Friday 15 August 2014

Internship at Magazine

(Don't think I was really supposed to take photos, but for the sake of the reflection and memories, shh)


First photoshoot with balloon penguins and the photographer needed to test the setting.

Photoshoot crew!

Photoshoot 2 at a socialite's house.

Their 100% lap dog.



Photoshoot in the studio.



Photoshoot at abandoned school. Bugs. Bugs everywhere.




An overall reflection on my internship at a publishing firm in Singapore.

It was great. A lot of sitting around, browsing the interwebs on my part. Probably because they didn't think I had the ability or skill to do other things. But that's okay, I too would question it if I were put in their shoes.

I went to quite a few photo shoots, or otherwise, collected clothes for many photo shoots. What I take out from collecting clothes, is probably that I am just a little bit tanner, a little bit stronger, and I roughly know the offices of expensive brands in Singapore (e.g. Dior, which by the way, has the most chic, Instagram-worthy front desk area). Speaking of Dior, we went to drop off and collect clothes from them maybe about four times in one month. Same receptionist every time. But every time she still asks, "Which magazine?", and of course, there must be lots of people who go in and out every day, let alone within a month, but I judge her a little inside because we are the same two people, and really nothing has changed besides our clothes.

I was mostly with another intern, and we were assistant stylists for the stylist. Being an assistant stylist is NOT, I repeat, NOT about actually choosing clothes for models to wear, which is what I had thought in the beginning. No. The stylist chooses the clothes. We collect the clothes, steam the clothes so that there are no creases, help the models into the clothes, clip and straighten the clothes so that it fits nicely and looks clean. In this particular context, more hard work than the stylist? Yes.

In the beginning, I wanted to do this internship because it was work experience and working at a magazine is a future occupation that I would like to pursue. Naturally, I was excited for this internship. I didn't learn very much about the writing aspects, but I learnt a lot about photo shoots and stylists.

Winter clothing is always shot in the summer, and summer clothing in the winter. It makes a lot of sense when you think about it, but it never really crosses your mind. But since Singapore is summer every day, it's hot regardless.

At the end of the day, magazines are part of the media. Makeup, photoshopping and touching up photos to make them look perfectly realistic. A lot of the time, people say that it's "society and the media" that makes up these standards of beauty. But people often forget that we are society, and we are the ones making these standards. It's a never-ending cycle.

Another thing I learnt, is that a good photo comes from the photography, the modelling, the makeup/hair, and the styling. No part is bigger than the other, because they are all equally important for a good photo.

No job is easy. Unless you literally have no job, then that's not applicable. But never underestimate the complexity of it.

1 comment:

  1. Hey,
    I really like your Blog! Do you want to support each other and follow via GFC?
    But only if you like my Blog too. :)

    Greetings, Sophia xx
    sophia-fashion.de

    ReplyDelete