I attended a dinner at a local technical college to provide some input on their programs.
They teach a Graphics Art Instructional program that includes courses on Photoshop, Indesign, Illustrator, Web Page design, and Quark Express. As we discussed the program and the benefits of each course, I saw an opportunity to partner with the college, instructors, and faculty to facilitate learning opportunities for the students.
Some ideas that I had:
1. Provide a guest lecture on the basics of photography, exposure, ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. It is always better to design when you understand the basics of how a photograph is put together
2. Provide digital images that the course could use to manipulate and/or do layout with
3. Onsite set design – understanding qualities of light, how to setup a photograph to minimize the Photoshop work afterwards, etc.
4. Be able and willing to participate in lectures, provide guidance, mentoring, studio tours, etc.
All these activities will help identify you as an expert in the field…one that the student can leverage when they need a photographer to shoot assignments after they graduate.
Oh – being the staff photographer has its benefits too. As part of the evening, they hired a photographer to come in and take pictures of the members of the advisory board. Not a bad gig – 1 hour to shoot ~15 pictures. It took the photographer longer to setup her equipment than take the portraits.
She also took advantage of the opportunity and handed out her business card to the members of the advisory board as they left the set.
Team up with the other professionals in the field to increase your photography revenue opportunities.
Have fun shooting!
