Day One:
Today was my first day of being an intern at Illuminarts Photography! Although it was only my first day, I have already learned a lot and have started new things. When I first came in, I got a tour of the studio. This really made me comfortable because I now know where many things are that I once didn't know. We talked a lot about what I'm going to be doing for the next three weeks and I scheduled three models that I will be photographing for my first week. Today, I made a Pinterest that I am "pinning" my favorite modeling pictures to that I find. Along with getting a tour, scheduling my week, and making a pinterest, I ran an errand to get the two soft boxes, used for perfect lighting in photo shoots, fixed. This was a real life problem that I had to fix, and it showed me that things like this happen everyday in the business world. Today was a great day, and I'm really looking forward to the rest of my time here.
Day Two:
Today I learned a lot about the mathematics behind the camera. Things such as ISO, F Stop, Manual, Program, and Shutter speed. Although this was very confusing, I got to go try it out during my first photo shoot. I photographed Hanna Armstrong and Levi Andersen(pictures posted below). We went around town and shot in the shade. While doing this, I got to work on all of the things I learned today about the camera. Along with learning about how the camera works and doing a photo shoot, I got to revise a mass email that is sent to all of the newlyweds that Drew and Amy do photo shoots of. This was a good experience for me because I got to practice writing a professional business email, while making it personal as well.
Day Three:
Today I did many things to help the IlluminArts business. When I first came in this morning, I had to call the sewer that had sewn the soft boxes that I took in on Monday. At about 10:30am I went and picked them up and she had sewn the holes perfectly! When I came back to the studio Amy and I sat down and sorted through all of the common emails that get sent to clients. We revised most of the emails, deleted some of them, and rewrote some also. This was an important task because it is essential to keep things very organized in a business. This afternoon I got to sit in with a possible wedding client. I took notes on many things about their wedding and got to listen to what their plans were for there big day. This has been my favorite part of my internship so far and I found it also very inspiring. I hope that I get to sit in on more meetings with clients because I will possibly be going to their weddings!
Day Four:
Today I set up an event for the IlluminArts Facebook page. The event was for letting the Durango population know that I will be photographing head shots on March 22nd. I am doing this because it will be good practice to shoot in indoor lighting just straight on head shots. I also worked a lot today with light room and editing pictures. I got a book for it, and have been learning a lot. This will help a lot for when I start using photoshop. At lunch today we went over all of the mechanics of the camera again, like we did on Tuesday. I also did another photo shoot today with Taylor perry, a senior at Durango High School. Today's photo shoot went a lot better then the one on Tuesday. This was because I knew more about the camera and where to stand as a photographer. My next photo shoot is tomorrow, we'll see how it goes!
Day Five:
Today I contacted the people who called that wanted their head shots done and made a schedule for the photo shoot on March 22nd. When I made the event on Facebook for this photo shoot we got around 10 calls instantly. This made me really exited for this shoot! Making this schedule and contacting all of these people really made me feel like I work in the business world. I also did another photo shoot today of Mikayla Jeffries, a Junior at Durango High School. We are still working on all of the concepts such as the ISO, shutter speed, and the F-stops. This was a great photo shoot and was great practice for what I'm learning about. I have two photo shoots set up for next week, can't wait! I'll post pictures soon.
Week Two!
Day One:
Today I really worked on editing my pictures in Photo Shop. I started the editing with my first photo shoot and got most of the way through my second one. I am so glad I am finally learning how to use photo shop, it is a great skill to know. I also worked on my blog for the Illuminarts website. Posting pictures, and blogging about the pictures I have taken! Here is the link if you want to check it out: http://durangoweddingphotography.com/big-picture/
Two of my posts do not have pictures yet on the website because I have not finished editing all of them. However, when I do get them all fully edited, you can find them on this site. I have my next photo shoot tomorrow, with the first boy that I will have done a photo shoot of since I've been here. Can't wait!
Day Two:
This morning I went to Gunnar and Conrad's photography studio to borrow a color calibrator so we can download it on all of the computers at the Illuminarts studio. I also worked a lot on photo shop, learning a lot of new things and editing my pictures from Taylor's photo shoot. I had my interview with Amy today, and it went really well. I loved learning all about her and parts of her life. Ill post the interview tomorrow. We went over more of the mechanics of the cameras that I'm using. After doing that, I did a photo shoot with Ty Macguffie, A Junior at Animas High School. It was a really fun photo shoot and we got some great pictures(:
Interview with Amy Semel:
Q: When did your path to photography begin?
