Student Mentor Fine Print
You must be a student member in good standing, You must attend a college or university and take at least 16 units a year.
The goal of the mentorship is to build your portfolio. The Pro Members who volunteer are the Portfolio SWAT Team. The mentorship lasts one year. You can’t request a specific Pro Member. Mentors can only be PPAGLA Pro Members in good standing. The deadline for applications is 1-1-2026. Portfolio SWAT Team names will be chosen at random and assigned a mentor on a first come first severed basis. We would limit the students from one college to 30% of applicants.
Plan on shooting a number of self-assignments, editing, and meeting with your mentor. We will have a tip sheet of events and locations.
To send portfolios to mentors, please use WeTransfer. It’s easy to use and free. Just open WeTransfer (no Goggle account needed), accept the terms, fill out the who and from information, drag your files to the screen and click transfer. WeTransfer tells the recipient that the files are waiting and need to be downloaded within 48 hours. It also tells the sender that the files have been downloaded. Please communicate with your Mentor when files are sent.
Suggestions for Students on Assignment:
Wear the right clothes and proper footgear, such as hiking boots. Have a “go bag” which contains a yellow safety vest (large enough to fit over your camera gear), a red hard hat, goggles, and a firefighter’s brush jacket (light-weight fire-restraint coat with a high collar). A lot of this stuff can be bought online used from $30 to $100 for the jackets. The other stuff can be found at Lowe’s or Home Depot. I’ve seen used brush jackets at surplus stores.
Your PPAGLA ID card is NOT a press pass. But a lot of first responders are used to seeing them over the last 30 years. Save other media passes - they will make you look like a real photojournalist.
Other best practices:
Always be aware of your surroundings. If the cops set up a skirmish line, your best location will be to the side of or behind the cops.
If another crew is doing a live shoot, don’t walk through their shot.
Park your car so that you can make a quick exit. If you arrive at a fire when the equipment is still arriving, an engine might block you in. Don’t park in front of a fire hydrant. The firemen get a thrill breaking your windows and running the hose through your car. Don’t drive over fire hoses in the street.
Assign yourself to sports that are little covered and have small fields of action, such as wrestling, water polo, and long jump.
Think about events that the public has access to, like street intersection takeovers, shrines for the departed, ICE raids.
My wife walked into a dark room wearing a red light mask recently and I thought that would make a good portrait.
Always have a camera or iPhone with you. Don’t be shy. Have a nose for news. If you see smoke, there is probably a fire.
If you are a member of the media, you are a nut magnet. Crackpots will find you. Be careful of who approaches you in the field.
Here are some handy Community Calendars and events to plan future assignments:
https://www.pbssocal.org/arts-culture-community-calendar
https://abc7.com/community/calendar/
Community Parades (where you can get in the street to shoot).
Halloween at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Pride Parade in West Hollywood.
Blessing of the Animals at Olvera Street.
Nude bike ride Los Angeles (September)
Mexican Independence day (September)
Day of the dead. Various locations in East LA
Day of the Drums (October)