2017-2018 NYC Photography Business Internship

Deadline to Apply: Sunday September 3rd, 2017

When I was starting out, I really wanted to have a mentor to help me find all the short cuts I needed to be more successful.  As helpful as online forums were, I never felt comfortable sharing too much information or getting into the nitty gritty details online.  I just wanted that one person who had seen it all, and done it all, and could guide me through the challenges.  However, very few professional photographers actually offered any internship opportunities, so I never really found that person even though I applied to many opportunities and attended many workshops.  Luckily, I was strong enough to figure things out on my own, but of course it took twice as long and I could have saved a lot of time if I'd found a mentor to work with.

Photo by Brian Wright / Allred Studio

That's probably why I've had such a strong dedication to giving back through mentoring and writing articles on the PhotoLovecat.com blog- wanting to give someone else what I wish I'd had in the beginning.  Taking on an intern has often been one of the most challenging ways of mentoring- requiring a ton of dedication on the part of the intern to show up and make the most of our time together while I try to figure out what their level of dedication says about the amount of responsibility and experiences I can provide them.

The interns who treated our time together like it was even more valuable than a paid job were often rewarded with a very deep level of experience and insight into running a photography business.  The interns who weren't very reliable about showing up or doing basic photography business administration tasks often didn't get much experience simply because they weren't dedicated to learning about the actual business behind making a living as a full time photographer.  The more curiosity you have about running a photo business, the more you'll learn.

Mentoring with a professional photographer as an intern is much more about the hands-on experience of running a business than it is about photography.  You may gain some technical photographic tips or experiences along the way, but what you really learn is what the backend of being a professional photographer is about, and it's something you can only learn by working on the backend of a photography business.  For some people, this makes it much easier to run their own business later on.  For others, this experience lets them know they really don't want to run their own business.  Either way, it provides a fast track of experiences about what someone wants to do after their internship is over.

I am currently able to take on ONE photography business intern for SIX months.  

You Should Apply If:
You're an optimist who's excited about the idea of running a professional photography business and can commit at least 5 hours weekly to showing up at my office in NYC for at least 6 months with motivation and dedication to doing the work and trying new challenges.

Location:
You will be working from my office near Washington Square in New York City (zip code 10012); and occasionally meeting over Skype.

Weekly Office Hours:
- 12-5pm Wednesdays 
- September 13 - December 13, 2017  / January 17 - April 18, 2018
- Additional hours as agreed upon 

Software You Should Already Understand:
- Mac OSX
- Adobe Photoshop CS

Equipment You Should Already Have:
- Cell Phone
- Laptop w/ WiFi Access
- DSLR Camera

Tasks That You're Already Comfortable Doing:
- Basic Image Editing & Retouching in Photoshop
- Using a DSLR Camera in Manual Mode

What You'll Learn During Your Internship:
- Marketing with Imagery
- Professional Networking
- Business Management
- Client Workflow
- Image Management
- Vendor Relations
- Product Sales
- Photography Tips

How you will be compensated:

- Weekly One-on-One Business Mentoring during our 6 Months Together ($7200 value)

- Access to behind-the-scenes operations, workflows, and contracts in my business (priceless)

- Opportunities to receive paid assisting, retouching, and second shooting opportunities as available and depending on your creative and technical strengths. ($$$)
- Internship credit (if necessary for College/University study)

******Deadline To Apply********
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 2017 11:59pm

You must EMAIL A VIDEO INTERVIEW OF YOURSELF.  Written applications alone will not be accepted.  You can upload something simple like a smartphone/webcam video to YouTube, Vimeo, or just embed it in your email to me, but it should be at least one minute long and provide the video content requirement listed below.  Caution: don't wait until the last minute to send your video, or you may run into technical glitches and not get your application in on time.

Include the following details in your message to info@anneruthmann. com:

1. Email Subject: Internship Application 2017
2. Email Content: Your Name, Phone Number, and where you'll be traveling from each week
3. Video Content: Share why you're interested in working as an intern, what skills and experiences you already have, and what you hope to learn during your internship.

An emailed response to your video application will be sent by Sunday September 10, 2017.

Last, but not least, because I don't think it's fair that you have to send a video without also seeing a video of me, so here's a link to a variety of video interviews and talks I've done about my own journey into and through the life of being a professional photographer over the last 13 years:

TEDx Talk 2015


Fresh Rag Interview 2014 


Dane Sanders Interview 2012

Anne Ruthmann on Fast Track Coaching with Dane Sanders from Dane Sanders on Vimeo.

POSITION CLOSED: NYC Architectural Photography Apprenticeship Available

***POSITION CLOSED***

Position Open as of June 25, 2015
Applications Accepted before July 25, 2015
Interviews Begin August 3, 2015

Who I Am:
An Architecture & Interior Design photographer based in Manhattan, New York City, NY, USA with 11 years of experience as a professional photographer in Michigan, Indiana, Massachusetts, Queensland, and New York.  I have an active travel and client schedule, and I'm looking to expand my team of help in order to better serve my existing clients as well as future clients while my client list continues to grow.

Who My Clients Are:
My clients are everything from solo interior designers with boutique businesses, to high end real estate agents featuring multi-million dollar properties, to architectural furniture and utility suppliers, to large architectural firms with multiple projects.  Clients come in large and small accounts, and are all equally important to serve with the best quality and care.

