I had several. So my work at networking gave me the chance to pick the internship that was right for me.

I actually met the Jackson Silverhawks last year.  I had seen an ad from a photographer on Craigslist that was looking to network with other photographers.  I contacted him and we talked a bit online. He mentioned to me that he shot Semi-Pro football and he was looking for a second shooter.

Here is a secret. I didn't love sports. Hilariously I was captain of my own school's Pep Club and I had to make all the hoops for our football team to run through but I was clueless. I held the hoop and I went home.  However, I never turn down the chance to shoot something new.  I always say you will never know what you truly love to shoot if you haven't learned what you hate to shoot. So I told that photographer I'd love to be his second shooter.  He offered me a small amount of money but I mostly cared about the experience.

I met the other photographer in person at the first game.  He gave me a few tips about shooting but pretty much just let me shoot and learn by shooting.  He then quit and I suddenly became the first and only shooter for the team.  I told the Owner I would stand by him for this season.  I shoot through the summer.  It was definitely a learning process where sometimes I did great and other times I wish I had done better.  I shot not only my team but the other teams we played.  I gave the other players access to tag themselves in my pictures.

At the end of the season the team owner mentioned me considering doing an internship for him the next year. I told him I would think about it because I knew his current coach was leaving with most of the team so I didn't know what the teams status would be next year.

With in a week of the season ending, I had 4 different teams ask me to be their photographer for the next year.  I ended up accepting the paid internship offered to me to stay with the Jackson Silverhawks.  I was grateful to the team for giving me the chance.  Had I not been given the chance I never would have learned I love sports photography. The team owner and I have a lot of great ideas for this season and I can't wait to slowly share them all with you guys.  I will also show how he is helping to promote my website and Facebook page as well.

Next week I'll talk about the actual process of applying for an internship once you have someone who offers you one.  I look forward to hearing your questions!

The Journey to Finding Your Own Voice

Hello everyone! I'm the new Friday Ambassador Jessi James. I started at the Art Institute in March of 2013 and I'm working on my BS in Photography.  I've been an SPS student leader since I started and I am excited to expand my roll to that of an Ambassador.

Frequently on your own journey here at AI you will hear all of us say to you what is your style? What sets you apart from every other photographer? Well if you were like me when I first started that question can set you into a panic saying I have NO idea!!

That is OK. Take a deep breath, no one starts out knowing what their own style or voice will be.  It is a process, a continuous ongoing process that changes as you change and grow.

The first question you might ask is why on earth do we ask you what your style is?  That is a very good question!

It is your own  style that will set you apart in our industry.  It is what helps to make sure that the right kind of clients for you find their way to you.  To give you an example, I thought I'd share my journey to finding my current style with you and how I define it to potential clients.

I actually created a fun single page introduction letter about myself to help potential clients know if I'm the right photographer for them. It helps to show my personal style and the style of photography a potential client might get if they elect to hire me.

                                                              Let your style show!
 
As you can tell I let my introduction letter share many hints about my style or creative voice! When I am asked, "Do you shoot Seniors?"  I always mentally pause.  I then will say I do shoot Seniors but if what you want is a standard Senior shoot let me introduce you to one of my colleagues.  I can completely do a great standard Senior shoot, however, if you want my best work I need a Senior who allows me complete creative control.  If you want a photographer that will work with you and your Senior to make sure you get the shoot that tells your Senior's story then I am your Senior Photographer.

When you have already realized your own creative voice it becomes easier to define your style in the way that you shoot.  Much like this introduction letter I will never be done evolving my creative style. The journey to finding my own voice will never end, it is a life long journey.  A document like this one is a tool to help define your style until your photographs can tell your story.

The greatest tip I can give you on your journey to defining your own style is shoot ... EVERYTHING!  I used to hate sports. It just wasn't my thing.  I took a job as a second shooter shooting Semi-Pro Football last summer.  After my first game I became the only photographer for my team and I was also hooked! This has lead to my paid internship shooting for the Jackson Silverhawks this summer.

So shoot often, shoot everything, and enjoy the journey of finding your own style! I look forward to being part of it!




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