small girl BIG intern
tales from internships and my Devil Wears Prada experience
Hi friends,
When speaking with Syracuse students last week, I was asked “How to apply what you are learning at an internship that may not be in the field you want to be in?”
It was a thoughtful question and one I wanted to expand more on. I went home that night and found old notes and messages from my time interning. It was clear that all those tedious unpaid tasks really did pay off.
My first internship:
Elevate Communications PR Intern / 2010 Rising Sophomore
I took a PR internship while I was an aspiring photographer because at the time it’s all I could get. But strangely enough some of the lessons I learned there in my day to day really helped my career take off.
Everything besides learning how to un-jam a fax machine.
I worked the check-in at a lot of the events produced by the agency - one major being Hot Stove Cool Music. HSCM was a signature fundraising event held annually every summer by The Foundation to Be Named Later. It was after graduation, the foundation reached out to me to photograph their 2013 event myself.
They became my first consistent client.
I knew how the event worked and what images needed to be captured from my internship at Elevate. I used to clip all the articles post the fundraiser Monday morning so I knew what the press releases needed and what was expected of me as the photographer moving forward.
You may recognize Kay Hanley above from the below iconic 90’s scene with her band Letters to Cleo…
It was through Hot Stove I landed my first byline in The Boston Globe. A pivotal moment for establishing myself in the city I grew up in as a now professional.
Second Internship:
Improper Bostonian Photo Intern / 2011 Rising Junior
I remember in the interview they asked if I knew how to use Lightroom. I panicked and lied. My only editing experience was with Photoshop at that time so I quickly went home and watched YouTube tutorials on how to start a Lightroom catalog.
I still use LR today for all my editing, so this lie really paid off - and began my attachment to Adobe Suite.
I was less of an intern and more a freelancer as my only assignments were to photograph local spots for the Best of Boston Issue that summer.
My first print work assignment. Actually capturing, getting feedback and learning the ropes of working freelance. I got experience in shooting food & drink, interiors, music and still life as I captured for all categories of the magazine.
I was trained to compose all my images in school - making sure they had the perfect crop. A lesson I had to let go off for print, as you never know how the image is going to run until the article is finished.
They might need a horizontal, vertical or like the above Beehive image, a square. Submitting a variety of orientations and angles became the norm.
Now, I still do the same. My images may need to be cropped 9x16 for Instagram stories or most recently a 4x5 for someone personal Visa photo from an image I took of them at an event. It’s important to have “room” for all possibilities. It’s rumored the more options you give to your editor, their happiness increases exponentially.
Third Internship:
Harper’s Bazaar Photo and Bookings Department Internship / 2012 Rising Senior
On my tour of the office during orientation, they actually said don’t walk by the glass door offices and take the long way around. It’s distracting to editors.
I got a Lenwich breakfast sandwich for my boss every morning while I ate the free bagels in the cafeteria.
The Monica Geller in me was thrilled at tasks like alphabetizing location binders, making table of contents and color coordinating pages of research.
I scanned the internet for photos from old 1950 movies for an upcoming photoshoot. I became an expert mood board collage as I make my own mood boards for all my shoots and inspiration for when I feel creatively stuck.
On week four, I printed paparazzi photos of Miranda Kerr & Nicole Kidman then tacked them to a cork board chronologically. I later learned this was for a photoshoot so the editors and photographers knew her haircut, style etc. prior to the shoot. No one wants to be surprised to see her come in with a bob or bleached blond hair after anticipating long lucious locks.
My connections here at Harper's led to them hiring me post graduation. I covered my first assignment for them in 2016 during New York Bridal Fashion Week. Given little to no direction, I had faith I could capture everything they needed for a variety of coverage.
From beauty, behind the scenes to first looks I was in a sea of cream and white, diamonds and lace. Covering Bridal week for HB led to my man seasons with BRIDES, covering NYFW and presentations.
I still get emails from brides every year who saw my images online and need to know the dress name and designer of the below.
small girl BIG Plate
Lenwich makes theeee best caesar salad wrap. And trust me I have had a lot. So if you take anything from my intern days - let it be this.
small girl BIG Buy
For internships, there are a lot of things I could suggest but I think the most unique is find a signature scent. My summer internship at Harper’s I wore Michael Kors Very Hollywood everyday. Now when I smell that mix of raspberry and bergamot, it brings me back to office hours, lunch at Balducci’s next door and happy hours at Turtle Bay.
I’ve listed some of my favorite scents on my shopmy - that aren’t as 2000’s coded as my MK.
So the next time you are getting your boss’ dry cleaning or un-jamming a fax machine…reframe your internship. Think, what is it here I can apply to my life? Maybe it’s learning work dynamics and team work. Maybe it’s networking skills. Or maybe it’s how to make the best latte at home. A skill very New York should know.
Your smallest friend,
Alyssa