Sponsorship Program for Photography Students

[Hai Au Bui]

Studio4Fun is launching the first edition of its new Student Sponsorship Program. With this initiative, we wish to offer students an opportunity to acquire various notions and experiences directly related to the reality of the Montreal photography market, as well as useful material and logistic resources for the production of their portfolio.

More than a simple service trade, this partnership’s objective is to promote the emergence of fresh talent by providing students with a first tangible contact with photography’s careers outside school walls.

For further information:
Marie-Claude Hamel, Students Sponsorship Program Manager
mc@studio4fun.ca



////////////// OBJECTIVE //////////////

The promotion of the development of the next generation of photographers is at the heart of Studio4Fun’s mission.

Last November, we met with a number of photography students and together we came to these conclusions:

1) Students sometimes need a studio space that offers lots of availability and freedom of action;

2) Students have limited financial resources;

3) Students have some free time, and they are willing to give some of their time to acquire experience and knowledge.

These considerations lead us to create our Student Sponsorship Program.

////////////// DETAILED DESCRIPTION //////////////

Within this first edition of the Studio4Fun Student Sponsorship Program, it is agreed that:

1- Sponsored students will be selected by individual interview, during which their professionalism, their responsibility, their social and communicational skills will be evaluated.

2- Sponsored students’ primary task will be to welcome Studio4Fun new members at their first studio rental period, to explain to them how everything works, to make sure that the new clients have all the information they need to avoid damaging the studio material, and to answer all their questions.

3- Sponsored students’ secondary tasks will include:

a) meeting potential clients as they visit one of the studios, explaining to them how Studio4Fun works and answering their questions;

b) offering technical support to amateur photographers with little or no experience with studio lighting equipment;

c) checking up on the studios between rental periods, documenting with photos the cases of untidiness, negligence and material breaking, and cleaning up the place as needed, according to a list of standards given by Studio4Fun;

d) helping Studio4Fun employees with various tasks during special activities and events (Grande Séance, salon D-Clic, conferences and workshops, etc.);

e) any other task related to Studio4Fun’s activities;

4- For each assignment, sponsored students will be paid with 3 StudioDollars, worth 10$ each. For assignments that last more than one hour, students will receive 2 StudioDollars per hour, starting at the second hour. The number of StudioDollars allocated for special events assignments (see points 3d and 3e) will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

5- When an assignment shows up at Studio4Fun, sponsored students will be called one by one according to a list that will give priority to each one through a rotation. When the first student declines the offered assignment or does not answer to the call in a reasonable amount of time (10 to 30 minutes, depending on the situation), Studio4Fun will get in touch with the 2nd student, then the 3rd if needed, and so long. A student who would decline more than 10 assignments would be banned from the sponsorship program and would lose its StudioDollars.

6- Sponsored students will enjoy the A package rental prices during their sponsored period. Getting banned from the program would cause them to go back to a regular student package, equivalent to the B package. As a Studio4Fun member, sponsored students will also enjoy numerous advantages and discounts offered by our partners: Video Service, Location Jean Légaré, SOS Décor et Joseph Ponton costumes.

7- Sponsored students will be able to rent studio periods through the same reservation process as regular customers, as soon as they have earned enough StudioDollars to cover the A package rental price of the chosen studio. They will also have the opportunity to pay part of the price with money, if they wish to.

8- Studio4Fun will provide sponsored students with a set of basic lighting equipment that they can use to shoot their projects in the studios during their rented periods. However, they will not be allowed to take the equipment out of the studios.

9-Sponsored students will get a special discount on activities and events produced by Studio4Fun (conferences, workshops, etc.). They will also have the opportunity to buy their tickets using their StudioDollars.

10- Sponsored students will benefit from Studio4Fun’s full support in their future job search (as a photo assistant, freelance photographer, or employee in a related business). Studio4Fun’s contact network counts more than a hundred established photographers and dozens of businesses and organisations of the visual communication field.

N.B. Since this is the first edition of this program, the terms stated in this document will be subject to further negotiations or modifications if we think it’s necessary, but it will not be done without consulting the people that it will affect.



////////////// ABOUT STUDIO4FUN //////////////

Studio4Fun is a young business dedicated to the promotion of the photography practice, that offers its 900 members a network of studios available for single day rentals in self-service, using a unique concept of online booking and automatic door locks.

More than a simple studio rental service, Studio4Fun has given itself an educational mission and constantly strives to create and support a community of photography lovers.