D.C. Day 3

Alexis flirting with Rob at the reception. Just kidding. He's not her type.


This is Wilma, she is on staff at National Geographic. She's rubbery.

Wednesday September 21, 2011

So we are about half way through the trip, and so far I am enjoying,
learning, experiencing, and bonding with classmates so much more than
I did in NYC. I think this trip has helped us all not only in getting
some insight into some of these big news/media organizations, but it
has also allowed us to get to know one another a little bit better.

National Geographic-Ken Geiger
Our first stop was National Geographic. And....by that, I mean our
first stop was just about every aspiring photographer and
photojournalist's dream job headquarters.We met with Ken Geiger, an
RIT alumni and the Deputy Director of Photography. Geiger explained
the difficulties of getting your foot in the door because of how
competitive our field it. National Geographic usually hires
established photographers, people that have been in the business, who
know what they are doing, and who do it very well.

AP Washington-David Ake
We met with Assistant Chief of the AP Washington Bureau, David Ake as
well as AP photographers, Charlie Dharapak, and Jacquelyn Martin. At
the AP, we learned the importance of video, and how it's changing the
way photojournalists will tell stories. We also learned how very
important it is to carry a camera everywhere you go. You never know
what's going to happen. It will be the day that you forget it or leave
it behind that something will happen, something that would have made
an incredible photograph, one that could possibly set you apart from
others. Having the camera with you all the time isn't the only
important part of this pj thing. You have to know how to use it as
well!

Here's a few of David Ake's tips on getting employed;
-Hustle, hustle really hard
-skill isn't everything
-have good journalistic values
-be curious, always
-know what is going on around you
-understand the news of the day
-"You really have to want to do this. It's 50% of the reason I will
hire you, the other 50% is skill."
-get in the door by running cards for me, emailing me, sending me photos
-have good work ethic
-hustle!
-be assertive and dedicated
-stick to it
-always keep your lens up
-be focused

That may sound like a lot of tips and hard work, but I think with time
and effort, it's definitely doable.

The rest of the time at the AP was spent speaking with the
photographers and having our portfolios viewed. It was extremely
helpful to have our work viewed by people who are in the field.

Internships are important, especially before taking a job. They help
an aspiring photojournalist to grow and develop not only as a person,
but their photographic work as well.

Internship tips
-keep applying
-must be dedicated
-persevere
-hometown internships are good
-plan ahead

Photos
I thought I heard this enough during a video workshop I took, but I
guess it goes for photos too. I need to shoot wide, medium, and tight.
All the time. I will work on that.

AARP

AARP is not just an old people magazine, like I kind of thought it was. It's pretty cool actually. They do all sorts of stories and multimedia pieces. Although their demographics is the 50+ age group, the stories are meant for anyone to read.

Their slogan(for their lifestyle magazine) is "feel great, save money, and have fun."

The best advice here;

-develop working relationships with your editors

-look at work of other photographers

-and most importantly, have inspiration