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|| SportsShooter.com: News Item: Posted 2004-04-28
The last internship, or the LAST internship?
By Jim McNay, Brooks Institute of Photography
Photo by Aaron Kehoe
Jim McNay critiques a portfolio at the 2003 Workshop & Luau.
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If having a summer internship is the Best of Times, occasionally the Worst of Times follows.
This occurs when a student photographer who had an internship last summer fails to get one for this summer.
The previous summer was great. During the internship the photographer received regular assignments, had film or digital capture cards issued and was published nearly every day. Photo heaven.
Upon returning to school the student photographer had a certain credibility with fellow student photographers. They had some cache as someone who had been "out there" shooting over the summer.
And the pressure was on (Everyone was watching!) to see what super-cool internship the student would nail the following summer.
And despite solid growth and a good portfolio, the student landed nothing. Sure, he or she finished in the top two or three at several publications around the country. But other photographers with one or two internships on their resume got the call.
It's the pits. It's enough to make one reconsider one's chosen path. What happened to the momentum of the previous summer? What happened to the edge, the inside track the student thought they had established with the first internship? How did it all seem to slip away?
The challenge here is to avoid despair. It often is harder the second time around due to the increased competition. And frankly, finishing in the top two or three (or five) at larger or more prestigious publications is still an excellent performance.
And there are times when that second internship the second summer is just not in the cards.
What to do? Nothing more than continue to work.
If summer does not bring an internship, it could be a summer where the student works ahead on academics through summer school. It may be time to work at a job (or jobs) and put some money away for the next academic year.
It may also be a time to stay "home" i.e., in one familiar spot and work on an in-depth story or project. These pictures can be a fresh additions to the portfolio done locally. They can move the student's portfolio up a notch even without interning that summer.
And the next step is to hit the internship application process all the harder in the next several months.
Maybe it is time to start applying right away for those upcoming internships. Yes, there are fewer of them in the autumn and spring, but fewer students are after them too. A student with a previous internship and a strong portfolio has a good chance.
The main task is to keep working and to continue getting portfolios in circulation.
Bottom line: The last internship does not have to be the LAST internship.
Photographers, particularly those in school or seeking to break into the photojournalism, are welcome to send ideas for future columns to Jim McNay at jim.mcnay@brooks.edu.
Questions about getting started in photojournalism that might be answered in future columns are also welcome.
Related Links:
Jim McNay's Member Page
Brooks NPPA Student Chapter
Brooks Institute of Photography
Related Email Addresses:
Jim McNay: jim.mcnay@brooks.edu
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