Going out with a bang!

This week has been the best yet! I am helping with the fashion and creative portraiture class. I'm learning SO much about lighting, product advertising, and the difference between commercial and fashion photography. Commercial photography is fully lit with a clean background to emphasize the product being advertised. Fashion photography still focuses on the product, but it is more creative in its displays. The models are placed in artistic positions and often done up in ways you would not see in everyday life. The best part is how into it the students are! They are the models and photographers and they get to direct the shoots. I got the most fantastic photos! Here are a few from behind the scenes and some I took!

What a day!

This was such an exciting week for me! My boss agreed to let me participate in the darkroom class, while also helping the teacher! I am learning so much from this experience! It is just so fascinating to see how adding chemicals will just make the picture appear! I love it!



But today I was asked to skip class to work on an emergency project. Local women of different cultures have been submitting pictures for a exhibit called "My Family, Our Story". So I spent today creating design layouts for the different women. I was in a trance by the end, but it was nice to feel I helped out so much!

Class Blog

Here is the link for the blog I made! It has the students work along with a welcome (by me) and artists statements by the kids!

http://tlfintrotodigital6-8.blogspot.com/

Building my Portfolio!

I can't remember if I have mentioned this, but while I am helping with the camps, I am also in charge of documenting the experience. This is great because I am able to use my photography and ....BUILD MY PORTFOLIO!!! As I capture the kids, I am also to shoot around town and get some stock shots for my website! I made a website for my photography portfolio, and really enjoyed it! Now I need to start creating my portfolio for my internship! Hopefully I will be able to use the artistic techniques I am learning in creating that.





A new assignment I was just assigned was a blog. You know how much i love blogs! Remember how I told you about the teacher displaying the students work on a blog? Well, my boss loved the idea so much, he asked me to create a blog for the class I am working on now. I will upload students photography and let the parents know what we did in class. Yet another way I am building my portfolio (but this one is more for my school website). When I get the blog created I will put up the link!

I forgot!

I forgot to mention something awesome we did in the darkroom course! The teacher kept a blog with her students in New York. She thought it would be neat if we uploaded the images from the kids in Charlotte, so both sets of students could critique each others work. Each student choose 5 pictures and I scanned them into the blog. Now the students have a way to communicate with their artwork to students in New York, and a website to show off their work to their friends!

Here is the website for that- http://tlfinsight.blogspot.com/

More Camps!

This week I work double time on camps! I helped with a photoshop lesson and learned a ton! They say teaching others helps you learn more, and I definitely think that is true! I also was able to learn darkroom procedures and how to develop film! It is so neat! But the thing I am enjoying most is meeting the teacher! They are all professional artists with emphasis in photography. I love talking to them and see where they have been and how they got here. One of them, a free lance photographer, just finished working on a pin up calendar! She showed me the proofs and the process she went through with lighting and editing. She is now in the process of advertising the release party (which I was invited to! YES!). She was going to go downtown and pass out the ad flyers she created (on photoshop, I might add). I suggested she dress the girls in their pin up attire to attract more attention and curiosity. The ad itself if beautifully designed! I can't wait to go to the party and see how a real release party is played out!


Emma, the freelance, is the one in the turban. (I wasn't able to go to the release party, but she said it was packed and went well!)

The other teacher is very sweet and patient. She keeps thanking me for my help, which I feel kind of awkward because I have never done darkroom chemistry before. I am learning along with the kids and helping her with little tasks that don't involve chemistry. She just moved to Charlotte and loves the art scene. We have a lot in common and I really think I've made some great friendships and connections through these artists!


This is the darkroom teacher, Laurie.

Camp!

Last week was my only vacation I am taking all summer! It was a blast! I went to Florida and took full advantage of my time off. When I returned, I began helping with the camps. This weeks was an intro to digital photography class for high schoolers. I love working with them because I can build relationships and meet these neat kids, while also reviewing the basics. We take the kids off site, around the city to use different photography techniques to share a message. Its really cool seeing how they start seeing the city more creatively and using the different elements and principles.

The other day, I was looking through the vast amount of photography books in the classroom and I came across one that really struck me. I am studying advertising, but I never thought I would actually go into it, until I read this book. It was called Photography for Advertising. I got super excited because I found a career that mixes what i enjoy and what I am studying! The book gave tips on how to make the product seem appetizing to the customer. The technique I found most interesting was placing the product in an unrelated setting. For instance, the photographer placed a diamond ring on a tree limb. This pulls attention to the object, and zooming also makes the object the central focal point. I learned a lot from those books. I read others about photojournalism as well. I haven't been thinking as seriously about that because print journalism is a dying form of communication. Architectural photography is also interesting.

