We recently connected with Renee Bones and have shared our conversation below.
Renee, appreciate you joining us today. Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style. Do you have an interesting story from that stage of your career that you can share with us?
I got cold feet when I was fresh outta high school to go to school for Industrial Design, so I just started taking classes at Orange Coast College to stay busy and keep my parents stoked. While in my first year at OCC, I landed an internship at Quiksilver, as a production assistant. It was a lot of work, a lot of running around to the 3 buildings, a lot of helping on set, assisting photographers on location and managing important assets. Being so young and having no idea what I really wanted to do, I just knew I wanted to be an amazing extra set of hands and reliable. I absorbed as much as I could from everyone that I could. I had the opportunity to see how a ton of different jobs all worked together to get to the end goal and see some amazing campaigns come to life. My internship there showed me how crucial it was to work hard, be on time, be organized, be easy to work with and helpful. Because I went the internship route instead of going to a 4 year college, I believe it made me a better creative and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Working at Quik helped me realize that instead of becoming the car designer I thought I wanted to be, I actually wanted to be a freelance photographer and creative. After a couple years, taking other internships, taking every photography class offered to me at OCC, shooting everything I could, a couple years of retouching and then 5 years in-house at Taco Bell, and lots of on the job lessons–I have finally jumped into the world of freelance and have worked with some big names. Often I look back and how much my first internship molded my mind and work ethic to what it is today and I’m so thankful for that.
Renee, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a commercial photographer based in Los Angeles, originally from Orange County. I’m a car and motorcycle enthusiast, I love animals, I love tattoos, I love road trips, I am a really good friend and really love meeting new people! I shoot engaging, exciting and authentic visuals that help tell stories. I have worked with companies where you have a very strict brand identity to work inside of and on the other hand, I also love to shoot my friends on a random Friday in a cool place. I really enjoy capturing rad moments that people can look at and feel like they know the person or can really relate to the content. If you know me, you know I’m a die hard for a sunny day and a speed light. I have recently worked with a couple athletes and I am really loving getting to know them and their teams and creating awesome content for them and the companies associated! More recently, I worked in-house at Taco Bell as Lead Photographer and with the help of my team, completely rebranded the visuals to coexist with the new Brand Creative. I’m am very proud of the work and it looks beautiful teamed with the new creative. I have since gone freelance and looking forward to every job that comes, knowing that I am able to work with brands and people to bring their vision to life.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Being reliable!! It’s so, so important to me to be a woman of my word.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Loving my job everyday. I love that I can fire up my computer, turn on the camera or jump on a call and actually say that I love it. It’s fostered so many amazing relationships in my life and I’m so thankful.. Also, can’t go wrong seeing your work in the wild. Whether that’s on someones IG, on a paid ad, on a billboard or just literally hanging in someone’s house, it never gets old and it is soooo rewarding.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.reneebones.com
- Instagram: @reneebones
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renee-bones/