The Ideal Apprentice:

• Has a passion for Architectural Photography and working with Architects and Designers.  
• Has familiarity with using Lightroom and Photoshop to edit and retouch images, and is willing to learn more on their own time in order to create better results for clients.  
• Strives toward a clean and natural color profile in their work and sees the difference between egg-shell white and coconut white while color-correcting a room with mixed lighting sources.  (If you aren't sure about your own ColorIQ, try this excellent visual color test: http://xritephoto.com/ph_toolframe.aspx?action=coloriq)  
• Is dedicated to constantly improving their personal skills along with their photography craft.  
• Is flexible and can handle stressful situations or people with ease and calm.
• Is willing to commit to a 12 month paid apprenticeship for a minimum 1 day per week in Manhattan, with additional opportunities to take on more independent projects as skills grow.
• Already has DSLR camera experience, knowledge, and equipment.
• Already owns their own computer and Lightroom and/or Photoshop software.

Apprenticeship Experiences May Include:

• Post-production tasks such as selecting ideal images for editing, color-correction, lighting manipulation, retouching, and exporting for client usage.
• On-site assisting during shoots that includes manipulating lighting set-ups, staging furnishings and accessories, operating lighting and camera remotes, equipment set-up and proper storage.
• Submitting pricing proposals and creating warm-lead marketing proposals.
• Client care and follow-up on projects and proposals.
• Using various online services for billing, proofing, and asset delivery.
• Organizing digital assets and maintaining back-ups of assets.

Additional Apprenticeship Benefits:

• Access and use of professional camera and lighting equipment when needed for Anne Ruthmann Photography clients, and/or apprenticing projects.
• Sales and marketing training 
• Client management training
• Freelance lifestyle mentoring

To Apply:
Please include the following in an email to: info (at) anneruthmann.com before July 25, 2015.

1. Email Subject: Application for Architectural Photography Apprenticeship 
2. Email Message: Introduce yourself and write about why you would like to apprentice as an architectural photographer.  Include what you're looking forward to learning as well as what experiences and skills you already have that you will immediately be able to use.
3. Include: Resumé of previous working experiences, education, and any volunteer experiences you've had as well as your contact information with mailing address and phone number
4. Include: Portfolio link or PDF that shows 10 Before & After photo examples that demonstrate your photography style straight from the camera as well as your post-production editing style.  Bonus points if they are interiors and architecture.  If you don't already have some, this is a great opportunity to go out and create some!

CLOSED POSITION: Part-Time Virtual & On-Site Office Assistant (Greenwich Village / SoHo / Manhattan)

****** Updated***** This post is no longer active.  Thank you to all who applied!

Looking for an awesome virtual assistant and occasional in-office assistant (Greenwich Village/SoHo) for 4 - 8hrs a week at $20/hr.  If you have design or photoshop skills, I may have even more work for you at an even better rate.  My primary concerns are that you love to take care of my clients and make sure they have everything they need when they need it, and you love to make life easier for me by doing things even better than I can do them on my own.  No photography experience needed, but if you have an eye for organization, design, and constantly strive toward greater efficiency, I will go above and beyond to keep you hired and working with me.  Here are the basics of what you'll do:

• Be punctual, keep your word, and show up when needed or make arrangements for someone else to take your place.  I realize this seems basic, but you'd be amazed how many people can't do just this one simple thing with consistency.
• Be able to work from my Greenwich Village / SoHo office a few times a month and on your own from a great internet connection otherwise
• Use these programs (if you don't already know them- you should be a self-learner who is comfortable learning new software on your own and have confidence that you'll figure it out from tutorials and youtube videos online without my help): 17Hats, PayPal, Pictage, Dropbox, Gmail, MacMail, iCal, Mac Address Book, Mac Remote Desktop, Lightroom, Skype, Google Hangout, iChat, Eventbrite, Facebook Pages, Instagram, Twitter, Blogger
• Create new contracts from established templates and occasionally draft a new contract
• Have impeccable grammatical and spelling skillz (and be annoyed by the fact I used a z and be able to point out my other faux pas)
• Talk to me on the phone to get quote or proposal details which you clearly and beautifully compose into an email or 17Hats proposal for clients
• Handle email and phone communications on my behalf when I'm traveling or working intensively on location and can't be in touch with clients directly
• Email clients with project updates, links to images, billing reminders if needed
• Schedule appointments and shoots into my calendar using my super awesome system full of functional details I can access offline in the subway when needed
• Organize client info online based on a system I already have and be innovative about finding ways to make it even better or more streamlined
• Maintain digital asset organization (images, videos, contracts, proposals, PDFs, client info)
• Learn easily, aren't afraid to take charge when needed, and like to finish every project you start even if it takes extra time or means asking for help
• Have a sense of humor, not take things personally, be flexible, and roll with the craziness while still getting things taken care of when a huge project comes in at the last minute

If this isn't you, but someone you know, I thank you for sharing this post with them!  If this is you, please send an email to info@anneruthmann.com before June 1, 2015 with:

1. 3 dates and times that you can do a Skype video interview online
2. A link to one article I've written online and a paragraph sharing what you think about it
3. Your resume 
4. 3 References I can call