I was given the task of documenting the classes, and I'm quite enjoying it! I like being creative with shooting the kids and showing the neat places we are going. Its been a good week, and I finally solidified my schedule. So I will for sure be making my hours for credit! Yay!

No Boss!

Today I had no boss. But no worries, I was a good girl and came in and did work anyways. I spent the first little bit, updating spread sheets and doing things they taught me. Then I began working on brochures for advertising the educational side of the organization. I had all the information, I just had to design a layout and add images. It was difficult to fit all the information in, but I worked it out and am actually pretty pleased! I made two, but it is an on going project so I plan on providing a couple more option for them to choose from later. It was a good day!

Wow! It's been awhile!

Sorry it's been awhile! Well lets see, what have I been up to lately? I think the highlight of the past week or so was getting to shadow a tour. The Light Factory is free to the public, but people often call about tours. They pay a small fee and get a guided tour of the galleries and demonstration of the darkroom. I was given the task of making a scavenger hunt for younger kids who participate to keep them engaged. Though the group who's tour I shadowed were teachers from Fort Mill, SC. They were given leave to experience the educational tour of the galleries. I followed along, listening to the explanations of the different pieces. It was fascinating hearing the artist's point of view and reasons behind their creations. Then came the darkroom! The only experience I have with the darkroom is watching movies of old photography techniques. The process is really quite interesting; how the chemicals invert the color and the effect of light to an image. I really learned a lot! Tours are really great for the organizations PR. It is hard for people to truely understand The Light Factory's mission until they have seen the work first hand. It also increases promotion through word of mouth, which is one of the most effective forms of PR to the organization.

I was given a list today of on-going projects to work on. Some of the big ones involve creating a brochure, pledge cards, and certificates. I started working on the pledge cards and was able to whip out a couple designs. It's pretty easy for me, so I think i will work on various designs for them to choose. I like to work through lunch, since I'm only there for a short amount of time, so hopefully I will get time to experiment with the different programs they have on the computers. I've already learned publisher and gotten a lot better in photoshop, but I would love to learn indesign and just see what else is out there.

I also was able to sit in on part of a camp today! This was my first time with The Light Factory's camps, so my boss wanted me to observe for a bit just to get the hang of it. It's really neat! It was small, only four kids, and they were grades 3-5. Granted I will be working primarily with older kids, but it was still fun! They each had very unique personalities and a huge passion for the arts and photography. It is amazing seeing such passion in kids so young! They were learning photoshop today and they were SO excited about it! They even took notes! It was so cute! If I had just gotten out of school, I would not have been too happy about going to a class, but they were great! I'm kind of interested to see how the ones I will help with go!

Day 4

Today was relatively uneventful. I learned the ticketing program the Light Factory uses for their camps and classes. The tasks were very easy, just time consuming. The perfect task for an intern! I extended the deadline for all their classes (and let me say, they have a lot more than I expected) and then worked on spreadsheets of enrollment. It got me excited for the camps to begin because I can tell already I will learn SO much from them! I finished up early, and was able to get out early. I asked for more work, but they didn't have anything! I had to pay for parking today, because I missed the ticket lady...bum! But I have made good friends with both security guards now! We are tight! Its nice to have such a lovely welcome when I come in in the mornings! But thats about it for today. Nothing too exciting!

Day 3- Downs and Ups!

Today was only my second day actually going to the office. I parked in my spot and got to Spirit Square with plenty of time. I walk in and go up the stairs, like they showed me, and the door is locked! They had prepared me for that, so I go back downstairs for plan b, the elevator. I press the button and wait. Nothing. I press it over and over. Still nothing. Finally I go up to my good friend the security guard and ask him what is up with the elevator. He explains it is being serviced, but says he has a master key that will get me to where I need to go. I follow him and we see the elevator man leaving, so we proceed to take the elevator. I could've handled it from there, but the man insisted to walk me to the office. It was a nice gesture and we chatted, but luckily he let me be to walk into the office. I didn't want to seem incompetent and unable to find the office myself.

I get in and ask for the computer to finish the certificate. I work while they have a staff meeting, and create a document. After looking at it, my boss is not pleased. She tells me it is not my fault but she should've had me do it in another program. She sets me up at a computer and gives me a brief explanation of how to use publisher. I thought it was going to be this tough program but it was way easier than anything I had used! A thousand times easier than photoshop! I whipped up 6 different certificate layouts. By then, it was time for me to leave, but my boss was reviewing the layouts and seemed pretty impressed. He pointed some out in which he especially like and said I could leave.

