From being the first official entertainment editor at The Good Five Cent Cigar to becoming a concert photographer, University of Rhode Island alumna Kayla Michaud ‘21 has made a name for herself working in the entertainment industry.
Right after graduating, Michaud started working for HBO and Showtime in the New England area as a member of their production team. Four months later, she decided to move to Nashville, Tennessee to work in the entertainment industry as a concert photographer.
There wasn’t only a transition of graduating during COVID-19 for Michaud, but also a transition to moving to a new city she’d never been to.
Growing up, Michaud said she got her first camera when she was five years old from her grandmother. She began documenting her childhood through photos and later on VHS tapes, rarely putting the camera down. As she became a teenager and then a college student, she realized cinematography could be her career and it became her specialty.
Michaud joined The Good Five Cent Cigar as a first-year film major. She knew she wanted to double major and was considering journalism. She said she found the idea of reporting and telling stories appealing to her and after her first semester, she loved being a part of the Cigar.
“I joined a bunch of organizations as a first-year, as a lot of people do, and by the end of my first semester, I was like, I love this, I love the Cigar,” Michaud said. “I love the people I met in my class of other students who were a part of the Cigar, like we were really good friends.”
When Michaud started working for the Cigar, there was no official entertainment section. The entertainment editor during her time was fourth-year student Zach DeLuca who wrote one to two articles related to entertainment a week, and that was the section. In her second semester as a first-year she had an interest in media, movies and reviewing shows, so she wrote for the section.
When DeLuca graduated, Michaud ran for entertainment editor, now named arts and culture, as a second-year student.
“I made it my mission to make that section actually become something to actually have more than one page,” Michaud said. “So like, have two pages and I think we hit a point when we had three or four pages of just entertainment stories.”
The process from being entertainment editor to a concert photographer started at the Cigar, according to Michaud. The first concert she photographed was with country artist Cole Swindell in the spring of 2018. At the time, she was a staff photographer for the Cigar and even though her photos weren’t great, she loved the idea of being in a concert environment and photographing artists.
“I enjoyed giving a voice to people who just needed a platform to do so,” Michaud said. “So that’s kind of how it paired as being a concert photographer and then also like the entertainment editor.”
Working in the entertainment industry looks different every day, according to Michaud. If something goes wrong, it involves a lot of creative problem solving. If she’s in the pit filming concerts or working with artists live shows and there’s an issue, said she has to roll with the punches because it’s live and can’t be redone.
Some of the artists she has photographed include Jelly Roll, Teddy Swims and Joe Jonas.
Working in the entertainment industry is also a great way to connect with others and tell each other’s stories, according to Michaud. While it’s a lot of fun, the job comes with different hours. Sometimes shoots aren’t until 10 p.m. to midnight, and sometimes they’re at 8 a.m. the next day.
For anyone who wants to work in the entertainment industry, they shouldn’t give up, Michaud said. If they’re scared of having a lack of stability and putting themselves out there, it might not be their specialty. However, she said if they’re ready to be put in uncomfortable situations, and are passionate, then they will be fine.
“You’re going to be told no a million times more than you’re going to be told yes,” Michaud said. “But for the people, if you are passionate enough, you will make it.”