Photography Internship Review: Brian's Feedback

Whenever I have an intern, I give a LOT of feedback to them as we're working together about their approach, their skills, their zone of genius, their talents, and where I see them being most profitable as a photographer. I get to see how they work, where they struggle, what their walls are, what their hesitations are, and I also get to share resources that I think will help them improve. Because of all the support I provide, I also like to receive feedback on myself as a mentor, what I offered, and what I provided to make sure that the internships I offer are of the highest value.   Brian and I had an interesting journey because when he started, my direction was aimed heavily at portraits and weddings, but shortly after taking stock of my own business as it was unfolding in NYC, I realized that my own opportunity for growth here was actually going to be in architectures & interiors, and part of the work that he was brought on to work on ended up being different than either of us had anticipated up front. He was good at going with the flow and I found ways to help him get the experiences he really needed with other people who were focusing more on Wedding work than I was. However, don't take my word for it, here's what Brian has to say about working with me as an intern: 1. What was it like to intern with Anne? Brian: Working with Anne has been one of the most rewarding experiences during my years as a photographer.  Not only did I get to meet and be mentored by a fantastic photographer I also made a lifelong friendship and to me, that is priceless!  It was like working with my incredibly talented younger sister!  From the very start Anne was grateful for my help and made me feel like family, we joked, we teased, we cried, we laughed and most importantly ate delicious food all over Manhattan! =)  (Anne says: I'm actually older than Brian, and being taken out for lunch around Manhattan is part of the intern "payment" plan.) (Brian was awesome and never complained about how much gear I made him carry. ;-) 2.  How would you describe Anne as a mentor? Brian: Her mentoring style can be summed up as Hands-on and very involved, I loved her style.  She created an expectation of "I know you can do it- so just do it!"  It was her expectations and mentoring style that made it so easy to not be afraid of beings pushed past my comfort zone.  She seemed to care about my success and photography as much as I did.  She would send me text messages at we hours of the morning telling me that I need to do this and to get this in order with my business.  I've never met anyone as involved and committed as Anne. 3. What do you feel you learned by working with Anne that you wouldn't have learned on your own? Brian: Anne pushed me to think and go outside my comfort zone.  Within the first week she already knew where my comfort zone ended.  She made me cold call individuals and ask them specific questions about their business and to see if they could use any of my services knowing that cold calling and trying to sell my business scared the living crap out of me!  Anne pushing me to this has helped me immensely, I don't think I would have been able to push my self to do that if I was on my own.   4.  What did you learn about yourself in the process of the internship? Brian: I learned what I'm worth as a photographer which is key when you have to run your own business with a profit.  After each day I interned Anne would create a journal entry, in those entries she would write what we did, what we have planned with our next visit and what she observed in me as a photographer.  By the time the internship was over she had  broke it down for me through her observations and directed me in a more clear path of what I needed to do as a photographer.  Finding that worth was and is priceless for me! 5.  What do you wish you'd learned, but didn't? Brian: I would have loved to see more of the wedding photography client interaction side of the business, meeting them, showing them the album options, etc.  I was however able to experience a lot of the back and forth email communication with clients which was fabulous. 6.  What do I think a intern should bring with them before they intern for Anne Ruthmann Photography?    Brian: Have a business plan. If you go into the internship with a clear plan of where you want your business to go you will be able to implement all the information you will receive in a more efficient way.  Set goals, more specifically set goals of where you want to be in the next 6 months to a year with your photography, that will help Anne guide you to achieve those goals.  Lastly go into internship with a strong willingness to learn from such a gifted and talented photographer. 7.  Anything else you'd like to share? Brian: This internship was so much more than I expected it to be.  Being with Anne for those 6 months was a great experience.  She gave me so much advice on what I need to know to have a healthy business as a photographer in NYC!  Its now up to me to take that advice and run with it to make my photography thrive! Thank you Brian, for sharing your thoughts and allowing me to share them on my blog!! Follow Brian to see where he goes next!! http://www.allredstudios.com/ NOTE: I am not accepting any new interns at this time, but I'm always accepting new consulting clients over on the Smarter Business Workshop Facebook Page where you can sign up to be notified of free and paid upcoming workshops online or in your area, as well as getting regular tips, asking questions, and getting advice to help you tackle different aspects of your creative business life!  If you don't need one-on-one help, feel free to browse all of the free articles I've already written over at Photo Lovecat.

Meet the Intern: Brian

Name: Brian Wright

Location: Nyack, NY

Age: 34

Website: www.allredstudio.com

How did you find out about the internship?
I found out about the internship through Facebook of course.  I have been following Anne's work for several years and I just happened to be in the same neighborhood as her this time.  I couldn't let this opportunity pass me by, although I almost did.  I lost the nerve right before I submitted my video.  I must have done 15-20 takes before I finally said 'Brian this is your last one, you better hit it on the head,' and miraculously I did.  

Why were you interested in the internship?
I've seen Anne's posts and kept thinking she is so zen-like with her business and I'm over here, freaking out with mine, not knowing where to begin.  I couldn't think of a better mentor for me, I want my photography business to be zen-like too!  

What are you hoping to get out of the internship?
I hope to absorb some of Anne's good karma with her business skills and apply it to my everyday life.  I have only been with her for a week and already the inspiration is rolling in and I cant stop thinking photography.  She is constantly motivating me to do better, quicker and easier, I am very excited for the next 6 months working under her mentorship.  =)

What is your education  background?
My educational background is Peter Johansen HS in Modesto California and the United States Air Force Technical School for Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning and Refrigeration.  When I finished HS I had no idea what I wanted to be so I joined the AF hoping to make it a full time career, or so I thought.  Little did I know that photography would be my passion and love.  When I got out of active duty AF, and signed up for the Air Guard, I pursued photography part-time and eventually started a business for a few years in Hawaii before I transplanted myself here in NY.   

Are you currently working elsewhere?
I am currently working on my photography business, getting it started with a good client base in the NY tristate area.  I think that being Anne's intern has already boosted my photography cred 10 fold. =)

What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail? If I knew I wasn't going to fail, I would be a traveling photographer- traveling the world documenting unknown people, places and events, hoping to bring the world together through my photography.  I truly believe there's a whole world out there that we don't know about- incredible people, magnificent places and cultural events that I would love to share with my family, friends and followers through my lens!  Traveling the world visiting incredible places and meet wonderful people...sounds like my kind of dream for sure!

