For Sue Tallon Photography (SueTallon.com), I help prep and break down client shoots as well as provide client and crew care during the shoot while Sue is busy photographing. Client and crew care means ensuring that the folks on set have what they need – coffee, food, wifi, gear, etc. I also assist other crew members on-set, especially during load-in and load-out, and will run errands for Sue if needed during a shoot. Additionally, I do some administrative tasks for Sue such as resizing images for her online portfolios, gathering client contact information for marketing, and following up with web account issues.

For SF Photo Space (SFPhotoSpace.com), I respond to and book rental inquiries, manage the studio rental calendar, and make sure that the studios are clean, serviced, and fully stocked, and am on-site to open, supervise, and close the studio for renters. I also help troubleshoot issues that may come up during rentals and assist Sue with marketing, organizing, and other admin tasks related to the studios. Basically, other duties as assigned!

©Jung Fitzpatrick

What is a typical day like working for Sue Tallon?
There is no “typical” day with Sue since my schedule is flexible, part-time, and mostly on-call. Some days or weeks are very busy with rental inquiries or shoots or both, and others are quiet. Usually I work during Mon-Fri but occasionally, we have inquiries or renters over the weekend. Responding to rental inquiries and renters is probably the most frequent task I have, and helping to maintain the studios.

©Jung Fitzpatrick

How do you feel CCSF PHOTO prepared you for this position?
I learned of Sue Tallon during my first semester at CCSF when I took the lecture series Photo 52: Photographers and Their Images. At that point I had never thought about commercial photography but fell in love with Sue, her story, approach to photography, and work (commercial food/product and conceptual photography). I asked her a ton of questions and although I did not formally introduce myself to her at the lecture, I told myself that I would reach out to her when I felt I could be of more value to her, potentially as a photo/studio assistant. One year later, I e-mailed her, referencing the lecture I had attended, and introduced myself. I related my experience and knowledge in the field up to that point, and asked if she needed an assistant by chance? At the time, she did not but one month later, she had an opening and she followed up with me.

The classes, resources, and opportunities at CCSF Photography helped prepare me to work with Sue. I’ve taken all the lighting classes in addition to other fundamental courses and worked in the CCSF Photo Issue Lab as an assistant.  The foundation of technical knowledge and familiarity with photography language and equipment gave me more credibility as a candidate to assist professional photographers and work with a local event photography company before I reached out to Sue. These initial photography work experiences gave me the confidence to contact Sue last year. I’m grateful for everything I’ve learned at CCSF, the access to resources as a student and “young” professional starting out in a costly industry, the supportive folks in the photography department, and the opportunities that have led me to where I am today.

What advice would you give CCSF Photo Students to prepare them for a similar position?
1. Take as many photography classes as you can – both technical and non. Exposure to different photographers and their work, and types of photography will inform or open up possibilities that you may not have considered for yourself. Who knows if I would have otherwise reached out to Sue?

Also, to be taken seriously in the field you must have technical knowledge. I recommend taking all the lighting classes, whether you see yourself ultimately shooting studio or ambient lighting. Light is light and photography is about making images with light so you need to understand how to work with it. Starting out, I was interested in photojournalism, which is more reliant on ambient light, but after attending Sue’s lecture and at the recommendation of a photojournalist, I took the studio lighting classes and fell in love with being able to manipulate light in a more controlled way.

2. Work at the CCSF Photo Issue lab! It’s a great way to gain more familiarity with different types of photographic equipment, and, if needed, build your customer service, organizational, and administrative skills. A lot of my work with Sue is administrative and customer-service related. Having a combination of business, people, and photography skills has made me a more effective assistant to her. And having that combination of skills will make me a more successful professional photographer.

Photography is a second career for me, so I already had a lot of organizational and administrative experience but understanding key terminology and having basic competency in photography and handling studio equipment has been essential. And working as a lab attendant was a fun way to get to know photography students, staff (the lab supervisors are awesome!), and faculty and appreciate the work on both sides of the lab window.

3. Be open to different types of photography work and pay attention to what you enjoy (or don’t) and can do well or not so well. When I worked at the event photography company I quickly realized I didn’t want to continue on that trajectory but I made some great friends and contacts there, and the experience looks good on my resume.

For assisting a photographer on and off set: being observant and anticipating the needs of the people you’re working with, and knowing when and how to communicate with others – often you will be on the sidelines and silent but that doesn’t mean people won’t notice you.

4. Don’t be afraid to reach out to someone you admire or with whom you want to have a conversation. If you never ask, the answer will always be “No.”

©Jung Fitzpatrick