#lexiifish

Hi, my name is Lexii and I like coffee.  I’m a native New Yorker, fast-talking, heels clicking, and espressos on the go.  If you’re interested in living in NYC or interning there, let me show you around. 

Since sophomore year it became very clear to me that I wasn’t all that keen on becoming a shooter.  My parents are entrepreneurs so naturally I preferred the business side of photography.  Over my time at RIT and approximately 4,000 cups of coffee later; I’ve interned at six different places and juggled freelance work on the side to buy myself a few nice things.

Time Lapse: Summer between Freshman/Sophomore year How I paid for purses: Photographed at Joonbug

My first internship was at Complex magazine, a men’s music and lifestyle magazine.  My tasks here were pretty basic, a lot of image researching, purchasing stock photographs, and photographing street style.  The magazine runs a blog that is updated constantly throughout the day.  One of their biggest hits on the blog is their “list” section.  Here they’ll talk about things like the “50 best rappers of all time,” or “The 100 hottest women of 2013,” you get the idea.  As the photo intern, I would arrive everyday to my workstation with an email from the photo editor with the different lists of images I had to find before the end of the day.  I usually got around 10 lists a day, but each list had at least 20+ images to search for. 

Although the work here was fairly easy, since we all know how to resize an image on photoshop and make it web ready, I would say the biggest thing learned here was how to properly and quickly find and sometimes purchase content.

My Advice: Learn photoshop basics first and learn them well, also don’t be the person who gets lost in the Internet and takes forever to “google” something.

Simultaneously I was also interning at GO! Magazine, does that make me a celesbian? Anyways, here I got the opportunity to photograph a lot of NYC events with full VIP passes and press list for most nightclubs (#perks).  After my internship here I got hired on as a staff photographer.  I’ve worked with them every year since continuing to photograph NYC events like pride week and more exclusive events like fundraisers and benefits.  This past summer I even got to photograph and meet Lady Gaga, Cher, and the cast of Orange is the New Black.  You can see a small selection of my work for GO! here.

My Advice: Don’t turn down an opportunity that seems outside of your comfort zone, I got recommended for this internship from the person that interviewed me for an internship I didn’t get.   

  Time Lapse: Summer bet. Sophomore/Junior year How I paid for shoes: Staff photographer at GO!

That summer was really my, “yes, I definitely want to be a producer.”  I started off the summer interning at a production company.  They gave me really finicky hours and busy work that wasn’t educational.  So after 6 days of interning there I politely & properly, excused myself (I will further discuss this process in a later post).  Nonetheless with luck on my side and a new pair of shoes (who needs lucky pennies?) I began interning at Kate Ryan Inc.  Here I got to do a lot of hands on production work.  I was able to work directly with the producers and put together call sheets, invoices, and file for permits.  I also got to assist the creative marketing producer and together we updated portfolio books and artist promos.

My Advice:  If you’re only giving and not getting, ditch, your internships should be beneficial to both parties.  Also, try to incorporate what you learn into your own work. 

gif by Brandon Mercer

   Time Lapse: Summer bet. Junior/Senior year How I paid for fancy dinners: Staff photographer at GO! & Freelance PA work

This past summer was #sobazaar.  I spent the disgustingly humid New York summer hiding away on the 25th floor of the Hearst building.  Beside me were racks of designer clothes, advance copies of unpublished books, a ridiculous NYC-property-tax-worthy view, original Avedons, and a kitchen that offered unlimited coffee for free (#winning).  Here I worked on a lot of model go-sees, research for props, locations, and mood boards, portfolio requests from top agencies, and location scouts.  I even got to pitch a few ideas for concepts and locations.  My location pitch for the October cover with Miley was used.  I had originally scouted this location during ad project, see, hw does come in handy later on.  My time here was very pleasant and I got to see a lot of projects go from an idea on a post-it to a 6-page spread in a glossy magazine.  I also had a few run-ins with Terry Richardson; he looks identical to his pictures –no photoshop there (#nofilter).

My Advice: If you’re interning at a magazine it’s all about the detail, don’t misspell a name and don’t skimp on your research.  If you’re not sure or you just don’t know, ask.

  Time Lapse: Fall semester Senior year How I paid for car service: Staff photographer at GO! & Freelance PA work

I continued at Bazaar all the way until the end of January, but during the months of Sept-end of Dec. I also interned at North 6, the production mecca.  Here I got to work on some neat campaigns like the new #CoachNewYorkStories, Kate Spade Fall 2013, GAP 2014 catalog, and Maybelline to name a few.  On my first day I got to bring Steven Meisel his lunch on set, ask me for the celeb photog diet (#defnotslimfast).  While here I also got a chance to freelance for a few event productions, which was neat because event production is very similar to photo production, minus the camera and a lot more catering.  This being the last internship that I plan on having, I felt like it had to be a strong one and it was.  I got to see the intricate work that goes into producing from initial treatment to final billing.

My Advice: Being professional in the office can get you on set; establish trust first.

  I hope my tidbits can help you while you start or continue your interning spree.  Feel free to shoot any of us questions in our “Ask an Intern” box above.  In the meantime I will go back to figuring out this whole #hashtag thing.

-fish.