Blog 1: What did you learn from your first week at your internship? Did anything surprise you? Who did you meet and what do they do? Did you engage in any code switching?
I am interning with Katy Tartakoff Photography and in my first week at my internship, I learned so many things. Things such as how to do some retouching on pictures, the way a picture can be enhanced with these retouches, getting a sense of what good customer service looks like and how to talk to a client, marketing and keeping in touch with clients. I learned that keeping in touch with a customer and good marketing is essential in photography as you are trying to build a relationship with the client to the point that they can feel comfortable. Photography is all about building friendship along the way. Having figured out the amount of time it takes to do retouching and also what the lens can see and take a picture of perfectly as is the case with dust or things on our clothes. We may never notice them, but the camera lens sure can. The only person I have met so far is Katy and she is the photographer and owner. Katy takes the pictures there at her studio and right after the sitting, she will right away have them on her computer where she can have her clients take a look at the picture and possibly have them chosen out or take a little time to decide on which they love the most. Yes, code switching took part in these 2 weeks. The code switching that I personally experienced me changing from the way I would talk to a friend and talk in a more professional way and with less slang. The reason for this code switching was due to recently getting to know Katy and out of respect.
Blog 2: What was the best thing that happened this week at your internship? How did it make you feel? What else makes you excited about your internship?
During this week the best thing that I experienced was getting in contact with some of her clients and being able to talk to them about their orders or when they would like to come in and get to see them in person and how much they truly fell in love with the photographs and also I had more exposure to doing some retouching myself. This experience made me feel extremely happy and proud. I am usually a very shy person and get very nervous when it comes to talking to people on the phone and I felt extremely proud that I was able to actually talk to clients on the phone although I am not an expert just yet I do believe that with a little bit more practice I will get way better. Me doing retouching myself made me feel very good as I feel that I will soon get the hang of how it works and will be of more help to Katy and it will also benefit me as I will be getting better and better in it and will get an idea of how I can improve my photography. I am very excited to be able to get some retouching done and helping Katy out. I am also very excited about my Internship inspired project and am hoping that the idea I have in mind will work out for the purpose of getting the word out and raising awareness on various social issues such as the environment (climate change).
Blog 3: How do your actions affect your workplace? Do you contribute positively? How do your co-worker’s actions affect your internship? Which coworkers are your connecting with?
My actions affect my workplace as I help my sponsor do a bit of communicating with some clients if I don’t do it in a kind manner or I do it in a bad way the client would hate the way the service for say is and will never come back. My actions so far have had a very positive contribution to my workplace as I have helped Katy with a bit of addressing envelopes to then help make thank you notes to clients letting them know that they are appreciated. My co-worker is Katy Tartakoff she is the one that brings to life my whole internship. Katy does everything I aspire to do as a photographer. I have seen her hard work and dedication. Katy is always working to provide the client with something they will love. Every time I have seen Katy interact with a client she has always asked what they prefer and is always working to do what the client loves. Most of Katy’s clients have been getting their photographs done by her for many many years some of her clients she has done since they were very young and to me, that is amazing because they have that strong relationship that helps make being a photographer even better. The co-worker I have been connecting with the most is Katy. Katy has been a role model for me as I said previously Katy is doing what I aspire to do as a photographer. Katy has done traveling to many places, volunteered, photographing people whom she has strong relationships with, has the ability to build those relationships, and is the best at what she loves.
Blog 4: In your internship what are some of the things it contributes to in the community? What do you love about being in this program and receiving this opportunity?
This weekend I was thankfully a part of a photo shoot/ film session that was all based on photographing families and filming their story. These stories consisted of different battles each family is facing when their child is receiving treatment for something they have and the medical bills and the ways the whole thing is very hard and requires a lot of strength. Having had this opportunity to be a part of this made me realize that there are many many things that I may complain about or may think that is very hard or very unjust and it might just be, but these families and these children have to go through a lot more trouble and a lot more difficult situation. Having been accepted into this program and getting the opportunity to work with Katy has made me extremely happy and makes me feel like I am getting a feel of what it takes to be doing something that you like. I always feel very fortunate to be working with such a talented person as is Katy Tartakoff. Everyone that I have had the opportunity to meet with at Katy’s studio has mentioned and repeated various times how talented Katy is. Katy’s talent is demonstrated as soon as you see her studio portraits and her fine art pieces. Although I have only been there for about 2 months I have consumed so much knowledge that I appreciate and am sure that I will be getting more and more useful knowledge in the next couple of months.
