Writers: Britton Lund and Missy Miller
Photographer: Elite Photo, Batavia – Missy Miller
Make-up: Nikki Melton
When Shannon Stone, the internship coordinator at St. Charles East High School, contacted me this past August to see if I would be able to take on and mentor a high school intern this fall, at first I was apprehensive. It was right in the middle of my busy wedding season and I wasn’t sure I really could add any more to my workload. However, I have had interns in the past and it’s always been a positive experience. I always interview them for professionalism and character and then we determine a plan to help them learn and to also help me get some work done. 🙂 Anyhow, I agreed immediately, because I really love teaching and working with new photographers.
Britton e-mailed me that day to set up an interview and we met about a week later at my office/gallery. She was on time and professional. The first key to sticking an interview….. be on time, people. A few minutes early is always better. We talked a bit and went over a plan. She needed to accomplish 70 hours by January, so we were really going to get to know each other well. Her first assignment was to help style a senior photo shoot and find the models and coordinate a time and date for the shoot. I found the make-up artist, but left most of the other details up to her. She did a beautiful job coordinating. To finish out the project, I had her write a guest post for my blog about our fun photo shoot. I did not edit it at all. This is her first draft straight from the heart. Next stop, I think I’ll ask her to do some marketing for me, since she has more followers on Instagram than I do (Impressive, Girl!).
Britton wrote:
My name is Britton and I’m interning with Elite Photo for the first semester of my senior year. The first day I met Missy for my internship she immediately told me of an idea she had, a senior photoshoot. I was put in charge of most of it: picking the models, coming up with outfit ideas and the general direction of the makeup with Missy there guiding me along the way.
A lot of planning went into the shoot and it ended up being a really great experience. I got to spend the afternoon with some good friends and see a side of photography I had never experienced myself as I usually just like nature photography. I got to observe what it took to work with models by Missy’s example. She was so upbeat and had such great ideas that I wouldn’t of thought of if it was just me taking the pictures. I also got to take a few of my own pictures which may be some of my best just from watching how Missy posed the models and implementing what I had learned. Missy’s photos of the girls were amazing. I had never seen my friends look so good and they were thrilled with the results.
I had my own senior photos done before I met Missy and regret not waiting and getting them done by her. I hope that by observing and interning with Missy that one day I can capture the beauty of others the way she does.
Britton gettin’ some props ready. 🙂
Thanks to this awesome intern for all her invaluable help this Fall.
Shannon StoneMissy,
Thank you so much for taking a chance and working with our students. I am so proud of Britton for all the effort she has put into this and I am so happy she has you to learn from. I enjoy reading her journals about her experiences with you and I know she is learning so much! Now I get to finally see some of what she has done. Thank you again for giving us your time and your assistance and thank you so much for being an awesome mentor! It is people like you who make this program so much fun to be a part of!
Shannon