A Day in the Life!
Editors’ note: The MyShot08 photo contest offered college students an opportunity to gain valuable exposure, see their best work showcased in hot-selling digital formats such as photo books, greeting cards and calendars, and a chance to win cash awards and career-building experiences. Sponsored by Xerox Corporation, Adobe Systems Inc., Fujifilm USA Inc. and H&H Color Lab, the contest drew more than 230 student entries from around the country.
Jenee’ Jones, a senior-to-be at Virginia Commonwealth University, received Best of Show honors. As part of her prize, she won a trip to a Miami photo shoot with lead contest judge and professional photographer George Kamper. Jenee’ was asked to blog about her trip, giving us all the details about the experience. Jenee’ came back with some intriguing stories about how a photo shoot is run, and a lesson learned about putting mousse in your carry-on bag.
You can view her entry, and all the other winners, here.
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Wednesday
Okay, so first things first. I got the call from Xerox earlier this summer asking if I could fit this particular photo shoot into my schedule. The plans for the shoot were put together just a short time before I got the call, which seems to be normal for this line of work. I agree to go on this one because it sounded so cool, despite the fact that my flight from Richmond left at 6:10 a.m. (so not a morning person). My mother agreed to drive me to the airport (Hey Mom!) so that I wouldn’t have to leave my car there/get in an accident/walk to my car alone at midnight on Thursday when I came back. I packed up my stuff in a small carry-on bag (no checked bag fees for me!) and assembled my liquids in accordance with current security standards (3 ounce containers, no more than can fit into a quart sized bag, in case you were wondering). I tried to “smuggle” some mousse through security since it only comes in 8 ounce. That didn’t work. Security caught me red handed and threw it out. They are very thorough.
11:20 a.m. I arrive in Miami. I had to get on a plane at 6 a.m. Wednesday morning, and the excitement had kept me from getting much sleep the night before, so naturally I was a little dazed. I met up with Ray Claxton, art director for Roberts Communications, at baggage claim, along with our driver. WE HAD A DRIVER!!!! As we waited for the driver to bring the town car around (SHINY TOWN CAR!!!), Ray got out his video camera. Poor Ray, who is not a filmmaker, had to record the trip and hang out with me. I must say, however, that he did an excellent job. We did a couple takes of me in the airport, which I admit was a little strange. I personally, like being behind the camera MUCH more than I like being in front of it. As I will soon find out, I probably giggled too much and looked frizzy and horrible.
Anyway, we got into the town car and enjoyed our first taste of Miami. The city is as muggy as you are ever going to get, but it’s absolutely beautiful. You get to experience the palm trees and colorful buildings. Just as in the movies, everyone there is tanned and beautiful, and 96 percent of the population was wearing a swimsuit.
Noon-ish - Ray and I arrived on Collins Avenue, just a street up from Ocean Drive (which is right on the ocean,) and we checked into our hotels. I checked into the Loews (very swanky hotel that has classic hotel glamour with a tropical twist…boy that sounds like product placement) and Ray checked into The National (also very swanky and a perfect replica of a hotel from a 1940s mobster movie…you could almost see men in suits smoking cigars in the lobby). The hotels both had beautiful glistening pools and Jacuzzis, and featured access directly to the beach.
