INTERNSHIP STORIES

Design Internship at La Loupe Design I learned about this internship program from a friend's referral. While visiting several internship sites, I selected La Loupe Design as most appropriate for my academic endeavors and personal interests. I acquired the internship by emphasizing my professional skills and design capabilities throughout the application process, ultimately getting the opportunity to work with them.  La Loupe Design is a husband-and-wife studio based in Baltimore. They produce handmade home decor and interior lighting products combining artistic craftsmanship with useful design. They're offering for customers who want personal and thoughtful home decor.  During my internship, I was primarily assigned to design the studio's brand identity. This involved updating their website design, producing a catalog book, and producing product photography and videos. These projects aimed to elevate their visual communication and strengthen their market presence. And among...

I found my internship through the MICAnetwork. I was looking for an internship that I could use my video production skills in, I purposely choose an internship that wasn’t in my field to get a broader production experience. I applied to two different fashion houses but chose Yele Stitches. My many tasks included filming and editing videos, helping with planning, assisting with photoshoots, helping with website maintenance, and learning how to run a business. Before I started there, I had no idea how much planning goes into producing a collection. My supervisor had to start planning almost a year in advance to get ready for a future season. So, that means she had to be really creative to stay within fashion trends and be innovative. What I’m most proud about is the documentary I shot of Yele Stitches. It took a lot of time and effort to get the right shots and coverage. But, I captured it in its truest form and showed just how hard working and innovative people can be. Working with Yele...

I ran into an old acquaintance who went to MICA and graduated from the MFA program, running his own LLC; I thought to myself this would be a perfect internship opportunity to learn from someone who understands the world I come from and is on the path I wish to be in the near future. I briefly exchanged contacts and eventually in contact with my future supervisor. He used to live down the street from me as kids growing up, so it was cool to see things come full circle for us.  Ikonic Visions is a multimedia film production company The group’s focus is to serve its clients by creating “Ikonic” moments through the medium of video specializing in documentaries, brand stories, event recaps, and social impact-driven content.  Since this is a small business, I had a lot more responsibilities compared to the average film intern. The average intern would be introduced into the world as a PA slowly working up the ranks delving into gaffing, grip, assistant camera, and so forth. But here...

Limonata Creative During my Studio Lighting class out professor took us to a Prop Up Shop, called Limonata Creative. A Prop Up Shop is a prop house full of props and a studio that people can use for various projects. The owner started out in corporate work. After working in that world for a while, she decided to make a creative change and became a prop stylist and created her own prop house. After the tour, I told the owner how inspired I was from her story and asked if she needed an intern. She said yes and told me to email her, after that everything else fell into place.My responsibilities included helping the owner with styling the props during photoshoots. Also, during these photoshoots, I learned different skills from the photographers that I meet and even made some connections. I also worked with the in-studio photographer who photographed the inventory and uploaded it to the company website. When I worked with him I got a closer look at the ins and outs of photography and gained...

Originally I was going to intern for someone else, but I expressed an interest in product photography and they introduced me to the Prop Up Shop–a product photography studio. Then, I was interviewed and I’ve been working there for the last four months.   The Prop Shop is run by a prop stylist and her husband who is a graphic designer. The studio contains a gallery of props that clients are allowed to rent out. My direct supervisor was the studio manager and his role was to help manage the cleanliness of the studio, helping clients rent props, as well as documenting studio prop inventory to show up on the Prop Shop Website. I was also tasked with helping my supervisor and the past studio manager style props for a creative shoot. The Prop Shop is run by my supervisor who is a Prop stylist and her husband who is a graphic designer. The studio contains a gallery of props that clients are allowed to rent out. I was also able to shoot their fabric collections and was tasked with hel...

I found this internship because of a class I previously took with Alex Heilner. I took his Environmentally Engaged Photography class fall of 2021 and his Moving Photography class spring of 2023. Since I knew Alex previously I emailed him asking if I could intern for him and he accepted. There were other Baltimore-based photographers that I emailed but they either didn't reply or they didn't need an intern.  Alex Heilner is a fine art and documentary, multidisciplinary artist and photographer. His work investigates the relationship between artificial and natural elements within the environment and within our culture. His work currently focuses on the Colorado River and its surrounding areas, he is currently documenting how fast the river's basin is draining. Some of what I did with Alex included helping him find organizations on and around the Colorado River and Drone work. Alex also gave me lots of feedback on my thesis work. With this internship, Alex also gave me the time...

I was thrilled when my advisor introduced me to the RCCE E/Studio Internship that aligned perfectly with my interests in business and entrepreneurship. I quickly began preparing my application and polishing my portfolio to showcase my skills and passion for the field. This internship is eligible for credit which was another aspect that made it an ideal fit for my academic goals. It also provides hands-on experience and knowledge that will undoubtedly shape my future career in the business world, and I was eager to seize this opportunity to learn and grow.  The Executive Creative Director at Andre Bean Brand served as our internship director at the RCCE E/Studio Internship. Throughout my time under his guidance, I gained insights into the world of marketing, drawing from his wealth of real-life experiences. The knowledge and personal stories he shared with us proved to be incredibly valuable resources, as they are not typically accessible within the confines of a traditional school...

