Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Nicole Craine Photography: Hiring Interns?


SO, okay. This is a tough one.

Not that I've been looking around at jobs or anything...BUT. 

I'm gonna come right out and say it-

Friends, family, patrons...please. PLEASE get over the internship obsession. It's fine having interns. It's fine to be an intern. We've all done it at some point. We've all wanted one at some point. But looking around at job classified ads in NYC makes one thing very clear- internships are being abused. I mean, why pay someone to do all the work when you can just hire an intern? The other day I saw a post for a "photographer/retoucher intern." It literally asked for someone that could "photograph and retouch images at high volume." Really? So, this topic really starts to delve into the "photography as a commodity" arena.

But, that's a post for another day.

Yeah, I remember those days. Working my ass off for someone that underestimates my talents and commitments. Being under-appreciated...under-pa...uh, not getting paid at all. Some internships were great! I worked for committed people and organizations that had a lot to offer. I learned from those experiences and had fun doing it. Without a doubt, I'm thankful for those opportunities. 

What I'm seeing now is totally different. Unestablished artists/photographers/businesses are looking for free employees. And college students are blindly falling into it. This isn't new information, but its worth talking about. More than half of job posts are for internships. You can go to job ads and find kitten/flowers/beach-scene painters looking for studio management interns (I love a good beach/sunset watercolor, btw- very 2012). I mean, its REALLY out of control. 

There is honor in starting your business on your own and taking full responsibility for the first few years. I need to understand the logistics of my business and the industry before expecting someone else to do my dirty work. I need something to offer them in return for their commitment to my vision. 

Like I said before, internships have been around and will continue to be around. Fine. But have some respect for the industry and for your business. We all want to make money, but it shouldn't be at the expense of someone else's valuable time.

That being said, Nicole Craine Photography is looking for interns.  Photo assist? Retouch? Organize files? Write blog posts? Build a website?  Pack? Ship? SOCIAL MEDIA? ....coffee?

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