My Time In LA

A few weeks before coming out here I was super nervous and even thought of not coming out here. I am so glad I decide to suck it up and come out here. The first week was a whirlwind experience because we did all the “tourist” stuff in a short amount of time. My favorite place we went to was Warner Bros. We got to go on a lot of sound stages as well as spend a lot of time on their back lot. My two favorite sound stages we went on were “The Big Bang Theory” and “Ellen”. We were allowed to take pictures everywhere outside but not inside the stages, Ellen was the only exception to this rule. It took ever ounce of my being to not take my phone out and take a picture inside the “Big Bang Theory” sound stage.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned while being out here is you can’t be shy. In this industry it’s all about who you know not what you know. In order to network you are going to have to walk up to strangers and introduce yourself.  I struggled with this at first but started to get more comfortable with it as time went on. The first meaningful connection I made was at the FYC event on the CBS lot. Dr. Raimist helped me take to the studios photographer, Lisette Azar. I schedule a meeting with her the week after we met and she gave me some really good advice. At the time I did not have a secured internship so she told me to find LA based photographer and send them cold emails. I probably emailed over 40 different photographers but it only took one saying yes for me to have an internship.

I started working for James Hickey towards the end on June. My "interview" was him inviting me to help him on a catalog shoot. I really didn’t have to do anything that day but adjust a few lights throughout the day. What I would give to do another catalog shoot. The shoot progressively got more labor intensive but I loved it. After I got over being tired because call times were early I thrived under pressure. As the weeks went on James started to trust me with bigger responsibilities. He has a friend who’s in a band and they wanted to take pictures for their new album. James decided to do this shoot for free as a favor so he let me shoot the whole thing. When we wrapped the shoot I asked him if I was able to use theses photos in my book and he said yes. This is something that probably would have never happened if I was working at another studio. I have enjoyed my time working with James Hickey and plan on staying in touch/writing blog content for him when I return to Alabama.

 I have enjoyed my time in LA so much. I am happy I got the chance to take this class and come out here. I learned so much about the entertainment industry through studio tours, working, and exploring. I hope to come out here again right after graduation or a few years after.