Photography Business Internship Opening - New York City

Now that I'm finally starting to settle into my new office location in NYC, I'm feeling ready to take on another intern or two again.  This one-on-one intensive mentoring experience becomes a pivotal moment for photographers before they launch their own business.  They see the real deal of what a photography business looks like behind the scenes- the good, the bad, and the crazy.  Some of my past interns have gone on to have successful businesses of their own and some have decided that this whole running a business thing isn't as fun as they thought.  I'm not going to sugar coat it, but for the right person, this is an incredible experience that can't be obtained in a classroom or even as an occasional photo assistant or second shooter.  It's like getting a free hands-on freelancing business education without the hefty tuition.  This is the real deal, nuts and bolts, of what it takes to run a photography business.  Are you ready?



I asked some of the people who've worked with me before what they'd say if you asked them what you could learn from me:

"Working for Anne was an amazing eye-opening learning experience.  You'll learn all about what it takes to run a small business and what photographers really do when they aren't shooting - the long tedious back office work of answering emails, fulfilling orders, creating marketing pieces, dealing with difficult clients, etc.  Not to mention culling and editing photos when you're not busy with sales and marketing!  I learned so much from her!  Anne is genuine and a great mentor, which I think is really hard to find these days in photography due to competition and saturation.  My business definitely wouldn't be where it is today if it wasn't for Anne!" 
- Emily Ku  http://www.emilykuphoto.com 

"The most important thing I learned from Anne is the power of the question, "what would you do if you knew you could not fail?" If you work with Anne, you'll learn all kinds of photography tips, business advice, where to source your products, etc., but there are a lot of places you can find that information. What you can't get anywhere else are Anne's unique point of view, her amazing and generous heart, and the powerful, probing questions she'll ask you about life, your business, the universe, and everything. That question continues to shape my life and I have Anne to thank for it."
- Alexis Helmrath http://www.alexishelmrath.com



You Should Apply If:
You're an optimist who's excited about the idea of running a professional photography business and can commit at least 5 hours weekly to showing up at my office in NYC for at least 6 months with motivation and dedication to doing the work.

Location:
You will be working from my office near Washington Square in New York City; and occasionally meeting over Skype.

Weekly Office Hours:
- 3-8pm Tuesdays and/or 12-5pm Wednesdays
- Additional hours as necessary away from the office

Software You Should Already Know:
- Mac OSX
- Adobe Photoshop CS

- Facebook
- Twitter

Equipment You Should Already Have:
- Cell Phone
- Laptop w/ WiFi Access
- DSLR Camera

Tasks That You're Already Comfortable Doing:
- Talking on the Phone
- Basic Image Editing & Retouching in Photoshop
- Writing Emails & Blogging
- Using a DSLR Camera in Manual Mode

What You'll Learn During Your Internship:
- Marketing with Imagery
- Professional Networking
- Social Media Outreach
- Business Management
- Client Workflow
- Image Management
- Vendor Relations
- Product Sales
- Photography Tips

How you will be compensated:

- Weekly One-on-One Business Mentoring during our 6 Months Together ($5000 value)

- Access to behind-the-scenes operations, workflows, and contracts in my business (priceless)

- Opportunities to receive paid assisting, retouching, and second shooting jobs as available and depending on your creative and technical strengths. ($$$)

******Deadline To Apply********
THURSDAY MAY 1, 2014

You must EMAIL A VIDEO INTERVIEW OF YOURSELF.  Written applications alone will not be accepted.  You can upload something simple like a smartphone/webcam video to YouTube, Vimeo, or just embed it in your email to me, but it should be at least one minute long and provide the video content requirement listed below.  Caution: don't wait until the last minute to send your video, or you may run into technical glitches and not get your application in on time.

Include the following details in your message to info@ anneruthmann.com:

1. Email Subject: Internship Application 2014
2. Email Content: Your Name, Phone Number, and where you'll be traveling from each week
3. Video Content: Share why you're interested in working as an intern, what skills and experiences you already have, and what you hope to learn during your internship.

An emailed response to your video application will be sent by Saturday May 10th.

Last, but not least, because I don't think it's fair that you have to send a video without also seeing a video of me, here's an interview that Dane Sanders did with me in 2012- you can thank the awesome Australian humidity for that crazy hair:
Anne Ruthmann on Fast Track Coaching with Dane Sanders from Dane Sanders on Vimeo.

.... and going even further back to 2008(?), a tiny clip captured while I was teaching a photography workshop on painting with light, in Indianapolis...

Internships Available 2010

I've been receiving a lot of requests for internships lately and I'm finally ready to start planning for interviews! I absolutely LOVED working with Alexis Hall & Katie Baker in 2009! While I can take absolutely NO credit for their successes over the last year, I do hope that I at least helped in some small way!!

Since getting a studio, I've had the opportunity to do a few more promotions and special events which have required extra help along the way. Emily Ku did an awesome job helping me as an on-demand, super-duper office manager, and Ivan Feign & Lauren Peate were extra helpful getting my studio up to par during my Holiday Photo Booth!



What's it like to work with me?

