Written By Caroline Putnam, Account Executive
I grew up going to camp. My summers were spent in the hot sun, paddling canoes and making friendship bracelets. These memories were captured by photographers whose presence I never noticed until I arrived back at home and combed through photos with all of my new friends.
I never thought that I would fall into this role when I first joined the staff. However, when there was a vacancy in the position that needed to be filled three days before camp started, I volunteered my limited knowledge of how to work a camera to give it a try. I instantly fell in love with the role and returned summer after summer to do it again. I learned more about photography, social media management, and client relations during the short summers than in any other communications position I’ve held.
The role is different from what most college students may expect from a summer internship. The hot sun is far from any air-conditioned offices,the wifi is atrocious, and Business casual is shorts and a sturdy pair of sneakers.
However, while it may not fit the traditional communications internship look, it is still all that and more.Instead of several clients, it becomes one. How can you make your camp stand out? What type of content is most engaging for people back at home?
Part of my job was to take a picture of every single camper every single day. An overwhelming task, for a camp hosting 200+ campers a day. However, just like with any job, some careful planning, organization, and forethought make this difficult task easy.
Being a summer camp photographer is not for everyone. It’s long hours, late nights, physically intensive, and draining at points. However, once you get used to this whole new world it’s one of the best jobs a person can ask for.
