Seth Gudmundson lands his dream job in fashion photography
"Seth always gave 110%...he saw failure as an opportunity to learn and grow as a photographer and was one of the most tenacious students that I have had in the photography program at Black Hills State University." Steve Babbitt, BHSU photography professor
hrough the lens of this recent mass communications graduate, the world is a photograph devel- oping at great speed.
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When Seth Gudmunson graduated in the spring of 2006, he saw lots of opportunities but he focused on one primary goal – that of making it in the fashion photography world in one of the most competitive places in the world, Southern California. Seth, who served as editor of the BHSU student newspaper his senior year, set his sights on a photography career in the national fashion and magazine world. Less than a year later, Seth is begin- ning what he terms “a dream job” as an assistant to world-renowned photog- rapher Norman Jean Roy, an editorial celebrity portrait photographer who shoots for Vogue, Vanity Fair, all of the top Conde Nast publications, Glamour, Allure, and many others. As assistant, Seth accompanies Norman Jean Roy to shoots around the nation and world. Seth knows his job will involve lots
of traveling, and he’s excited about that. Recent photo shoots include time in the Florida Keys, New York, and Asia. Although Seth says he can’t discuss who is on the schedule to photograph
next (since that’s top secret), he notes that he has been involved in shoots with many celebrities including Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, who he says is just like her character Elaine on Seinfield, Will Ferrell, Christina Ricci, and George Clooney, as well as Toby Maguire for movie posters promoting the third Spiderman movie.
His life sounds glamorous and exciting, but Seth notes that it wasn’t exactly a smooth ride to this point. After an initial trip to California to visit a friend, which he describes as an opportunity to test the water and inves- tigate the possibility of making a more permanent move to California, Seth made the bold decision to pack up all his things and move to Los Angeles. “I knew if I came out here it would be a struggle but I was willing to take that risk,” Seth says.
Less than three months after grad- uation, Seth found himself in a small furniture-less apartment in downtown L.A.
“I remember sitting on my air mat- tress thinking I can’t even afford this and wondering what was going to hap- pen. Even when I was down to my last 100 dollars and wasn’t sure what was
going to happen, I knew I had put in a good effort,” Seth says.
Seth spent his days making phone calls and sending emails in an attempt to get started in the highly competitive fashion photography business. Finally Seth’s efforts began to pay off and things began to happen for him. “I went to the library every morn- ing and got contact information from national magazines; then, I came home and made phone calls. I talked to any- one I could in the office just letting photographers know I was willing to assist,” Seth says.
Before long, he started getting calls back and got the opportunity to work on a temporary basis on single shoots. He said he used every contact as an opportunity to get more contact infor- mation for additional work. “It’s truly a business of who you
know. I’ve never shown a resume here. Everyone asked who I’ve worked for and who I know. It’s so competitive; they just assume you know how to do the photography, the lighting, and the other work,” Seth explains. “A reference means more than anything.”
He established himself quickly as a reliable, quality assistant as he took
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