Press Experience
We’ve all dreamed of being a celebrity and wondered what would it be like to have paparazzi following you or to have press asking you hard questions on the red carpet, well this day I got to experience it! This time around I went undercover as a red carpet photographer(but not really… I was asked by a friend if I wanted to take pictures for the Georgia Hollywood Review and I said “ Heck Yes”! shout out to Tierra…Thank you Tierra Jones!!!) I was able to get a behind the scenes look in the entertainment press world as a photographer for SCAD Atlanta’s ATV Fest and it was so exciting. Here are five things I learned:
It’s so freaking cool to be in the room!!- It’s not often that we’re able to be in the room with our favorite tv/movie stars so this experience was somewhat surreal. As someone who has dreams of being on the other side of entertainment, I took this as a foreshadow of what is to come for me. We all need those moments that remind us to keep dreaming and taking steps, this event was that for me
Drink your water and take care of yourself.- Again, we see them on tv and we think the clear skin is a filter they add after production but I’m here to tell you they all had amazing skin and looked so healthy. It could have been the makeup but I think they also take care of themselves. Most of the snack and drink options they were given were pretty healthy so take care of yourselves(mainly saying this to myself). If you want that glow, eat right fo sho…lol
Patience and breathing techniques are key.- You have to be patient, positive and know when to take a moment.(Check out the video below of Miranda Mayo taking a moment right before interviews to just breathe, she was so in touch with life. I LOVED IT) They were asked questions in almost an assembly line format, most of the questions being same, yet they maintained composure and didn’t Kanye West the journalist. I don’t know about you all but having to repeat myself over and over again grinds my gears, imagine going down a line of people asking you to repeat yourself in their mic. It can get boring real quick so you have to find a way to make it fun, which they all did very well.
When you’re in the room, own it.- When they came into the room, they owned it. From effortlessly posing in pics to giving inspirational interviews, they came in lit up the space and left to their next destination. We should all do that, make the most of every space we are in. LEAVE OUR MARK.
The cast members of the Chicago based shows(PD, MED, FIRE) are so cool. I ran into a friend(LaRoyce Hawkins!!shoutout to him) who is on one of the shows and was invited to eat with the Chicago crew and they dropped so many gems, it was so great to be on the inside as an outsider.(for now) I chatted with S. Epatha Merkerson about why reading is important and discovering our roots as people of color, it was beyond cool.( She suggested reading City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert and watching Finding your Roots on PBS)
That’s all I have, I’m not a huge writer but check out some photos I took below….
