Many of you may remember that this summer, I was lucky enough to have a young man from Millikin ask about interning with us this summer. He’s been a huge help and wonderful assistant for our team here at Green Tree Media. I’m trying to give him a well rounded experience this summer of all the things that are part of my job. So one of the things I asked him to do was to put together a blog post. So here he is! Meet Nick!

Hello everyone! My name is Nick Burge and I am Stephanie’s intern this summer! I am going to be a junior at Millikin University this fall and I am majoring in Studio Art. I haven’t actually declared my major yet, that will be later this year, but I am looking at photography and graphic design as my specific areas of study. I am also trying to work in a minor in entrepreneurship as well. With all this in mind, I was thrilled when Stephanie said she could work with me for my internship. Since she is a photographer that does her own design work and started her own business I can’t think of a better match! Anyway, I thought you all might be interested in knowing what I have learned so far from working with Stephanie.

First and foremost, I learned that positive client interaction is key when you are in any kind of business where you work with people often, especially when you are taking photos of them, for them. Everyone is different and I know that I need to be able to do whatever I can to make sure each person is as comfortable as they can be. Positive interaction between people is something anyone should strive for, but it definitely will make a huge difference if I want run my own business in the future. That way, if people enjoyed their experience working with me, they are more likely to come back to me and might even spread the word about my business.

As an intern, I have learned that I will get some jobs that may not be the most exciting, but that is just something that comes with the territory. While I’m here working with Stephanie I want to learn as much as I can from her and the experience, but I am also here to help her. Because I work on the smaller, more day-to-day projects, Stephanie is freed up to work on projects that may be more pressing. Even if not all of my projects are as exciting as I would like, I have realized that I am getting a better look at all of the different aspects of the job. It helped me to see all the little things that I might not have thought pertained to that particular job and that is the whole point of internships. I took on the internship because I was interested in the job and wanted to see all that I could about it in order to decide whether or not owning a photography studio will be a good career choice for me.

Another important thing that I have learned is that Stephanie and I may not always have the same opinion on something, but ultimately she has the final say. There have been a few times where I thought about speaking up about my opinion on a design or a pose but Stephanie knows better than anyone else what she thinks will look good and reflect well on her business. That is not to say that I can’t share my opinions or ideas at all but there is a time and a place. Especially when we have someone in for a photo session it is much better for that person to listen to just Stephanie than have to question whether they should listen to her or me. The important thing for me to remember is never to take decisions personally. What it comes down to is what is going to make the business look good and inspire people to come back.

One of the biggest things I have learned is to just do. Let me clarify what I mean. I am a person that likes to have guidance so that I know that the work I am doing is what my boss wants. With this internship, Stephanie has given me very basic instructions on my design projects thus far and it is up to me to come up with some kind of concept on my own. When I have come up with one we meet and discuss what I can do from there. I am learning to just go for it and do something and to reevaluate or redraft later. It’s a little out of my comfort zone but once again, that’s what it’s all about!

It’s definitely all a big learning experience and I learn more with each new project and each session! I am very happy to be working with someone that genuinely cares about making this the most enriching experience possible and I can’t thank Stephanie enough for that! I will continue to do the best job I can to help her with whatever she needs done and I will gain a lot of insight from my experience working at Green Tree Media! So now you know a little bit more about Stephanie’s mystery intern and I hope you all are having a great summer! Stay well!

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