Intern? - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

11/04/2011 09:20:04 AM · #1

I was talked to today by a guest speaker in class about internships.

What I found interesting was that he talked about skipping all the "BS" and start looking at the big dogs in the industry we are looking to get into. For example, for me (being that I want to get into photography obviously) I would want to look at say, Nikon or Canon.

I don't know much about internships and how they work to be honest so bare with me as I am pretty new to this whole thing.

Let me say this before I get into the questions... My goal is to open my own photography store OR become a full time freelance photographer.

Questions I have about interns:

How do I even start looking for intern jobs for Nikon, Canon, or something similar?
What sort of intern should I look for within these companies?
How would I contact these companies?
What sort of experience should I have prior to getting in contact with these companies?

I hope you can give me some sort of advise. I have googled a little but it sort of came down to question number one with not knowing how to even start looking.

Thanks in advanced. :)

EL-ROI

Canon EOS-450D Rebel XSi

11/04/2011 10:09:23 AM · #2

How about going to the Canon or Nikon Website and searching careers??

//www.usa.canon.com/cusa/about_canon/careers
//www.nikonusa.com/About-Nikon/Careers/index.page

Then maybe you might find out a little about their internship programs right on their websites...

//www.usa.canon.com/cusa/about_canon/careers/internship_programs

I couldn't find an internship program listed directly for Nikon on their careers page, but shoot someone an email along with your resume and a cover letter and explain that you are interested in an internship.

For your goal and interest in sports photography, there are some stories on the Nikon site that might help you...
//www.nikonusa.com/Learn-And-Explore/Photography-Tips/ggwcfv6g/1/Dustin-Snipes-Rising-Star.html

...

Where can I send the invoice for career counseling services?

Message edited by author 2011-11-04 10:12:07.

Strikeslip

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS

11/04/2011 11:45:09 AM · #3

President Clinton had an intern...

Spork99

OM System OM-1

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

11/04/2011 11:52:52 AM · #4

Hmmmmm maybe.

Do you want to be a photographer or do you want to make/build/sell cameras? If the latter, then an internship with Canon/Nikon et.al. would be the way to go.

If you want to be a photographer or work with photography, there are probably other places to intern. Since you're interested in sports photography, why not the media department for a major sports team or league? or a major news outlet in the sports department? Or a marketing/ad agency with sports teams as clients. One of my friends interned at an ad agency where he worked on shoots with Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan etc. back when they were playing.

11/04/2011 02:12:49 PM · #5

Originally posted by Spork99:

Since you're interested in sports photography, why not the media department for a major sports team or league?

That is an awesome idea. Question would be who would I even contact for that? One problem with this though is I don't have the equipment to do sports photography at a higher level. Would I even need it for the internship or is it more about learning the way it works rather than the way you take photos at the sporting even?

Again, I apologies for my lack of knowledge with anything related to internships. Before today, I hadn't even thought of doing one. Lol.

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

11/04/2011 02:14:07 PM · #6

Originally posted by EL-ROI:

Thanks for the link. I didn't know they had those links in their websites. And as for the sports photography link, I have read a few entries so far under that category so I thank you for that too.

Message edited by author 2011-11-04 14:15:33.

Kelli

Canon EOS-D60

11/04/2011 02:19:30 PM · #7

This seems like a good article too, with links...

Spork99

OM System OM-1

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

11/04/2011 02:31:20 PM · #8

Originally posted by mbrutus2009:

Originally posted by Spork99:
Since you're interested in sports photography, why not the media department for a major sports team or league?

That is an awesome idea. Question would be who would I even contact for that? One problem with this though is I don't have the equipment to do sports photography at a higher level. Would I even need it for the internship or is it more about learning the way it works rather than the way you take photos at the sporting even?

Again, I apologies for my lack of knowledge with anything related to internships. Before today, I hadn't even thought of doing one. Lol.

Start here Look about halfway down the page at "Staff Assistantships". Look at other pro teams/sports too. I think that what you're more likely to find as an intern isn't a job necessarily working primarily as a photographer, but more in how the team manages and uses those images. Even if you're not getting paid for working the sidelines shooting the games, you'll be making lots of contacts and getting a good look at how photography is used. And, they probably will let you shoot photos when you're not getting coffee for the boss. (j/k about the coffee part...kinda)

Make sure you include your sports photography (link, disk or otherwise) in your materials you send to them and don't give up even if they tell you "no thanks" the first dozen times. Be persistent without being obnoxious.

Message edited by author 2011-11-04 14:31:42.