 Miguel Hernandez |
I want to become a professional photographer My question is similar to the one I read here: http://www.betterphoto.com/forms/QnAdetail.php?threadID=9416 I'm 23 years old and I've had an interest in photography since High School. For the last year or so I've been considering pursuing photography professionally but I don’t know what the best path to take is. I’ve completed a few years of college at Rutgers University in NJ, but ended up dropping out partly because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Judging by what I read on the thread above, it seems ideal to have a formal education. If that’s the case, what should I do? I currently own a Canon PowerShot G5 and I’m trying to teach myself as much as I can, but I feel strongly that a formal education in photography would benefit me the most. Should I go back to a four year college or should I go for a shorter certification program? What schools should I be looking into? Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Miguel
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John A. Lind |
Miguel, While the quality of your work will be what carries you through life, it's the solid credentials you have (including educational) that will help give you credibility and open doors to opportunity . . . what you make of those opportunities is up to you. Look into the fine arts and communications arts programs at the colleges and universities around you. What type of photography do you want to do to make a living? Even though you may have a passion for some other type of photography, the first priority is getting a roof over your head, bread on the table and bacon in the frying pan. A school's photography program may lie in one or both places within the school, and each school with a strong program has its own areas of specialization . . . what they seem to do best. Select the school(s) you want to consider on that basis. There is one school near you with an extremely strong photography program, Rochester Institute of Technology. It's not for everyone, but it may be for you. Take a look at what they have to offer. Ansel Adams made the bulk of his living to pay his bills doing commercial photography. This in spite of being widely recognized for and selling his artistic wilderness work. It was only in his last years that his passion for scenic and landscape photography that he had been doing for a long time . . . in between the paid commercial gigs . . . made his living for him. -- John Lind
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Wing Wong |
Miguel, You have a camera in hand and a desire to learn. That is important. In regards to how to formlize your photography skills, go to a local community college or take a local photography workshop to get some active advice and feedback on your photos. I did and it helps alot in letting you see another aspect of the camera which you might not on your own. IF you are doing prints for sale, a degree is probably not as big of a deal. However, if you are considering getting into commercial event photography and such, employers want to see that you have a strong track record of being reliable and dependable. They need to know that you have the skills, that they can depend on you to get the shots, and be reliable about it. The only other piece of advice I can think of is to go apprentice or get a part time job working at a photo place. Do the day job around cameras and make some normal money while practicing and enhancing your skills. Build up a good portfolio you can take around with you and show people and use your job at the photo place to build connections with people who could be future customers and clients. By photo place, I mean an upscale camera store where the owner and other employees are photographers as well. That way, you learn about cameras and camera taking as you get paid. Good luck! Wing Wong
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John A. Lind |
Wing Wong may be correct about selling prints . . . but it depends on your market. If it's the serious Fine Art community you're targeting, they also want to see credentials. Although it's definitely not impossible to break into, it's a much longer row to hoe to be taken seriously about Fine Art if you don't have something like a BFA or MFA. -- John Lind
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Wing Wong |
*sigh* Whatever happened to the days where a photographer's or artist's credentials was comprised of their portfolio? Wing Wong
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Miguel Hernandez |
Thank you both, John and Wing, for your insight. At this point, I would be willing to work in any area of photography just to get the experience and make a living. But eventually I want to become a Fine Art photographer (Isn't that everyone's dream?). What I'm gathering from your responses is that it is possible to make a living in photography without a degree, but having a degree is much more preferable. This is kind of what I thought before posing the question anyway. I guess that leaves me looking for a school. I’ve already requested an information package from RIT (Thank you John) and I know my former school (Rutgers) offers a degree in photography. I’ve searched on yahoo for photography schools but that did not bring up anything worthwhile. Does anyone know of some kind of guide to photography schools (book or website)? Feel free to recommend any schools in the north east. Thank you in advance for your responses. Miguel
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Michael Marriello |
Hi Miguel ! :) If you live close to NYC, there's a Private School called the "School of Visual Arts", and there was another, called, "The Center for the Media Arts", (where I graduated from 13 yrs ago, but they went "Bankrupt"!). I don't know if F.I.T. (Fashion Institute of Technology) also has a Photograaphy Program, but you can call them ? Oh well............ Sincerely,
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Kim Acheson |
Everyone I talk to seem to think Brooks is the best. I am also looking at going back to school for photography. I figure if it opens a few doors then it would be well worth it. I am actualy looking more at Universities. I just figure a more well rounded education would give me more options to pay the bills later.
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K |
What about the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA? They offer an MFA in Photography. Have you heard of them?
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