I asked Alexis Hall, graduate of the Photography Program at the Center for Digital Imaging Arts at Boston University, what she liked and didn't like about her internship with me:

"The internship: overall, two thumbs up. I learned SO much, and I think that I was helpful, too, in the process. For me, the most valuable part was being able to have access to Anne and bounce ideas off her and learn from her experience. The only parts of the internship that I didn't particularly enjoy were minor...it made for a really late night for me (only because I'm an old lady and go to bed at 10pm, ha) and it was a little bit far away, but I knew about both of those things before I signed on for it. If anything, I feel like I didn't do enough to help, and that I got more out of it than she did. A 5-hour block of time seems like a lot of time to get stuff done, but once you factor in dinner and general chit-chat time, it really isn't."

Here's what Lauren Peate, graduate of the Photography Program at the Art Institute of Boston had to say about working with me in the studio for a few weekends:

"Anne was an amazing person to work for. I had a great time helping her with the holiday photo booth. It was fun for everyone because of Anne's uplifting energy that she is able to hold throughout the day. I learned so much about the production/bussiness side of photography that I never learned at my four years of school for photography."

My intern needs this year are very similar to last year's internship needs, however I will also be launching a few new exciting projects this year, which will involve a lot of building something from scratch - which is a great opportunity for someone who wants to start their own business & build their brand in a competitive market.

I'm very fortunate to be surrounded by a constant supply of photography students from surrounding colleges and universities, which is why this internship is unpaid and quite competitive. Last year's internship interview had approximately 12 attendees, and I ended up recruiting additional professional photographers who were also seeking interns so that we could find placements for as many interviewees as possible!

If you can commit to spending 5-6 hours a week in my Lowell, MA studio for a term of 6-12 months- that would be an ideal internship schedule. We can negotiate which days and hours will work best for you. At the end of the internship, we can evaluate if you'd like to continue with the internship or if there's an opportunity bring you on as a paid employee or contractor, depending on your strengths and the needs of the studio.

I would encourage ANYONE who's interested to apply, provided that you can make the time commitment. I'm not looking for perfect photographers or students with certain skills, I'm just looking for AWESOME PEOPLE with energy and passion to learn and help out. The internship will be tailored to utilize your strengths as well as challenge you in a few ways that will round out your natural talents. So much of what needs to happen behind the scenes is more related to running a business rather than just taking great photos. If this is something that excites or intrigues you, than you could be a great fit!



I'm planning to conduct internship interviews on February 28th, 2010 from 10am - 4pm. Since my email inbox isn't nearly as reliable as my voicemail inbox, please call 888-678-ANNE (2663) and leave a message with the following information:

- Your name & phone number.
- Why you're interested in the internship.

I will be returning phone calls next week in order to set up your interview, so don't worry if you don't hear from me right away. Feel free to follow me on Twitter or Facebook in the meantime, so that you can get an idea of what I'm like in advance. I'm full of optimism- so if that annoys you, we probably won't be a good fit. If you appreciate lots of different cuisines, I have a feeling you'll really like working for me. ;-)

(Images above feature Rich & Ashley of Pizzuti Studios and Douglas Levy Photography from a day when we were playing around the studio with some of my lighting equipment.)

Insider Scoop from Emily Ku

The following blog post was written by Emily Ku after working with me during the holidays in 2009! The words & images are all hers, and the pleasure of working with her was all mine. ;-) Thank you Emily!!

"It all started when I read one of Anne's tweets saying that she needed some temporary help for a holiday photo booth. I have been following Anne's blog for around a year when she first started to blog on Weddingbee Pro (now on hiatus), so I knew she was an awesome wedding photographer and had a great sense of humor. At first I didn't really understand the free holiday photo booth since Anne mainly shoots weddings, but I knew it was going to be big and wanted to be a part of it. It turned out that the photo booth was to celebrate her studio opening at Western Avenue Studios in Lowell, MA and more importantly, to have a really good time."

"From the outside, Western Ave looks like a big, rundown warehouse, but inside houses some of the most amazing local artists I've encountered. There are over a hundred artists who work on everything: glass figurines, hand painted scarves, jewelry, paintings, photography, etc. They open their doors to the public on the first Saturday of every month, and for holiday open studios, they opened the first two weekends in December. Most people who visited Western Ave during the holiday open studios didn't budget enough time to visit all the studios, so some people unfortunately didn't have enough time to take holiday photo booth pictures."

"These are just some of the many props that people could choose from. We also had a lot of holiday props which were the most popular, and we even had some festive Hanukkah props. Sometimes there were so many people waiting to get their picture taken that you'd think we were giving out free swine flu shots or something! I had a really fun time helping people pick out costumes, and Anne even let me shoot for a bit and play with the studio lights! It was quite challenging shooting a different group of people every ten minutes because there wasn't any time at all to get to know them and make the camera-shy people feel comfortable, but we were able to get a lot of really fabulous shots. When the shooting was over, the hard part started. I helped Anne edit through the thousands of photos that she took and also tried to help her complete holiday orders from her wedding clients. There was a ton of work to do after each weekend and while I could go home whenever I wanted, Anne was burning the midnight oil for weeks. I've now been introduced to the grueling life of a photographer, and I actually really enjoyed it!"

"Here's a picture of the wonderful people in Anne's beautiful studio: Anne Ruthmann (top left), Amanda  (top right) - the "hot chick" down the hall, aka the owner of Brick Mill Studio.  Ivan Feign (bottom left) - one of the wonderful assistants I worked with, and Lauren Peate (bottom right) - the other wonderful assistant I worked with. There were three of us total working for Anne, and it has truly been a pleasure! She is the best boss in the world!! Thanks Anne for letting me guest blog!"

"I just want to leave you with one last picture. Meet Emma, my fellow photographer friend Alex's dog. Isn't she so adorable?!"

To learn more about what Emily is up to now, visit Emily Ku Photo's Blog!

Weekend Photo Assistants Needed!

