My name is Kelly Phan and I’m a senior Photography Major. Over the summer of 2012, I was an intern at Sachs Photography Inc, a company who specializes in wedding photography, studio portraiture and commercial work. I found Sachs Photography by searching wedding photographers in the Baltimore/DC area. Sachs photography was one of the top results with great customer reviews so I decided to send them an email about being interested in obtaining an internship with them for the summer. Thankfully, they responded soon after and we set up an appointment for an interview to go over my resume and portfolio and I was hired!
At Sachs Photography, I mainly worked alongside Anne Sachs as a Photography Assistant and Office Assistant. During the week I would be in the office. Some weeks I would edit series of images from weddings and engagements, while other weeks, I would work on marketing activities including contacting and updating information on area vendors, and submitting and posting recent images to different promotional networks. During the weekends, I would attend and assist in documenting on-location weddings, from the bride getting into her dress before the ceremony to the cake cutting at the end of the reception. At the weddings, I was expected to keep track of the equipment during and after the sessions. When I wasn’t assisting, I would photograph the guests during the reception as well as candid shots of the family and friends. What I valued most about the internship was being able to assist directly on photo assignments with the primary photographer and have the freedom to photograph as much as I wanted throughout the event. This allowed me to experience a full day of what professional wedding photographers do at each event. Being able to see and be a part of the process first hand helped me to understand what the job is about and really helped clarify my career goals because I know what to expect.
I am most proud of the images I was able to produce while I was assisting the weddings. I feel like I learned more about the business side of wedding photography than the actual image making which was ultimately what I was hoping to learn from the experience. Being an intern with Sachs Photography also allowed me to secure a part- time job as an assistant after my unpaid hours, which gives me the opportunity to further grow with this company and a jump-start to my career.