Interns of New York: Cameron Oleske
Cameron Oleske is a photography alumnus who graduated in spring 2014 with a bachelor’s degree. He is currently looking for a full-time job in New York City. Photo courtesy of Cameron Oleske.
Featured image by Gabby Manotoc
“SCAD sent me a birthday card!” is how recent graduate Cameron Oleske usually broke the ice on all his SCAD Day bus tours. The personal attention was the very reason he made the ultimate decision to pursue his bachelor’s degree in photography at SCAD and even did his part to show prospective students the magic of Savannah.
When he first arrived on campus, Oleske was recruited as a Student Ambassador, a group of students that represent the top tier of leadership at the school. “I started giving tours after only one quarter at SCAD,” he said, and for the past two years he’s been one of the coordinators as well.
“In high school I was very, very shy, but being an ambassador really took me out of my comfort zone,” he said.
The interpersonal skills as well as customer service experience he gained as an ambassador is something he hopes improves his chances of finding a job in New York. He’s had his eyes set on the city for a long time. “When I visited when I was 8 years old, I told my mom ‘I want to live … and work here.’”
In fact, the move to Savannah from his hometown in Louisiana was a stepping stone to his ultimate dream. “I thought SCAD was a nice in between from my tiny town … and New York.”
However, while he was sold on the university, he still had to “convince [his] parents … who weren’t so set.” Oleske, sure that this was the perfect school for him, “put together a presentation about why … and how…” he was going to prove he deserved it. He put his money where his mouth was by improving vastly from his “awful grades in junior year to [having] straight A’s in his senior year of high school.”
Compared to many other photography majors at SCAD, Oleske claims he didn’t have a lot of experience. “I took the same art class three times in high school … and would take pictures of my friends.”
Initially he came for creative writing and photography was something he did in his “spare time,” but it wasn’t long before he stopped resisting the magic of “telling a story through images.” He enjoyed capturing moments and looking back on memories.
It wasn’t until his third-year lighting class that Oleske found his passion for fashion photography. “It was the first big shoot I did … I was a little overly ambitious … there were five models and [I had to deliver] 10 shots.” The summer following that he earned an internship with Jill Wachter, an award-winning fashion photographer based in New York.
He was surprised to learn a lot about freelancing during this time. By watching Wachter he realized that the job was “90% making calls and networking … she worked from 8 in the morning to past 11 at night on average … just looking for the next job.” Though he admired this, he realized that he’s better suited for “a stable job with the same hours … if not I’d end up on Netflix.”
Throughout his whole final year at SCAD, Oleske spent “every day learning about fashion photography.” He continued his pursuit of an advertising minor “to better understand art direction,” though he eventually dropped it due to class scheduling conflicts. He prepared and refined his studio portfolio and worked on an average of four shoots a quarter, except in his final quarter where he more than doubled that with nine. He even got a job to save money to move.
When asked to describe how he manages to balance his schedule, he explained his meticulous planning process. “I start with a PDF of my ideas: hair, makeup, mood boards, locations … and then two weeks before the actual shoot I start emailing people and scheduling.”
But he also stressed the importance of saying no. “Be careful taking on too much work. Say no if you have no time or it’s not going into your portfolio. Work with people you trust and work well with … otherwise it’s not worth it.”
Despite all the hard work, Oleske still shares the same struggle that many graduates face today: finding a job. “I started looking for jobs in March, but I didn’t hear back from [a lot of companies] … or I couldn’t be in New York for an interview,” he said. He worked with his career adviser to prepare his business cards, looked online and reached out to people he knew. Three weeks after graduation, he moved to New York.
“I love feeling like you’re always doing something here … there seems to be the most opportunity, too,” Oleske explained about why he’s so set on New York. The environment is also completely different from Savannah. He cites the diversity of the models, locations and stylists as inspiration and opportunities. He’s already been planning future shoots.
As of late, he has continued to send out resumés and samples of his work to as many places he can find. His goal is to become a photographer’s assistant for the first few years to keep learning as much as he can before finally branching out on his own. Though the reality of waiting is unquestionably painful, he knows that patience and persistence are the key.
“I’ve been told by others [in the same business] that summer is down time. The [fashion photography] business follows fashion, which gets crazy from September to winter. I’ll just have to keep applying until eventually someone responds.”
Gabby Manotoc has been Creative Director for District for the past three years. She also designs the Port City Review, the student produced and curated annual literary arts journal of SCAD.