Want experience working in a studio environment with a series of fast paced mini-portraits? (Need some holiday cash?) I need two assistants who can commit to the following dates: Sunday 11/29, Saturday 12/5, Sunday 12/6, Saturday 12/12, Sunday 12/13. The pay is $250 for about 25 hours of work over the course of 5 days and you'll need to sign an independent contractor agreement. All of the work will be done out of my studio at 122 Western Ave. Lowell, MA.

Great assistants will be reliable, honest, creative, flexible, able to multitask well, maintain a positive attitude and cool head in a fast-paced and unpredictable environment, explain online viewing and purchasing options to visitors, and have GREAT attention to detail. Assistants do NOT need to be a photographer, but if you understand studio lighting equipment, I might just marry you (of course my husband might not like that idea, but he hasn't offered to learn studio lighting either... ha!) A good understanding of how to load, print, and backup photos with a Mac is preferred. If you're totally awesome and I fall in love with you, there may be more weekend work in the future. ;) Please email info(at) anneruthmann.com with your full name, phone number, location, and top 10 reasons why I'll love working with you. :-)


(Photo of Tim Co. and I from 2007 WPPI BluDomain Party Booth.)

On-Camera Flash: Intern Edition

I don't know about you, but I definitely have a love-hate relationship with my speedlight. I'll use it if I have to, but most of the time I'll go to extreme lengths to avoid pulling it out of my camera bag. Probably 90% of the time it makes a better paperweight than it does a piece of camera equipment.

Anne showed me a nifty trick last week that will tip the scales more toward the "love" part of the equation. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll post a few by way of demonstration. You definitely have to see it to appreciate it (that, plus the fact that I don't really feel like writing a 3,000 word blog entry. I'm sure you appreciate THAT, too.

Just to preface this, I was shooting at f/4.5 at 1/50s (manual mode). My speedlight was set to E-TTL, with no light modifiers on it.

Exhibit A: Neo (yes, named after the Matrix. No, don't ask me why, it's been like 5 years and I have no flippin' clue anymore) relaxing on an unseasonably warm spring evening. The flash is on-camera, pointed straight at him. The verdict? EW. Ew ew ew. Nasty shadows, cold, harsh light...just...ick. We can do better.


Exhibit B: Neo, looking much healthier than before. The flash is still on camera, but is now pointed straight up at the (white) ceiling. Ah, my optic nerves can relax a little bit. This is MUCH better than what we had before. The shadows have softened, and the light is much warmer and more flattering. Well...as flattering as it can be to a stuffed dog. I'm not such a fan of the shadow under his chin, though...that wouldn't look good on a person either. You can imagine that you would get the same kind of shadows under a person's eyes, since the ceiling has essentially become your light source. I think most people are tired enough as it is without us accentuating that lovely raccoon-eye look.



Exhibit C: Success! Here's where Anne's trick comes in: the flash is still on-camera, and I'm still bouncing the light, but I've pointed it behind me and over my shoulder. There is a white wall about 7 feet behind me, and now that is pretty much acting as a giant softbox. Look at that light! Soft, even, no harsh shadows...extremely flattering. If anything, this might be a little TOO even, but that is much easier to correct in post processing than super contrasty light and terrible under-eye shadows.


So, there you have it! And remember: fear not the flash, grasshopper. At least, that's what Anne tells me.

Life As An Intern - Episode Four

My last few weeks can pretty much be summed up by the pie chart in the post by Alexis. (Loved that, by the way!!).

While I always enjoy my time with Anne, the last few weeks have been very simple and well usually involved time waiting for technology to work. I finished designing the guestbook from my last post. I made Anne promise I could see it before she gave it to the couple. It looked awesome!!

Last week I also spent a majority of my time doing the first edit through on a wedding. It was very interesting to see someone else’s images from an entire wedding. It made me realize I’m not the only one who misses focus here and there. Anne taught me that it’s all in the way you present your very best images from the day that can really make an impact.

Anne had me edit in the good photos versus editing out the bad ones. I’m still deciding which way I like better, as I normally edit out. Please leave a comment on which way you prefer to edit and why. Thanks!

I discovered it was also much easier to edit through someone else’s photos then my own. I often get too over attached to images that really aren’t good simply because I remember the day and I have an emotional connection to the images. Now this isn’t in itself a bad thing but when I’m giving too many images that are sub par because I’m attached, I can detract from the overall quality of my work.

When I edit through my next wedding I’m going to try to focus the way I did when editing Anne’s images. She told me the first thing to look for is high emotion and then having the most faces visible in a shot. I'll let you know how it goes :-)

I'm actually at home today instead of with Anne because one of our cars broke down. While I'm bummed I had to miss a day with Anne, it's so nice outside that I'm glad I was able to spend some of the day outside. Our landlord just got three new piggies. There has been so much bad press about pigs and the swine flu recently, that I thought I would share a few pictures of the piglets to remind everyone how cute they are. Plus every post needs a picture!! 

How We Spend Our Time - Intern Edition

Being a photographer is a super glamorous job. I mean, how could it not be? You get to spend all your time at weddings, sneaking hors d'œuvres off the appetizer trays and hobnobbing with the guests.

No, grasshopper, you have much to learn. That's not how you spend most of your time. This intern's lesson of the day is that as a photographer, the bulk of your time is spent getting things to work. No joke.

It makes sense, when you think about it (well...I suppose it would make sense regardless of your thinking about it, but that's beside the point). The actual "taking pictures" part of being a photographer is probably something that we spend the least amount of time on. We rely so heavily on technology, which can be extremely temperamental and seems to require begging, pleading, praying, and promises of your firstborn child in order to convince it to work.