A: I took photography in college but the business part began when Drew and I started IlluminArts together in 2002.
Q: What made you want to start wedding photography?
A: We always wanted to do wedding photography. Because of how special weddings feel to us and the honored and privileged feeling we get when we contribute to their big day. We also love the challenge of it. Dynamically there is a lot to be responsible for. We both liked all aspects of the challenge and of shooting. Emotionally, to our clients were trying to get them the best pictures that are meaningful to them. We love being a part of the wedding. Being around the family, and the connection and the joy and the excitement. Each wedding feels unique and special to us.
Q: Did you go to a photography-based college?
A: I didn’t. I have a degree in fine arts and a minor in phycology. And I graduated from Fort Lewis.
Q: What have been your most concrete steps in making this business?
A: When we started, I remember us having a really reduced rate in the beginning and then we just grew a lot from word of mouth and the relationships with our vendors. It is a constant process to keep in touch with the vendors so they will recommend us. Another step was moving our home office into town and having a full time studio. Trying to learn from our client’s feedback both positive and negative is also a big part. There usually isn’t negative feedback but we are just trying to grow in ways that will be helpful to our clients and ourselves. Also bettering ourselves and being creative is what were all about, which has been a big part of making our business successful.
Q: Before photography, did you have any other future plans?
A: Before photography, Drew and I were team-building facilitators. We worked with corporate business companies and how to communicate with each other and get along better. We worked with them on their weaknesses and strengths.
Q: What strikes you about photography or fine art?
A: For me, t’s the ability to capture the emotion in a single moment and how that emotion evokes someone else’s emotion.
Q: Do you have a favorite photo shoot so far?
A: Well that’s a good question. You know I think my favorite has been Leah and Jerry’s engagement shoot in Chicago. Creatively, we got to go to so many different locations. It was really a mix of urban with kind of natural settings. This was great because we got to get a diverse set of images for them. For us it was great because it let us shoot something else other than the Durango look. The lighting was a huge part of it because it’s a whole different venue. We really had to be creative and flexible with what we could do. In general my favorite weddings to shoot are where we can really connect with people. That’s why Leah and Jerry’s engagement shoot was so great because I felt like we were friends. I’m all about people and connections, so the people who we really connected with us and we really connected with them are the most memorable for me to shoot.
Q: What major problems and challenges have you faced professionally?
A: The first thing that comes to mind is constantly trying to penetrate business because we don’t have repeat clients, because these are weddings and they usually only happen once. There are also challenges because of changes in the economy. Trying to come up with new ways of shooting so its also creatively interesting for us is a very big part of our business, which gets problematic at times. Even though all of the clients are different, its important to keep it more creatively interesting for us and for our clients. For me personally, the biggest challenge has been being a mom. Trying to work at the business part time and being a mom.
Q: What are your professional goals for the next 5 to 10 years?
A: Our goals are to expand beyond focusing on wedding photography and focus some on commercial and some architectural photography; instead of the majority of our season being weddings. Also, continually challenging ourselves so it’s still edgy and creative for our clients.
Q: What advice would you give to someone interested in entering your field or profession?
A: Make sure you’re really good at multitasking before you are willing to take it all on. You have to be great with people, sensitive and have fun with what you’re doing. Be flexible and handle stress well.
Day Three:
Today I called to confirm with the clients the time that are coming in on Thursday to get their business head shots done. I also wrote an email for the toddler photo shoot that I have coming up this Sunday! It was a mass email that went to the parents of toddlers that Drew and Amy had suggested to me. I also worked some more on post production and editing my pictures for my final portfolio. When I got done with that, Drew and I talked through how to set up the studio for a photo shoot that would be inside, such as the headshot photo shoot coming up tomorrow. We set up the soft boxes and many other things that will make the lighting perfect for the client's pictures tomorrow. Drew and I also took a trip down to the Durango Discovery Museum to scope out the space so we know where to set up a photo booth for an event the museum has coming up which is a steam punk event. At 4:15 I went to another business meeting for possible wedding clients that might want to sign on with IlluminArts photography. Today was a busy but great day. I'm really looking forward to learning all about inside lighting and head shots tomorrow, I hope they turn out great!
