Vietnamese guy works as photographer for the world's leading auction house in the US

(Dan Tri) - When he first graduated from college, like many young people, Nguyen Minh Vu had to face fierce competition to get a visa to stay in the US. But he didn't have to "spread out" his CV (job application) thanks to a special strategy.

When talking to Dan Tri reporter, from far away America, Nguyen Minh Vu (born in 1998, Hanoi) has to take advantage of every bit of time between the "mountain" of work at Sotheby's - one of the world's leading auction houses today. Here, Vu is a professional photographer, specializing in producing catalogs (advertising publications) for products ranging from antiques, Chinese ceramics, watches to high-end jewelry and contemporary art works. The nature of the job gives the young man the "privilege" of seeing many great works of art with his own eyes, along with the opportunity to work in a prestigious 300-year-old organization. To get here, he went through a long journey of learning and accumulating experience from his school years.

The whole family tried to stop but still decided to stop for a year.

After graduating from high school, Minh Vu applied to study abroad but the results were not as expected. Although he received quite good financial support from some schools, the young man was not satisfied and believed that his ability could get him into a better environment. At that time, his parents advised Vu to take the opportunity and study abroad immediately. But because he was quite stubborn, despite the whole family's dissuasion, he still insisted on staying in Vietnam. Vu wanted to see what the question that parents often wonder about, "Can you make a living from creative arts?" would be. After a year of working as a freelance video producer, the young man realized that the creative industry in Vietnam is young but has great potential for development.

Minh Vu graduated with a double bachelor's degree in Economics and Cinema, with a minor in Fine Arts, from Oberlin College, USA.

On his second application, Vu was selected in the early admission round with a very good financial support package from Oberlin College, USA. In the fall of 2017, he officially became a student majoring in Cinema - a field that he had loved since high school. "At that time, I dared to breathe a sigh of relief because the decision to take a year off, which could have been close to "failing the rice and popping the popcorn", turned out to be the right move," the young man shared . What Vu learned during the year off was also a big stepping stone when entering university. With a fairly solid foundation, the young man had time to study Economics and expand his knowledge in many fields, from photography, filming, sculpture to visual arts. In parallel with studying at school, Vu always considered part-time jobs as a supplement and giving him a lot of practical experience. For nearly 4 years, he went through many jobs such as teaching assistant at the Oberlin Photo Lab; cameraman and photographer at the Oberlin Media Department; video director for the Oberlin A&S Symphony Orchestra; post-production specialist at Pipo Nguyen-Duy artist studio in Oberlin; director of photography for Press Play (an independent film in Prague, Czech Republic); studio intern at the Center for Photography at Woodstock (CPW). "To get my current job, I don't think any experience on my resume is too small or unimportant. All of my accumulated experiences have equipped me with enough knowledge and skills to complete and develop in the current environment," he said.

Finding a job is like dating.

For international students in the US like Minh Vu, if not just competition, the biggest difficulty is visas. They usually only have one year to work after graduation, if they have a degree in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), they will have two more years. Because of this regulation, companies often do not want to hire international students, not to mention the expensive process of hiring lawyers to sponsor employees for the most popular visa type, H1B. "This process is increasingly competitive. There are only about 70,000 visas each year, but there have been more than 700,000 applications in 2024," he revealed. In addition to the legal aspect, Vu believes that the opportunity to win a job in creative industries can lie in letters of recommendation from previous experience and work; Soft skills such as communication and working together can be valued more than deep technical knowledge... However, Vu was lucky not to have to "spread" his CV to many places to get a job at Sotheby's - one of the world's leading auction houses with a history of more than 300 years. The young man spent time researching and exploring, even waiting for a job that suited his abilities and desires before applying for a job. "I always think of job hunting as a dating process, only when the employer and the employee are truly compatible and in harmony can there be a connection," he shared.

Minh Vu is currently a photographer at one of the world's largest auction houses.

Minh Vu's current job is to take photos of many items sold and auctioned on the floor, from fashion products, luxury jewelry to antiques, classical and contemporary works of art from many artists... Vu's photography products do not stop at taking beautiful photos, but the more important factor is the accuracy in color reproduction techniques and products in the most objective perspective. Moreover, maintaining the quality of the photography products in the catalog is even more important. For example, with Chinese ceramic antiques, Vu must ensure the camera height is at the exact position, to the centimeter, so that the mouths of vases, bowls and plates are aligned to create a horizontal line parallel to the ground. When taking pictures of paintings and prints, the young man will create designs so that the light covers a large area absolutely evenly. In the current working environment, Vu has access to many of the most modern and contemporary tools and technologies. He also witnessed many famous classical works and objects in the world such as statues by Rodin or Picasso, the first edition of The Lord of the Rings or a copy of the US Constitution in a newspaper printed in 1776. Along with these "privileges", Vu also faced a lot of pressure, mainly the large amount of work that forced him to run deadlines (rush to complete work before the deadline) "like eating".

The coffee maker is always on Minh Vu's table.

Over the years, Vu has also achieved many milestones in his career: Some projects were published in Vogue magazine, Rfotofolio; he was awarded the award for non-traditional photography (Denis Roussel Award); his works appeared in many places such as the In-Between Exhibition, the Glasgow Photography Exhibition (Scotland)... Among the artistic creations he has created, Vu is most proud of his personal project on designing and processing wooden shelves for funnels and coffee pots, which he calls "difficult to understand". "This project has always held an important position for me because thanks to it, I accidentally summarized everything I had ever learned, from the skills and techniques for precise cutting and processing and assembling cut wooden pieces to the thinking and philosophy of composition, shape, and design", he shared. Until now, the coffee pot is still on Vu's desk as a daily reminder of the value of constantly researching and learning, not limiting yourself. Speaking more about the field he is passionate about and pursuing, Vu believes that the photography industry in particular and the visual arts industry in general in Vietnam are increasingly developing and gaining more ground. "I am very willing to share my experiences because I believe that if many people can do it, the creative industry and the art environment in Vietnam will also have more opportunities to develop," the Hanoi boy confided.

Photo: NVCC - Dantri.com.vn

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/nhip-song-tre/chang-trai-viet-lam-nhiep-anh-gia-cho-san-dau-gia-hang-dau-the-gioi-o-my-20240612212943281.htm