It's not easy. There's a lot of behind-the-scenes work that goes on, and it can be frustrating at times. Creating images that give people a way to relive their fabulous wedding day, or transport them back to a time when their now-teenager was just a wee little baby, that's the fun part, but it's just a small piece of the pie. And speaking of pie...let me present to you the graphical representation of the breakdown of a wedding photographer's time (click to embiggen if the print is too small)

Life As An Intern - Episode Three

Good-Morning World! It's another exciting day hanging out with Anne. It is so beautiful out today. The large dose of sunshine I got driving down was awesome. If you have the time today go for a walk. You will get some fresh air and sunshine and I promise you will feel great!

Last week was pretty low-key but it was filled with photo related activities so I had a great time! I started the day off with prepping the images for Anne's mobile Monday. I'm fairly new to Photoshop and it was nice to have someone who knew the program to show me how to use it. Much easier then just playing around and trying to figure it out as you go :)

We had an awesome lunch at Brewed Awakening. I had the best Nutella and banana filled crepe ever! It was seriously delicious. Of course it will take a month to burn off all the calories from the Nutella, but it was worth it.

The afternoon was spent preparing some images for a magazine. I was simply resizing them and adding a copyright to the border. It's better to have a border with a copyright versus a watermark when images are going to be published. That way there is nothing directly on the image but they will still be printed with your name on them. Doing this reminded me that I had found a video tutorial a while back that shows how to add a border and your logo to your images, as well as how to run it as an action. I thought the link may be helpful for others who would like an easy way to do this. Here you go....  http://www.pictureinfinity.com/tutorials/actions002/index.html

I have no idea who actually created this tutorial. If you know please let me know so I can give them credit. Thanks!!
(Anne's Note: The video was created by Matt Antonino, owner and photographer of Picture Infinity.)

I spent the rest of the day putting together a guestbook for a gorgeous couple. It was really fun designing the album. It was also nice to see a full set of images from Anne and how she works a scene. The guestbook is going to be a gift for one of her clients. I love this idea!! My plan for the year was to give each client a slideshow of their images set to music, but I will be keeping this idea in mind as well.

I hope everyone has an awesome day, and remember it's now spring so get outside and enjoy it!!

Life As An Intern - Episode Two

Sorry for the delay in this post. Anne and I decided it worked better in my workflow to blog at the beginning of each week versus the end. So welcome to episode two of Life As An Intern...

Last week the day started with an appointment to view a building in Lowell Anne is thinking of purchasing for Lowell Handmade. It's a cool old building in need of some TLC. The first floor is currently being used as a flooring shop, but the rest of it is basically storage. I photographed the rooms while Anne chatted with the realtor. I must say trying to photograph large dark rooms with loads of stuff in it is not the easiest task! But it was really neat seeing a few of the items in storage. On one of the upper floors they had these amazing pewter chandeliers! I wanted to take one home, but I really doubt my husband would appreciate having a chandelier the size of our living room :-)

The afternoon was spent working and talking business. Anne was helping me figure out how I should be pricing myself so that I can someday go from part-time to full-time photographer. I am still slightly confused by the whole equation but when I have the time to sit down, figure it out and punch the numbers I'll share the process with you.

Anne also critiqued my work and pointed out a few things I could improve upon. One of the big things was watching my backgrounds. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in my clients and the emotions I am seeing and capturing that I tend to forget about the entire frame. She helped me see this, so it is now one of my goals for shooting this year. My other two goals are to always (mostly) shoot in manual mode and also to start shooting in RAW.

Jason, my husband, was kind enough to be my model Saturday afternoon. Here's a few before and after images of easy ways to improve the background and in effect improve your entire image.

This first shot, is a great shot of Jason, I just love his smile. But the background and light are distracting from the image.

By using a fast lens (85 1.8) I was able to open the aperture and blur the background, seperating Jason from the background. Now if I had set my settings before I started shooting I would have been able to capture that awesome smile and a less distracting background. I also had him turn so the lighting was coming from the side. I still find this background slightly distracting, especially after I noticed the two birch trees growing out of his head. Now, it's not extremely noticable but it can still be improved.

I changed our angles even more, creating more even lighting across the face as well as making sure nothing was growing out of his head!

Here is another shot of Jason. Not bad but it could be greatly improved. First let's work on the light, we have harsh lighting in this setting.

By simply having Jason turn and face the other way we have nice shade and even lighting. Again by opening the aperture we can blur the background and keep the focus on Jason. We are now using that hard light as a rim light to seperate Jason from the background. It would have been even better if I had used a reflector to fill in his face a little.

My final step to make this image better was to gain a little height. By only being 5'2" I'm naturally at a disadvantage. People always look better when photographed from above, and well frankly not many people are shorter then me. Jason is a whole 12" taller then me so I had to scale the wall to photograph him from above. I think the second image was worth it.

Thanks Anne for teaching me to take the time to set up my lighting and background and then capturing the subject for a better picture. I think everyone should give Jason a HUGE round of applause for being so willing and patient as my subject. He hates being in front of the camera. I guess it shows how much he loves me. Thanks hun!!

Come back next week for Episode Three!

Before and After - Intern Edition

Before I got to work cataloging Anne's hard drives last night, she was kind enough to take a look at some images from a dog portrait session that I did this weekend. She gave me some great feedback, and suggested a couple easy ways to improve the images. I thought I'd share a before-and-after with you and show you the steps that I took.



Internet, say hi to Gunner. Isn't he handsome? Except for some minor tonal adjustments in lightroom (mainly exposure and contrast), I haven't done anything to this image. Not bad, but we can make it better.