Blog 5: How do you feel like your internship is going so far? What are the highlights and the “lowlights”? Do you feel like you are making connections with your co-workers? What can you do to improve your experience?
In my internship, I feel like it is going great! I am learning so much and there are many more things that I still need to learn, but so far I am aware that there is a lot of knowledge I already have.The highlights of my internship are how much I have had the chance to learn and that I am getting some practice with enhancing photographs. The lowlights of my internship are that some of the things I learned I might remember some, but I still need practice tom completely get the hang of it and remember it which will later happen and am hoping that I then get it. I am making connections with who I work! Actually, I recently met with someone that also works with Katy and helps her with mounting and framing for her photographs. She is fantastic and a pro at what she does! She showed me how to frame and all the other things that need to be done depending on what the customer asks for. I had an incredible conversation with her about her interests and how she came to choose to work doing the work she does now, etc. In all honesty, I enjoyed the conversation. Working with Katy everything is fantastic. I love that now I am helping her much more with retouching and doing those things. Also, I had the chance to go in last Saturday to watch and help with a film and photo session for children with life threatening sicknesses. In my opinion, I have loved that the most although it was a bit emotional having heard their stories and the experiences that they have gone through makes me really reflect on my life.
Blog 6: How do people at work treat you? How does it make you feel? If you have to an intern one day will you treat them the same? What have you learned so far from your co-workers and sponsor?
Katy treats me very good always so welcoming and I am trying to overcome me being a bit shy! I love working with Katy! It makes me feel very comfortable and also like I am encouraged to ask questions and always gain knowledge when it is answered. If I were to have an intern one day I would treat them the same because I would want them to feel happy and comfortable. I would like them to feel like they are gaining so much knowledge each day and that they are always welcomed to ask questions on whatever and encourage them to always learn and want to learn something new. In these two months that I have been working with my sponsor Katy, I have learned that she is very humble and is always willing to and always volunteering to help anybody in need. I love the ways she thinks about her work and the ways that it can help let people know of some issues and/ or the way that you can capture so much emotion through a photograph. Also last Wednesday I met mary ann. She helps Katy with mounting and framing and although I only spoke to her once I loved the way she thinks and how she is also an artist and the different ideas she has. She has a different interest artistically and different views, but there were still similar ideas and I just thought that was very interesting. I have to say I am very excited what the next 3 months will bring.
Blog 7: What is the difference between working on personal art projects and working in a creative business? What have you learned about working in a creative business?
The difference between working on a personal art project and working in a creative business has many similarities, but a difference that you can say would be that working for a creative business you are hoping that with the creativity that you have and the talent you are able to live off of it and can pay everything that is needed in order to maintain the creative business going and never letting it fall down. With the personal art project you are doing, because you want to do it, you want to admire it, and you others to admire it also, but not necessarily with the purpose of gaining anything else other than their admiration. Working in a creative business I have learned many different things. Having your own business in photography is way more than just working on taking photographs, but also working through troubleshooting, getting supplies ready, having bills paid, paperwork, marketing and building those relationships with the clients. These things require so much patience working or owning your own business you have to understand that things don’t happen when or as quickly as one wants it. It takes time to build the business you now own because it isn’t just owning a business it is also building those connections and getting the funds to make an investment into that business. In the case of having a business in photography, you would have to invest in the camera, the marketing of your business, the photo paper, printer, computer, editing software, and your studio and all the regulation it needs to go through or permits it needs to have and other essential things. Owning a creative business doesn’t come easy especially with the lack of support for the arts in some occasions and from some people, but with hard work and a lot of dedication, anything is possible.
Blog 8: How is your internship project going? Describe the progress of your project? How did the conversation about your project go with your sponsor? Did they have good insights into how to improve or expand the project? How does your project bridge what you do at your internship and what you like to create for yourself? Has your relationship with your sponsor evolved as you have engaged in a creative dialogue about your project? Are there any challenges you are experiencing planning or doing your project?
