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|| SportsShooter.com: News Item: Posted 2003-03-03
Following up after professional portfolio reviews
By Jim McNay, Brooks Institute of Photography
Seeing a professional editor or photographer and showing a portfolio is only the first coffee date in what should be a blossoming relationship.
Next comes the follow-up. And no, it's not time to send flowers.
But when the student returns to school, it is crucial that he or she maintain regular contact with the editor. The best place to start is with a with thank you note. Make this a hand-written project on good paper found at a local stationary store. Have it, like the portfolio, look simple, clean and professional. Thank the pro for his or her time. Say something about what was learned in the interaction. Be brief, polite and appreciative.
As the student is back on campus or working in their local community, follow up every couple of months or so with some examples of recent work. Editors like to see what photographers have done lately. A simple note with three or four clips will keep a future intern prospect on an editor's radar screen. These can be from recent pictures in the campus paper or from a community publication for which the student is working. Pictures shot for class assignments and printed on a desktop printer are another way to show an editor recent work.
E-mailed photographs are another possibility. However, since so many professionals are inundated with excessive e-mails, be sure to ask if an editor is willing to have e-mail picture updates sent their way.
The idea here is to keep your name in front of someone for whom you'd like to work-either in the next internship, or the one after that-without being an obnoxious pest. Most editors will appreciate the efforts to stay in touch. And most will tell a student when they have crossed the line with their follow-up efforts.
Bottom line: Keep in touch - since so few students make the effort to do this.
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Photographers, particularly those in school or seeking to break into the photojournalism, are welcome to send ideas for future columns to Jim McNay at jmcnay@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 Institute of Photography
Related Email Addresses:
Jim McNay: jmcnay@brooks.edu
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