After a bummer of a morning, I left feeling really good about myself and happy that I was finally able to prove to the other employees why they had hired me! Whew!

Second Day...SO GREAT!

Today was SO fun!!! I woke up at 6am (the earliest i have woken up since high school!) and headed over to Gastonia to help Jen with a lesson she was teaching to first graders. I got a little lost on the drive there, but luckily I had left early and was able to arrive before she started the lesson. I just hate being late! It's so stressful! She debriefed me on the lesson and showed me the supplies. We were making sun prints! This is when you use cyanotype paper, place an object on it (in our case, flowers), and set it in the sun. The chemicals in the paper fade in all areas except the shadow of the object. The paper is then placed in water to "fix" the exposure and that is it! It is a simple form of art that creates really neat results!

Jen gave a little presentation the beginning explaining that sun prints where the first form of photography and how photography is a universal language. She was so good with the kids! First graders have an extremely short attention span, but she was very patient. While she gave her intro, I began setting up the supplies (filling the tray with water, spreading out the plants, passing out paper, etc.). The kids were then allowed creative flexibility to arrange the flowers in their own pattern as we walked around helping. I love kids for short amounts of time, so I had a blast interacting with the students. I was asked my age multiple times, complimented galore, and even asked out on a date by one little boy! Flattering, but a little out of my age range! Then Jen took the kids out in groups to set out their prints and fix them. It was funny watching how amazing the kids were! One boy asked if it was magic paper! The results were astounding! I was blown away by the designs and beauty these young kids had made! One of my favorite parts of the day was when were walk out. We passed the hall in which each class had laid their paper out to dry. I couldn't help but smile seeing all the finished products! They would've made a beautiful collage! (I think I might do that some day!) It was neat to think we had nudged their creativity and helped them create such marvelous work!

First Day!!!

Wooo! Today was my first day interning at the Light Factory! I was so nervous driving downtown because a) I only go downtown like once a year and I'm normally not the one driving and b) I was running late when leaving the house so I was having anxiety about being late on my first day! Luckily, I had nothing to worry about and pulled in with a good 15 minutes to spare. It pays off being allergic to lateness. The lot where I am supposed to park in says full, but I can clearly see spots. I go in to talk to the security man and he kindly lets me in!

After wandering around the building a while, I decided to give in and ask for directions. By this point the security guard is laughing at me and calls up to my boss Jen. She comes down and shows me the proper way to maneuver the building (I had been in completely the wrong area before). The office is tight packed with about 8 desks of adults trying to get their work done. There are papers all over place and I am wondering how they are able to find anything, but I guess everyone has their own working environment. Jen reviews my duties and tells me I will be creating brochures and blogs and all sorts of fun stuff! I am so excited! I just thought I would be sitting at a desk all day, which I was fine with, but now I find out I am actually creating thing!! Even better is Jen is teaching a lesson to 2nd graders on the following day I was supposed to work. She invited me to come along and be her assistant and possibly document the lesson through my own photography! Yay! I am just so excited I get to use my camera! There are little surprises around every bend!

I met the other intern who is also named Sarah. She's a really nice girl, but our schedules are opposite and I doubt I will ever see her. She showed me the parking drill and assured me I had nothing to be nervous about. Once returning, I was assigned my first task of creating a course certificate of completion for adults who attend classes on photography. I whipped out my computer right as she was saying I could make it on photoshop. Ut Oh!!! I don't have any of those amazing programs on my computer! Those things are hundreds of dollars! If I was a bizillionaire I would've said, "Oh hey,I will just go out and get them this afternoon!" But no, I can't afford that stuff. I think I caught her at a jolt when I said I didn't have the programs, but she had an old Mac that I was able to borrow.

By that point, I felt I had a lot of proving to do. I began working and couldn't find anything! Her version of photoshop was older than the one I know and it was difficult figuring things out. It wasn't until I had problem and asked her about it that I was able to locate the many layers I had made! Jen told me I was able to leave whenever, so by that point I just wanted to get out, so I could go home do tons of research and come back next time with ideas and success! The certificate was saved and I plan on sketching out a better design before I work on it again. I am also going to do research on her version of photoshop to hopefully make things easier! But for the first day, I think things went well! Can't wait for thursday when I get to see Jen in her element!