So far my internship is going great. I love working there so much! The progress of my project is coming along. So far I have taken pictures for two of the four topics I am doing. I still need to figure out a way to fundraise money for the project which includes getting the money for the invitations for the mini photography show, the photographs mounted, snacks, etc. The conversation went great! Katy actually brought it up and asked me about it and if I had already figure out what I was going to do. Katy encouraged me to brainstorm some ideas and I came up with many topics that then lead to the mini photography show because I couldn’t decide on just one topic, so I decided if I could do a mini show of different topics it would all work out. Before I had never actually considered that a show is not easy to actually do. It takes a lot of work and a lot of money. So Katy encouraged me to figure things out and how much everything would cost, so I could fundraise enough money by a certain day. Depending on the day that I need all of the things essential to the show. My project bridges what I do in my internship and what I love to create because at my internship it is about learning skills that go into photography and in my project I need to put those skills into work with shutter speeds, f stops ISO and the enhancing of images. This project also bridges on what I love to create because I love to create images that speak and to me, these images are going to speak so many words while addressing different topics/ issues such as DACA, Diversity, environmental issues, and undocumented families. My relationship with my sponsor has evolved as I engage in creative dialogue because Katy has the same interest when it comes to helping people out, and photographing people. She is what I aspire to be one day she photographs people, families, volunteers, and photographs nature. The challenges that I am experiencing with my project is figuring out how to fundraise enough money on time and also figuring out who to ask to take a picture for one of the topics.
Blog 9: What have you seen or experienced in your internship that has inspired you the most on your own artistic journey? Has this experience changed your artistic ambitions? How?
In my internship, I have seen so many amazing things. I have seen how Katy Interacts with her customers and the amazing relationship she has built with them and has maintained for many many years. Knowing this I have learned that building this friendship with those customers is really important. This has inspired me on my own artistic journey as I have learned that photography is not just about photographing people, but rather you get to photograph people and talk to them and make out of that a strong friendship. Also, another thing that has inspired me so much is being able to help. Katy has photographed many many people and one of the things she has done is photographed for many non-profit organizations and through that bring awareness or let people know what is going on around them or what is happening and what they can help on. This has inspired me as these are some of the things that I was already thinking about although I didn’t know exactly how to even get started now I know I can go for non-profit organizations and volunteer and photograph them. This experience has changed my artistic ambitions as I have to say I now want to travel all over the world asking non-profit organizations that I would love to bring awareness to if I could please photograph what they do, who do they help, etc. Although I was really interested in helping others with having experienced what it actually felt like to help out meant so much to me and has inspired me so much want to pursue the art of photography and how photography speaks without utilizing any words.
Blog 10: Has this experience been a rewarding one for you? Why or why not? How has the reality of your internship matched or contrasted with your expectations? What is the most important learning you did during your internship?
This experience has been the most rewarding experience to me because I have learned about things that I never knew came into play with being a photographer. I learned about shutter speeds, ISO, F-stops, marketing, always finishing the job on time whether that requires sleepless nights, editing a photograph and how many hours that can take, and the building of relationships with the customers. I have been able to really learn how having control of the photograph and what I want to capture of it is very essential and is something that you need in order to be a professional photographer. The reality of my internship had contrasted so very much with what I expected being a photographer would be. I thought that being a photographer was all about taking the photographs, but I have realized that there is much more to it than I thought. You have to make sure the photograph is what you want it to be, enhance it and make retouches that may take up to 5 hours per photograph, a lot of math that goes into being a photographer because of all the measuring of the photograph and estimating how it is going to look, and the budgeting in which you have to be able to have enough sitting per month in order to pay for the place where your studio is at, the paper, ink, programs, the internet, frames, glass, and many more things on time. Always being able to talk on the phone and make conversation with your customers. There are so many things that go into being a photographer than just taking the photographs and even though I now know what it really takes I still think being able to capture emotions, memories, and the beauty of nature all of the hard work is still worth it. The most important learning I did at my internship is that if you really want something no matter the cost of it, you will do anything to get it as was the case for me when I raised enough money for my camera after Katy challenged me to do so if I was really interested in pursuing the career of photography.