Reflective Report
Back then in 2018, when I was a first-year student, I decided to join Kelab Fotokreatif (KFK) after visiting their booth during Hari Kokurikulum, a week after my orientation week. I applied for the club and few days later I got accepted in. During our first club activity, I was told that KFK is the official photographer for Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). So, they were in charge for taking graduates pictures every year and they were recruiting new crews for that session. When I heard about that, I was enthralled and excited because it was something new that I have never tried to involve in before. Even though my photography skills were still lacking at that time, that did not stop me from applying for that program as I am always eager to explore something new and I believe they will guide me well throughout the program.
In order to join the program, I need to pass an interview held by KFK which was scheduled a week before the program started. I was nervous during the interview day as everyone looks so ready and confident. During the interview, I was interviewed by three seniors of the club, they asked me a few questions about my background and experience in photography field. I managed to tackle every question very well although it was nerve-wrecking being in there with three experienced seniors with my lacking self. Before the interview ended, I was required to do a demonstration on how to promote a product as they said our program will need us to promote photo packages to our customers. It was so random and I was not prepared at all. But I just did it anyway with a sudden idea coming through my mind and the interview ended well.
A week later I was informed through WhatsApp that I was recruited for the program and our first meeting will be held the next two days. On the day of the meeting, there were 52 new crews recruited with their own specified units according to their credibility during the interview; Studio, Dewan, Urusetia, Liputan and Editor. Studio unit is in charge for graduates’ studio pictures and packages, Dewan unit will be in Dewan Sultan Ismail during the convocation ceremony to take convocation pictures of every graduate, Urusetia unit will be handling everyone’s necessities such as transportations, food and more, Liputan unit will be recording and capturing every moments during the program and lastly Editor unit will handle the editing of the photos from both studio and convocation ceremony. As for me, I was assigned to Studio unit. During the meeting, everyone was required to introduce themselves for the ice-breaking session. I was super nervous as there were only few of them that were the same age as me. Most of them were seniors in their second and third year of studies which explained why they looked so mature and experienced. However, everyone was very supportive when I introduced myself and it was fun as it made me feel less nervous. After that, everyone were given agreement form to be signed as the program require full commitment from the crews and we would be given allowance by the end of the program. Before the meeting ended, the high committee of the program treated everyone with pizzas and some drinks.
Generally, the program went on for about more than two months starting from October till December, which includes the preparation, event day and packaging phase. At first, I was very shocked when I get to know the details of the program through the planner, it was very packed with activities on almost every day including the weekends which made me wonder how I was going to manage my time for the program and my studies. But it was already too late to back away so I had to keep going. So, the preparation phase started not long after that, my schedule was occupied mostly with test-shots where every day we practice on our photography skills till the event day. The program was not plain at all, there was a day where the high committees brought all the crews to waterfall for bonding time and get away for work for a while. I had a great time mingling around with everyone even though some of us had a huge age gap in between. Someday everyone would gather the night after test-shots and eat together. It was tiring keeping up with my studies and giving commitment for the program, sometimes I fell asleep in class because some activities ended late at night and I had morning class the next day. However, it did not happen that often but when it did, I would surely catch up with my classmates so that it would not affect my grades. Nevertheless, I enjoyed every activity held for the program.
A week before the convocation ceremony were scheduled, ‘Kaunter Jubah’ were held where all the crews gathered and promoted our studio packages to the graduates and their families as it was the time for them to fetch their robes and necessities for the ceremony. To be honest, this part of the program haunted me a bit as I was a very timid person and I had a hard time approaching any strangers. The program really helped me to step out of my comfort zone by not only talk, but even promote the packages to the graduates. It was tough at first as not everyone was interested in our packages and I had to handle a few rejections from some of the graduates, but being with my seniors, they taught me well on how to convince our customers to book our packages and make them confident with our services. And not long after that, a few days before the event day, Dewan Day and Studio Day were also held where everyone were exposed with the real event day at each of their specified place to practice and demonstrate the full flow of the program to familiarize with the real ceremony. I love how each of the units for the program helped each other in preparing themselves for the event so that the event went smoothly and less chaos. A day before the event, a meeting was held to brief everyone on the ceremony flow and give out everyone’s necessities for the event.
Figure 1: Studio Photo Packages by Kelab Fotokreatif
The convocation ceremony was held for almost a week, from 2nd of November 2018 to 7th November 2018 which includes rehearsal day. Usually everyone will be given a release letter from classes for the program but luckily it was held during our mid-semester break so I only had to skip one class on 7th November. The whole week was very hectic and tiring as I would wake up early in the morning to get ready and set up our studio, and come back to my hostel room past midnight every day. I had to deal with various kinds of customers’ family and not to mention naughty kids which was stressful but fun at the same time. Some of them were very understanding and follow our guides and flow very well. But some of them were also very impatient and mad when they had to wait a little longer than the others. During morning there would be less customers as the convocation ceremony started at 8 am. Just a few customers whose session would be in the evening and other than that just some of the parents booking their slots for the studio packages. By the time the ceremony for the morning session ended, all the graduates started to swarm around our studios and it was totally packed and hot even though our studio was well air-conditioned. The crowd would stop coming by the evening as our studio and booking counter were closed by six. At night, the studio would be fully-booked for the alumnus of the club, as that was one of the privileges of being the member of the club. By 10 pm, when everyone was done, we would gather and post-mortem for the day was held to discuss about the problems and improvement for the next event day. This routine went on for a week till the last day of convocation ceremony and when it ended, we would wrap up everything and get ready for photos packaging. For the packaging phase, everyone was required to participate according to the schedule arranged by the high committees. So, the crews needed to follow the schedule and help each other to get things done early to not let it get dragged to our final’s week.
By the end of the program which was a week before my finals, I managed to get things done and catch up with my studies. In a nutshell, I cannot deny that the program totally taught me a lot of new things which I can never get from anywhere else. I learned a lot about mostly entrepreneurship through dealing with customers and promoting packages, keeping track of money going in and out and packaging customers’ graduation photos. Not forget that I also managed to grab the opportunity to learn and explore more on photography throughout the program. Other than that, of course I did learn a lot on how to improve my self-esteem and boost my confidence when talking and being around people, it was plentiful and what makes me who I am today. Nevertheless, it was definitely tough keeping up with both the program and datelines of my assignments and projects, someday I would break down and cry because it was stressful and hard to balance everything on my shoulders while being a new kid and a clueless first year student. However, I did pass the semester with a good result but not up to my standards. One thing that I can improve on myself from this program is on considering myself whenever I decide something especially when joining a program. I should have thought and ask around about the flow and details of the program from the seniors so that I will be ready for anything coming in my way later. And if I were to join a program like this later, I might need to improve my time management skills so that I can both enjoy the program and excel well in my studies. Last but not least, I must say I did not regret joining this program as it gave me so many new experiences and lessons that I can apply in daily life.
Figure 2: Studio Unit, UTM 61st Convocation
**Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abxkYOmnV_8&feature=youtu.be