Outcomes & Objectives
The objectives for students can vary widely depending on whether the student is taking courses for recreational purposes or is pursuing a career as a professional photographer. In either case, students may pursue certification within this program. Students who complete the Certificate Photography Program are able to tailor the program to their individual needs both technically (DSLR or Film) and professionally through a number of different photographic specialties. Students who complete the program will receive extensive training in camera operations, lighting and production techniques in either film or digital photography. Students will also be challenged to take their technical knowledge and apply it in a style that is unique to themselves. This will be one of the most challenging aspects of your studies in this program. While you will receive extensive technical training as a photographer in this program, you must interpret this knowledge and apply it in a very unique and personal way. Finally students are trained in fully in the business of photography. Students will understand legal and ethical issues such as pricing, copyright and contract laws. Students will also explore in-depth the marketing and self-promotion issues practiced by photographers such as portfolio strategies, networking, web portfolios, photographic reps, award shows and client research.
There are three major directions for professional photographers – commercial, retail (portraiture & wedding) and photojournalism, and there are many sub-categories in those three areas. Photojournalism can be looked at from a couple of different perspectives – reportage & editorial. Reportage is usually what comes to most people’s minds where you are shooting newsworthy events for newspapers or news magazines such as TIME. This type of work requires someone who can think very quickly a capture a fleeting moment perfectly on film – this type of work is usually completely un-produced. Editorial photography is where the photographer is commissioned by a magazine to shoot a person, event or still image to illustrate a written article. This type of work tends to be far more produced where lighting and production techniques play a critical role in the shoot.
Portraiture and wedding photography make up the bulk of the retail market of photographers. Most students who pursue this area are looking at working as individual freelance photographers rather than looking at working for a franchised studio. Portraiture and wedding photography no longer strictly adhere to the “traditional” styles of lighting that once defined their look. Most consumer clients are far more sophisticated than they used to be and tend to demand more stylistically relevant work from the photographer, particularly for wedding shoots. It is common now to see wedding shoots produced in black and white with a more “journalistic” feel to the images, or shots using alternative film techniques such as cross processing.
For those students pursuing commercial photography, there are many specialties to choose from. Commercial photography means that usage will play a key role in the photographers work, that is to say that their work will be used for some advertising or commercial purpose such as brochures or annual reports. This field can cover the gamut in terms of content, there are fashion photographers, people photographers, architectural photographers, food photographers, product & still photographers, movie stills photographers, stock photographers just to name a few. There are very few opportunities as an employee in this field (with the exception of photographic assistant). The vast majority of commercial photographers in the market are freelance professionals who work on a contract basis. By the way, photographic assistant is an excellent way of entering the field for new photographers.
On top of these categories of photography, many photographers are now looking at expanding their skill sets to make themselves even more valuable to the industry. It is not uncommon now to see photographers also studying film or digital video to be added to their services and some photographers are also studying to become graphic designers and art directors in order to offer a wider range of services. This not only significantly adds to their income, it also gives them much more creative freedom as well as making them far more valuable to their clientele.
