Internships?

socsaint

I think this is the right place to post this... Either way, the folks in here should be able to help, and it is money-making photography.



My mom works at a large hospital that has its own media department. She personally knows the department head and is trying to hook me up with a paid photography internship over the summer. He wants to meet me now, and I need a portfolio and resume pronto.

The problem is that I just started studying photography this year. I don't have shots that fit what I would be doing for this particular employer, and I don't know how to write a resume for this sort of situation. I don't even know how to format a portfolio that they could view other than having prints in my hand (or is this still the preferred method?). But, before I even get to formatting the portfolio, I don't know what to put in it!

The hospital takes its own photos for the conferences it holds, as well as for medical texts and whatever else they can cook up. I'm not sure exactly what they'd be of; I'm trying to get my hands on one of the books.

I'm really clueless and would like to receive several professional opinions on this. I've already asked my teacher on this in an email and am awaiting her response.

Please help. I really want to quit my job soon (been in retail for over a year and sick of it. Soon = 6 months) and this would be an absolute blessing. Any advice would go a long way since I know absolutely nothing. The only dollar I've ever earned is from cleaning up a clothing store and my own room.



Dang... I've lost my lurker status, haven't I?

leaforte

Welcome! So, it is a paid internship?

Blaker

socsaint wrote:

My mom works at a large hospital that has its own media department. She personally knows the department head and is trying to hook me up with a paid photography internship over the summer. He wants to meet me now, and I need a portfolio and resume pronto.

The problem is that I just started studying photography this year. I don't have shots that fit what I would be doing for this particular employer, and I don't know how to write a resume for this sort of situation. I don't even know how to format a portfolio that they could view other than having prints in my hand (or is this still the preferred method?). But, before I even get to formatting the portfolio, I don't know what to put in it!

The hospital takes its own photos for the conferences it holds, as well as for medical texts and whatever else they can cook up. I'm not sure exactly what they'd be of; I'm trying to get my hands on one of the books.

First of all, are you sure you are ready for this? Paid internships are very competitive, and you will be expected to be more than a student- they will be depending on you to provide finished products that they can use.

I would first of all take a look at their website, follow all the links and see what kind of photos they are using there.

I expect there will be a lot of demand for photos of people in various situations- patients using the hospitals services, visitors, doctors treating patients, doctors speaking at conferences, board members head shots etc. This would be like portraits or environmental portraits.

You also might be expected to take architectural shots- photos of a new wing, of newly renovated patient areas, of the hospital and grounds.



One last area might be events that the hospital is involved in- fund raising dinners, road races, community clinics etc. This may be more along the lines of Photojournalism.

Have you become fairly proficient in any of these areas in school? Any photos which show your proficiency in environmental portraits, studio portraits, PJ, or architecture would be useful for your portfolio.
If you don't have any of the above, can you use a few friends and set up some environmental portraits, or perhaps take architectural photos around your school to put into your portfolio?

As for the portfolio itself, it should be short and to the point, best photos first, and organized perhaps into the areas I've outlined above.
You can show him an online portfolio, or burn your photos to a cd, or just buy a small portfolio book wiht the black pages and plastic overlays that you can slip your photos in, one 8 x 10 photo to a page.
Remember to keep the photos on topic and edit it down to your very best shots that would be relevant to what you'd be doing for your internship.
I looked at your website, and you could probably include one of your hand photos.

Preparation is the key-
Are you really prepared to take this job?
If so, do your homework and be prepared to show them how you can be an assett to their team.

Good luck, keep us posted.

socsaint

Thank you for the detailed response.

I can't really say if I'm ready or not right now, but I will be by summer and my courses go extremely fast (four years shoved into a two year program). I'm still assuming that this would be a summer internship and so that gives me two more terms to prepare myself for the professional side of things.

I haven't worked that much with portraiture and so I'll try to kidnap a friend or two to let me photograph them. In fact, I already have one that wants to model for me, so that works out well.

I'll make sure to get on the research. I can also ask my mom since she's spoken at and helped organize quite a few conferences, and has to read one particular book published by the hospital every year. I probably should ask her what all she's told the guy so I know what expectations and pre-conceived notions she's created as well.

One of my problems is that I'm still looking for my niche in photography. This came upon me rather fast, so I'm going to have to do some soul searching to figure things out. I know I can do whatever they'd want me to do, but I don't know what I'd do best.


Could you tell me how many photos are expected to be in a portfolio? I have no clue, since we haven't focused on portfolios yet at school.


Again, thanks for your answer . Makes me oh so happy that I stumbled upon this site.

Blaker

socsaint wrote:

Thank you for the detailed response.

I can't really say if I'm ready or not right now, but I will be by summer and my courses go extremely fast (four years shoved into a two year program). I'm still assuming that this would be a summer internship and so that gives me two more terms to prepare myself for the professional side of things.

I haven't worked that much with portraiture and so I'll try to kidnap a friend or two to let me photograph them. In fact, I already have one that wants to model for me, so that works out well.

I'll make sure to get on the research. I can also ask my mom since she's spoken at and helped organize quite a few conferences, and has to read one particular book published by the hospital every year. I probably should ask her what all she's told the guy so I know what expectations and pre-conceived notions she's created as well.

One of my problems is that I'm still looking for my niche in photography. This came upon me rather fast, so I'm going to have to do some soul searching to figure things out. I know I can do whatever they'd want me to do, but I don't know what I'd do best.


Could you tell me how many photos are expected to be in a portfolio? I have no clue, since we haven't focused on portfolios yet at school.


Again, thanks for your answer . Makes me oh so happy that I stumbled upon this site.

You need to be ready by the time of your interview, so between now and then do your research and get out and do a lot of shooting to prepare yourself.
Your portfolio should probably have between 10 - 20 shots, specifically geared towards the hospital's photo needs. No artsy fartsy abstracts or fashion photos ! I wouldn't go more than 20 shots maximum.
Be sure they are all very strong photos.
You might want to check out this book about portfolios- it's got some good information and might help you for this and subsequent portfolios. Maybe your school or public library has it, or maybe you could find it at Borders and check it out to see if it's helpful to you.

http://tinyurl.com/6gkt84