Day Four:
Today was a very busy day for me. I came into the studio around 7:30 this morning in order to set up the studio for the headshot photo shoot. I worked with drew and we set up all of the lights and the backdrop, and I was ready for my first client who came in at 9:15! I had 9 clients come in to get their head shot between 9:30 and 2:00. This was a really good experience for me. I learned a lot about how the lighting has to be when you're shooting in the studio along with how to really interact with the people being photographed. I actually really loved doing these head shots, I got a lot of practice in and got to meet a lot of great new people. Cooper and Zach also came in today to film what I was doing. They also interviewed me and although I was nervous at the beginning, it went fine. After shooting all of my clients I showed them all of their pictures and they got to pick their favorite one. After they picked their favorite, I put the pictures into Lightroom and created a white balance for all of them. Some really great pictures came out of today, and I am really pleased with the results.
Day Five:
This morning Amy and I went to a store here in town called sprouts, that sells little kid clothes. We picked out outfits for the toddler photo shoot that I have coming up this Sunday. We got two outfits for each kid that was going to be there. This was a really good experience and it was so much fun to pick out these clothes. This really showed me why I love fashion, even if the models are 3 to 4 years old. I can't wait for the photo shoot on Sunday! Today, I also got all caught up on my photoshop from the pictures that I have taken thus far. It took me awhile but I got all of my photo shoots through post production besides my head shots which I will be working on editing this weekend. On Saturday, I am helping with a family photo shoot that Drew is doing. I'm really excited about this because I get to really learn from Drew how to use the camera, how to interact with the clients, and where the lighting should be in certain situations. This has been a great two weeks, I can't believe next week is our last one! I will post pictures of my toddler photo shoot on: http://durangoweddingphotography.com/big-picture/ . Check it out!
Week Three!
Day One:
Today I got to look at all of my pictures from the toddler photo shoot from Sunday! I got a lot of really great shots and I was extremely excited. I spent most of the day on photo shot going through the 300 pictures and editing about 56 of them. I also went down to Hair Fusion to see if my three girl models for my photo shoot tomorrow could come in and get their hair and make up done before. We scheduled the time around 11 so there would be time before the shoot that is at 2:00! I'm really excited for this photo shoot and it will be great practice working with more than one person while also focusing on the mechanics of the camera to get the best results. We are going to a junk yard here in Durango to pose by old cars and trucks. I will post the pictures to my blog!
Day Two:
Today I did a few things to work on my illuminarts blog. I finished editing all of my head shot photos from the photo shoot and put them up on my blog. I also did a photo shoot of four of my friends: Emma Donharl, Lily Oswald, Ty MacGuffie, and Brodie Hall. At around 11:30 the girls came to the studio and I did their hair and their make up for the shoot. We went to a junk yard thats by Bayfield and found old vintage cars to take pictures with. This was a really awesome photo shoot, thank you all!
Day Three:
Today I sorted through all of my pictures from the junk yard photo shoot and picked about 15 of my favorites. After that, a worker named Ginger helped me go through more of my toddler photo shoot pictures and edit them in new ways in photo shop. This really helped me get faster at photo shop and learn a lot more about what to do to certain pictures. Going through pictures and putting them in post production is really what I did all day. I'm trying to get all of my pictures together so I can start building my slide show for our LINK exhibition on Friday. I have a lot of pictures that I have to put in it and I can't believe tomorrow is the last day!
Last day of Internship!
Today was my last day of internships and since we have a presentation tomorrow I worked on getting my project ready. For my project I am going to be doing a slide show presentation on my computer. I spent all day finishing editing pictures in PhotoShop and placing them into a folder which is used for keeping all of my work. Unfortunately, I had to go into all of my files from every photo shoot and change all of my picture sizes so they will look good on my slide show. This was not my favorite task and it took a lot of time, but it was a good learning experience. I can't believe today was our last day of our three week internship. However, it isn't the last day for me. I get the great experience of working here even after this internship is over. I will be putting pictures through post production, helping out during photo shoots and doing senior pictures for IlluminArts photography! I am so excited that I got the chance to do it and I'm ecstatic that it isn't over for me. This has been such a great three weeks and I have learned so much. Thank you Drew and Amy for making this an experience of a life time. Keep up with my Illuminarts blog to see what I'm up to!