The first step I took was to crop the image a little tighter to get rid of some of the distracting trees in the background and to focus more on Gunner's sweet face.


That's already a big improvement. Because the background is still pretty contrasty, we want to tone that down so it's not competing with Gunner for our attention. Trees are great, don't get me wrong, but I want the dog to be the most compelling part of the image. I used one of Kevin Kubota's actions to burn, or darken, the edges of the frame. The amount of vignetting is purely a personal preference. I like it when it's not-so-subtle, but it depends on the image and your own personal aesthetic.


The last step that I took on this particular image is to bring out his eyes a little more. It's not a smack-you-in-the-face adjustment, but it does help. By adding an empty curves level to the image in Photoshop and changing the layer blending mode to "color dodge" (or one of the other lightening blending modes...totally up to you), you can brighten the eyes of your subject. Just add a layer mask and brush the eyes back in!




And there you go. Quick, easy, and makes a big difference. I heart you, Photoshop! And Lightroom. And Gunner. I just have a lot of feelings, ok?

Life As An Intern - Episode One

Hello Everyone. Thanks for tuning in to the first episode of Life As An Intern. I hope these posts can give you some insight into what it's like working with Anne and be full of helpful little tips. I will try to make them interesting as possible but even if I fail I hope they provide you with a little break from your workday :)

I have now enjoyed three weeks of being Anne's intern. First I want you to know Anne is actually even nicer and sweeter then she is online. I didn't think this was possible but I have learned it is. My first day she greeted me with cozy slippers and my very own apprentice. Those two things were even in the agreement I signed.

My second day I had mentioned it was kind of cold working near the window and I joked I was going to bring mittens the next day. Well I arrived yesterday to find she had set up a space heater for me. It was very cute and thoughtful, and to my surprise actually did help a little.

I've been doing a lot of little things and meeting wonderful people. Not many of things are directly related to photography but have still been enjoyable. I will share this one little nugget of gold Anne gave me...her blogger uploading secret. (Shhh, don't tell I told). Now many of you probably are incredibly smart and already know what I am going to share. But I had no idea it could be so easy so I want to share this with you in case someone has been struggling with this as well.

I'm a horrible blogger mostly because I hate the blogger picture upload tool. It takes forever and then puts the photos in opposite order then how you loaded them. If that wasn't frustrating enough then you have to move the photos around in the very tiny preview window. I found this very frustrating and so I often simply avoided blogging. But now I know an easier way...Flickr!! That's right, I said Flickr. I would have never in a million years thought to use Flickr in uploading to Blogger.

So here are your steps:

First you want to size your pictures correctly for your blog ( I believe Anne uses a format of 400x600) and of course place your watermark on them.

Then upload those images into your Flickr account.

Create a set for those groups of photos. I'm going to create a new set for each couple or event. That way when people like one photo they can very easily see other photos from the same event

Next you can create tags for your set. This really is the key. These tags are searchable by Google! My standard tags are going to be, wedding, engagement, city, state, venue. But you can also add in the location such as a beach wedding, or even the colors used. It's completely up to you, but try to use words that people will often search. Then under each individual photograph you can add a tag. I was thinking this would be great for adding in things like flower girl or wedding ring.

Under description it's good to at least put a link to your website. That way people can very easily find out how to contact you and see more of your work.

When you are viewing your photos in your photostream there is a little button that says "Share this". When you open the button it gives you four options for your photo, you want to embed it. This will give you a link for your photo. It is important to pull the text from this area instead of simply using the grab the link field. The text in the grab the link field is really only the link. When use the text in the embed field this holds much more searchable data. It holds your Flickr account name (business name) and also holds the name of the photo. 

Copy the text and simply paste it onto your preview window. Voila!! You now have a picture on your blog without having to use the blogger uploader tool!! You also have a picture that when people click on it brings you directly to your Flickr account. Then they can see even more pictures from this event, and others.  Pretty neat, huh?

I have tried to explain this as easily as I can, but if it is unclear to someone please feel free to send me an e-mail. katie@katebakerphotography.com

I hope you all have enjoyed this weeks episode and it has proven useful to you. Please tune in next week for a new episode. :)

Zen and the Art of Data Management

Alexis: I don't think this hard drive is going to mount. It's been spinning for 5 minutes and I don't see it on the desktop.
Anne: Ok. [Takes hard drive and puts it in the freezer]
Alexis: Does that really work?
Anne: Hopefully!
Misty: [snore]

What's the moral of the story?

• Yes, freezing a hard drive can actually work.
  

• Always, always, back up your data! Anne's storage is...well, a little scattered at the moment, but she has everything, in more than one place. If that hard drive had failed to mount even after its stint in the freezer, it would not have been the end of the world. Precious wedding memories would NOT have been lost forever. Not only should the data be backed up, but you should know where it all is. That's something I'm helping Anne out with right now - cataloging her many, many hard drives. When I'm done, she's going to have a monster file that will tell her exactly what is on every single folder on every single hard drive.
  

• RELAX. Freaking out about the hard drive really wouldn't have accomplished anything. To say that I'm a bit of a worrier is just a *slight* understatement. The whole point of having a good backup system, however, is to alleviate that worry and turn it into an annoyance at best. If you don't have a reliable system, the point at which your freezer becomes your best bet for data recovery might be a good time to start panicking. I'm just saying. Otherwise, just breathe. Anne is very much a roll-with-the-punches type of person, and I hope I can pick up some of that.

• Bullet points make everything look more official and give the illusion that you know what you're talking about.