Interns...

[ramiro]

I have noticed on my Facebook and twitter accounts that several photographers are hiring interns. A niece of mine wants to work with us during the summer at the opening of the studio, she is interested in learning about photography, but being that I am focusing on seniors, and I have shot all but 1 of my senior models for 2011, and probably won't have a lot of photography to do during the summer, I am kind of wondering what she can help with for a few hours a week during the summer. I know I can have her organize the office and such, but that's boring stuff and I don't want her to get discouraged if photography is what she wants to pursue. So I'd like to ask those that have offered internships in the past or are offering them this year, what does your intern program include? How much do you pay a high school kid? what do you have them do? Any other ideas that you can offer are more than welcome. I really want to help her out and encourage her to pursue her dreams, but I also don't want to pay her for browsing the web and being on Facebook if there is not going to be a lot to do during the summer. Thanx in advance for your ideas.

[bondarnes]

I don't get your assumption that there are no seniors to be photographed during the summer. While you do need to have an aggressive marketing program, we typically photograph 2/3rds of our seniors during the summer. That's the only time they can come in all day long. Our marketing plan was based around a very high session fee that was deeply discounted during the summer months.

However, in my situation I was extremely busy and my interns helped me in the camera room. They usually got no pay the first two weeks. At the end of the trial period I either wished them well in their new endeavor or offered them a temporary position at an hourly rate based on their previous performance. A few became regular part-time employees. Most of my "true interns" also received college credit for the work they did for me.

[CaptainTom]

Tomsapedia:

Intern: An intern is someone who works in a temporary position with an emphasis on on-the-job training rather than merely employment (SIH-199), making it similar to an apprenticeship. Interns are usually college or university students, but they can also be high school students or post graduate adults seeking skills for a new career. Student internships provide opportunities for students to gain experience in their field, determine if they have an interest in a particular career, create a network of contacts, or gain school credit. Internships provide employers with cheap or free labor for (typically) low-level tasks, and also the prospect of interns returning to the company after completing their education and requiring little or no training.
An internship may be either paid, unpaid or partially paid (in the form of a stipend). Paid internships are most common in the medical, architecture science, engineering, law, business (especially accounting and finance), technology and advertising fields. Internships in non-profit organization such as charities and think tanks are often unpaid, volunteer positions. Internships may be part-time or full-time; typically they are part-time during the university year and full-time in the summer, and they typically last 6–12 weeks, but can be shorter or longer. The act of job shadowing may also constitute as interning.
Internship positions are available from businesses, government departments, non-profit groups and organizations. Due to strict labor laws, European internships are mostly unpaid, although they are still popular among non-Europeans in order to gain international exposure on one's résumé and for foreign language improvement.

or

Intern = unpaid slave

[Tom]

FWIW: The IRS is pretty strict on pay vs no pay. If the intern does work that is no benefit financially there for you and is there exclusively for learning, they can be unpaid, but receive college credit.

Otherwise (if you de receive a benefit), they do have to be paid a wage. What is fair in BFE, Texas would be different from River Oaks, which would be different from NYC.

I believe after the newspaper layoffs, some laid off employees complained that they were basically replaced with unpaid interns, and papers started having to pay their slaves.

[tomdrink]

Originally Posted by CaptainTom

or

Intern = unpaid slave

Yeah, I "interned" for you one day this month!!

I enjoyed the heck out of it! Would be glad to do it again!

TomD

[CaptainTom]

probably more correct would be Intern= unpaid slave who is forced to smile.

[ramiro]

Originally Posted by bondarnes

I don't get your assumption that there are no seniors to be photographed during the summer. While you do need to have an aggressive marketing program, we typically photograph 2/3rds of our seniors during the summer. That's the only time they can come in all day long. Our marketing plan was based around a very high session fee that was deeply discounted during the summer months.

However, in my situation I was extremely busy and my interns helped me in the camera room. They usually got no pay the first two weeks. At the end of the trial period I either wished them well in their new endeavor or offered them a temporary position at an hourly rate based on their previous performance. A few became regular part-time employees. Most of my "true interns" also received college credit for the work they did for me.

Don, so the sessions you shoot during the summer, are they for the current seniors that just graduated or for the following year's seniors? I like the idea of a high cost session heavily discounted for the summer, but do you cap that at a certain number of seniors, or on a certain time frame, or open to all that take advantage of it? Sorry for the many questions, but I was under the impression that most every senior gets their senior pix during the school year that they are a senior.

[ramiro]

Originally Posted by CaptainTom

Tomsapedia:

Intern: An intern is someone who works in a temporary position with an emphasis on on-the-job training rather than merely employment (SIH-199), making it similar to an apprenticeship. Interns are usually college or university students, but they can also be high school students or post graduate adults seeking skills for a new career. Student internships provide opportunities for students to gain experience in their field, determine if they have an interest in a particular career, create a network of contacts, or gain school credit. Internships provide employers with cheap or free labor for (typically) low-level tasks, and also the prospect of interns returning to the company after completing their education and requiring little or no training.
An internship may be either paid, unpaid or partially paid (in the form of a stipend). Paid internships are most common in the medical, architecture science, engineering, law, business (especially accounting and finance), technology and advertising fields. Internships in non-profit organization such as charities and think tanks are often unpaid, volunteer positions. Internships may be part-time or full-time; typically they are part-time during the university year and full-time in the summer, and they typically last 6–12 weeks, but can be shorter or longer. The act of job shadowing may also constitute as interning.
Internship positions are available from businesses, government departments, non-profit groups and organizations. Due to strict labor laws, European internships are mostly unpaid, although they are still popular among non-Europeans in order to gain international exposure on one's résumé and for foreign language improvement.

or

Intern = unpaid slave

LMAO! Hilarious!!

[bondarnes]

Originally Posted by ramiro

Don, so the sessions you shoot during the summer, are they for the current seniors that just graduated or for the following year's seniors? I like the idea of a high cost session heavily discounted for the summer, but do you cap that at a certain number of seniors, or on a certain time frame, or open to all that take advantage of it? Sorry for the many questions, but I was under the impression that most every senior gets their senior pix during the school year that they are a senior.

The moment the junior year comes to an end they ARE SENIORS!! We give 75% off of session fees in June, 50% off session fees in July, and 25% off in August. It helps us fill our June and July schedule. Old habits can be altered.

[ramiro]

Originally Posted by bondarnes

The moment the junior year comes to an end they ARE SENIORS!! We give 75% off of session fees in June, 50% off session fees in July, and 25% off in August. It helps us fill our June and July schedule. Old habits can be altered.

I think that is a great idea Don, I am going to give it a shot and see how I do. Thanx a bunch for sharing.

[andyz]

Not to get off topic, but Don, put me on the list. When you write the Photographers Bible, it will include equipment, technique, marketing and more. You have so much information. And a diligent search of these threads may yield half the book in draft form already. I want your book.

Thank you for sharing all you do. I am not a pro, but if I was looking to do this professionally, I would go back and re-read all your posts.

(Maybe that is what the intern should do, collect and arrange great posts from TPF.)