Hi I am Courtney Townsend, a sophomore at Grand View University majoring in Mass Communications with an emphasis in Photography. Recently I have been interning with Barber Photography as a photo assistant. Before coming to Barber Photography I did not really have any expectations of what it would be like to work as a photo assistant.
Of course I figured there would be lots of photography involved and spending time with clients. However, these past few weeks have shown me that there is more to just taking pictures when owning your own studio. I have learned that there is a lot of financial planning involved that I had never considered before. Deciding prices for photo packages was an eye opener for me because I had never thought about everything that goes in to creating a package. Things such as ribbon, boxes, shipping, and the time to create the order are just a few details I never thought about including in your price package.
Also I had never stopped to think about what all takes place behind the scenes. I have been helping out with the Senior Spokesmodel campaign. A new program Barber Photography is creating to photograph Juniors so they can show their Senior photos to their classmates before school gets out. I have learned that there is a lot involved in a new marketing campaign. It has been a lot of fun brainstorming with Kevin and Kindra and coming up with ideas on how to market the Senior Spokesmodel campaign. I never really knew how much planning goes into marketing to get prospective buyers into a photography studio.
So far it has been a great experience learning all these new aspects about a photography studio. I am excited for the months to come which include Grins and Giggles sessions, planning sessions with clients, and seeing more of the photography aspects of a studio as well.