Hello,
   I am currently looking for a mentor to help me step up my skill. I am very knowledgeable when it comes to photography, but I believe in the "You can't lead til you know how to follow" quote. I am currently a full time Graphic Design student at Cal Poly Pomona and I am ready to learn and help. I am a fast learner and really effective help on set. I own a ton of equipment, I just feel its not being used to it's full potential. I am looking to shoot as much as possible and am willing to assist, intern, or help on any shoot. My brain is a sponge and I am ready to learn as much as possible to increase my knowledge, experience and network. If you are in need an assistant, intern or have a mentor program in the Los Angeles area, please consider me as a candidate. I can be contacted via MM, email, or my site. Feel free to review my work and if you are not in the LA area, please feel free to critique it. I am really serious and only willing to work with serious photographers. Thank you for reading this and I hope you have a great day.

Darrell
[email protected]
www.darriffanyphotography.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/darriffany/

Might want to check in the list of lists (https://www.modelmayhem.com/po.php?thread_id=47436)

I think there was a list of photogrsphers looking for assistants.

email all your local well known professional photographers introducing yourself

they will always need someone to hold reflectors .. carry bags on and off locations and they go through allot of assistants by the nature of the job.. assistants move on to their own work and the help is never consistently needed as its the nature of the work.. so its about right time and a resend email ever 3 months till you get a bite (its a numbers game) you may even find you end up working with more than one guy which is your best bet and best way of learning

it is a case of being put in everyones 'to contact when needed list' when those extra hands come in handy

you dont have to over sell yourself .. as long as you are okay with short notice (flexible) on time and ready to be put to work

does your school offer a photo program?

in order to be an assistant, that anyone would want to hire, you should know how to operate strobes, be familiar with basic grip equipment and knowledgeable about digital cameras and their file formats and such. 

you may be able to find a wedding photographer or family/senior portrait photographer to let you assist them, because they might need a less broad range of skills.

i would research some of your local members of asmp and apa and see if you can get advice from them and maybe even some mentoring.


another option might be to get a part-time job at the local grip or photo rental house. not only will you learn about all the gear, but you may get to use it for free to experiment with.

Awesome, Thanks for the advice. I am drafting letters to mail out to them today. Thats a great idea of looking for part time work at a local rental store. I am super excited to learn and I cant wait to do so.