Seoul, South Korea: In the last couple of years I’m getting more and more inquiries from students looking for photography internships abroad. Initially hesitant to take and train someone new, I politely declined. It was Maira Naba from Germany who finally changed my mind. Her introductory email and application were so good I couldn’t turn her down. I figured she would surely turn me down after I made clear that I was unable to provide housing or compensation. But she didn’t. Eventually Maira had to go back to school (though I tried to convince her not to 😉 and I missed her upbeat personality, dedicated work ethnic and quite frankly having someone share the burden of hauling 22KG of camera gear around Korea with me. So I brought on Sarah-Lou from France!Â

Sarah-Lou was actually a Marketing and Management Major at KEDGE business school in Bordeaux France. Greg Samborski Photography being a small, busy and growing business I welcomed her expertise. Again I was upfront about the fact I was unable to provide housing or compensation. What I did offer was an opportunity to share every bit of knowledge I have gleamed from creating my dream job out of nothing and building every aspect of my business from the ground up, on my own. (That is of course until I brought on these two interns!). Internship two with Sarah-Lou was even better than the first because I had learned many lessons on how to be a more effective, organized, trusting and compassionate manager. As all interns do, Sarah-Lou left back to school and now I’m ready for round three.

If you’re interested in interning as a photographer or in business related field that is applicable to running a photography business please read on. Below I’ll touch on what you can expect from an Internship with Greg Samborski Photography and don’t forget to read what my previous interns have to say about their experience.

Photography Internship with GSP

CAUTION if you are applying to intern with GSP then you’re applying to be more than a photographer, you’re applying to be a stand in, model, lighting specialist, porter, travel agent, data analyst, web designer, social media curator, content developer, networker, accountant, researcher, marketer, clerical worker, photo editor, graphic artist, computer technician AND A PHOTOGRAPHER. There are just some of the hats I wear and my interns get to try all of them on. Of course I try and focus on getting you as much exposure as possible to your area of interest but it would be wrong to think that just because you are majoring in business I wouldn’t ask you to be my second shooter at an event. That said, you don’t have to know how to do all these things, you just have to be willing to learn.

Business Related Job Duties

• responding to new inquiries
• customizing contracts and invoices
• following up with clients
•  
• inputting customer/job data into spreadsheets
• analyzing and creating visualizations from spreadsheets and Google Analytics to spot trends
• managing clients and projects using iCal, Notes, Daylite, Klok and Numbers software
• researching clients, locations, gear, advertising strategies etc..
• managing content on website and social media profiles
• creating and running ad campaigns on google, Facebook, instagram, print…
• applying SEO strategies online (check out this comprehensive guid on SEO for even more detailed information)
• accounting

Photography Related Job Duties

• producing jobs (ie. booking stylists, MUAs, renting gear, scouting locations)
• assisting on photoshoots (selecting camera bodies, lenses, tripods, standing in, fixing wardrobe, hair and makeup)
• assisting with lighting setups
•