My experience as a Photography and Videography intern at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) was one I will never forget. The BSO is a non-profit organization that organizes orchestra concerts primarily in Baltimore. I found out about this opportunity through MICA’s photography department. More specifically, the former chair recommended I apply and connected me with the MICA Photo alumni who is the Art Director at the BSO. My time as an intern at BSO was centered around working closely with the art director  as my supervisor and her colleagues within the marketing and communications departments. As an intern, I was able to learn about the passion and commitment that goes into managing the art direction of a large organization. This showed me how important it is to market as an entrepreneur as marketing is crucial in getting an audience to engage with created works. Some of the projects I worked on included producing content that was used for the BSO’s social media. This included...

The DCSW (parent company of MSWS) is a leading luxury fashion show production company that specializes in innovative fashion concepts, production, and execution. Independent fashion designers present their collections to an international audience of press, retailers, stylists, industry influencers, and buyers at MSWS.  The Director of Creative Affairs for Miami Swim Week Shows (MSWS) reached out to me through LinkedIn after seeing that I directed the Benefit Fashion Show at MICA. She was my direct supervisor throughout my internship. Leading up to the show I was in charge of design and social media such as editing graphics for brands, designing booklets to be printed for the show, and planning / editing social media content. MSWS covered my flight and stay during the week of the show, where I was lead photographer for the sponsors and event. It was my first time doing commercial photography such as food, product, and events. My days were very long, every hour I would be moving to a...

For my internship, I worked at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. My main project centered around helping out with an Astro-Animation Exhibition, but throughout my ten weeks I also got to work as a graphics support artist. I had multiple mentors for the exhibition and for my graphics support work. This summer, I worked on researching and prototyping potential animation related activities for the exhibition as well as many other graphics projects, including photography assistance, photo processing, logo design, and creating an illustrated poster.  I found out about this internship in my Astro-Animation class last semester taught by my mentors. They were already familiar with my work from other classes I had taken with them and so I applied for the position, went through a short interview process and got hired from there. One of the exhibition mentors is an astrophysicist at NASA Goddard and so I was given a desk in-person in the office of my graphics support mentors. Despite tech...

I knew I was interested in doing some sort of architectural photography work after graduating from MICA, so for my internship I decided to research some architectural photographers in the area. I reached out to a few photographers whose work I liked to see if they would be interested in taking me on as an intern. Fortunately, the first person I reached out to accepted my request.  CPI Productions is a commercial architectural photography company that primarily focuses on larger corporate buildings rather than smaller homes and other real estate. My direct supervisor’s role was head photographer and owner of the company. My day-to-day responsibilities included accompanying my supervisor to on-site photoshoots where I would assist with setting up scenes and camera angles, as well as setting up lighting. I also helped on the post processing side as we went through the editing process of the photographs taken on site.  I am most proud of the work we produced at some of the larger,...

I learned about FORCE through the chair of the Photo Department, Nate Larson. He introduced me to Hannah Brancato, the co-founder of FORCE and the Monument Quilt. We met at FORCE’s space and talked about what the internship looked like and what some options were for projects I could work on. I secured the internship by sending Hannah an internship proposal outlining my goals, objectives, and availability for the Spring semester. FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture is a nationally-known creative activist group collaborating with survivors to upset the culture of rape and promote a culture of consent. They have produced large-scale public art projects including the Monument Quilt which has been exhibited nationwide. The Monument Quilt is shown in public spaces to create a safe space for survivors to share their stories and heal through community. FORCE is publicly supporting survivors of rape and abuse. The Monument Quilt will be displayed this summer in the National Mall in Washingt...

My name is Janella Branch and I am a senior photography major. When looking for internships I knew I wanted to be part of a major company or work for a big photographer as I am interested in the commercial and editorial side of photography. During the summer of 2018 when I was looking for internships on Indeed, I came across one for Mark Seliger. Seliger Studios was looking for a studio intern for the summer. I was extremely excited because Mark Seliger is a huge name in photography and I couldn’t believe he was looking for interns. Mark Seliger has been a photographer for over thirty years, he used to be the chief photographer of Rolling Stone, has shot hundreds of editorials and campaigns for famous brands and celebrities. Some people he’s photographed include Obama, Kim and Kanye West, Steve Martin, Drew Barrymore, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Jimmy Carter, Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, and many others. Most of his iconic images have been catalogued by the Library of Congress. ...

I found out about this internship opportunity in a few different ways. I heard about the  opportunity originally while using the lab at Light Work the summer before, but I heard about it  again while talking to Nate Larson about internships during the spring semester. After I was  reminded about the internship I filled out the online application, and wrote an essay along with  attaching my resume. Light Work is a non profit that was created by to be artist run, in 1973.  Light work has residencies, publications, exhibitions, a community access lab, and many other  projects to help artists working in photography and digital imaging. Light Work is located in  Syracuse,NY, on the Syracuse University campus. Light Work also works with the local Everson  Museum to complete the Urban Video Project , where artists films are projected onto the side of  the museum.  My direct supervisor was John Manion, his role within the orga...

My name is Ethan Wong and I am a sophomore Graphic Design major. During the summer of 2018, I was a print intern for The CW Television Network , an American English-language broadcast television network based in Burbank, California. Working in the entertainment industry had always interested me because I was heavily invested in many of the TV shows that The CW had to offer, and I felt that I could learn a lot about how TV networks create their posters and advertisements. I found out about this opportunity through a reference from a family member, after which I met with the Executive Creative Director, Rick Frey. After a brief interview, I showed him my resume and portfolio. He was kind enough to offer me a position over the summer where I would be working with art directors, retouchers, and publishers. For the most part, I worked with Elizabeth O’Brien, a Senior Brand Manager in charge of managing assets for the Print department. I was involved in many proje...