Photography school related articles and information for future professional photographers

Are you interested in Photography School?

Photography school is a place where future professional photographers go to learn the craft of photography so that they can someday use what they learned to make a living doing something they love.  Not all professional photographers go to photography school, some go to college and learn totally unrelated subjects and later decide later that professional photography is what they really want to do.  Some don’t go to school at all and just pursue their dreams by learning about photography online, from books, or maybe by just “doing”.  Whichever path they end up taking, at one time or another, the idea of photography school passes their minds. 

If you’re someone interested in attending photography school, you’ll find that this site is dedicated to learning all you can about the possible choices and issues related to selecting a photography school. Included on this site you will find a directory of photography schools, a list of related photography school articles, a list of things that they don’t teach at photography school that the author has learned over the years, and also you’ll find links to other sites that will help you educate yourself on the subject of photography schools.

If you should have any additional questions, comments, or suggestions that I can help you with as it relates to photography schools, photography seminars, or photo colleges, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Photography School Information:

Photography school directory

What they don't teach in photography school

Professional photography career guide

How to become a porfessional photographer

Five reasons to attend photography school

Five reasons to attend photography school

1. Professors in many photography schools are formar or current working professionals photographers.

Unlike many other places of higher learning, photography schools are usually places where the professors are former photography professionals, and unlike academics, former professionals usually know much more about the ins and outs of the profession they teach.  There are realities of every profession that are just not taught by people that haven’t experienced the day to day workings of a career.  Theory is one thing, but experience is another.  At a good photography school, you can learn both.  When you’re looking at a photo school, it’s a good idea to learn about the staff of professors that will be teaching you.  Are they experienced professionals, or simply teachers that know what they know, only from photo books?

Since your photography school professors will know the industry pretty well, they will be able to point you in the direction that they think you might be best suited.  Of course, you don’t have to go in that direction, but it’s valuable info non-the-less. 

2. Photography school peers will teach you as much as the professors will.

You will be amazed at how your fellow students in photography school will end up teaching you things.  You’ll learn from your peers by working with them on projects and from just hanging out together.  People of similar interests tend to talk about those interests, and if those interests are photography, you can’t help but learn from the conversations. 

They say that two heads are better than one, but what they don’t tell you is that both heads end up benefiting from the collaboration.   You’ll learn from your partner and they’ll learn from you, and if the group is bigger then just the two of you, so much the better. 

There is another benefit of having photography schoolmates.  Some of these friends will later end up being people that you can continue to confide in and learn from, long after you’ve left school.  As you begin your career in professional photography, you’ll need people you can turn to and ask questions, and to bounce ideas off.   You’re x-photography school mates will be well suited for this because they’ll know you and be willing to share info that is sometimes highly guarded among competing professionals.  Having friends in the in industry can come in handy.

Photography school buds are a great place to borrow equipment from, and that’s something that comes in really handy when you’re just starting out as a professional photographer.  When you’re career begins, money is tight, and you never can have too much equipment, and having friends that have equipment, can save your butt.  As a matter of fact, when I started in photography, I bought a Canon so that I could bum my friend’s lenses.  

3. You’ll have a chance to build skills and experience while still in photography school.

Sure, you can give yourself assignments to build your skill-sets, but then what?  In photography school, they’ll not only give you assignments, but they’ll critique your work afterward and you’ll get to see how your fellow students approached the assignment too.  There’s a lot skills to be learned in photography school, and the feedback will only help to build that skill-set even further.

4. Photography school is a great place to build your photography portfolio.

Part of preparing for a career in professional photography is building a portfolio that will help you get a job, or sell yourself as a photographer.  In order to graduate, most photograph schools require that you prepare a portfolio that is critiqued by multiple professors.  This requirement is invaluable to jumpstart a career, and it’s hard to do without the demands of a structured environment.  Sure, a well disciplined person can subject themselves to the tough demands of creating a portfolio, but the professor’s feedback would be difficult to replace.

5. That photography school sheepskin means something to some people.

If your plans are to leave photography school and become employed by a corporation of some kind, a diploma is a VERY good thing to have.  In fact, it’s a must-have.  Some corporations, colleges, and hospitals, have minimum educational requirements for their employees, and that may mean a lot in your chances of being hired or promoted. 

If you desire to be self-employed as a photographer after leaving photography school, the actual sheepskin won’t mean as much as the education will.  As a professional commercial photographer, the majority of your clients will have, on average, a Masters degree.  They’ll expect to work with someone near their own educational level, consciously, or unconsciously.  Similar people tend to gravitate toward each other.  

Photography school summation…

If you want to become a professional photographer, go to photography school.  You’ll probably learn more about photography in the first six months of your first photo job, but photo school is still the best way to get a basic understanding of  the craft and business of professional photography.

What They Don't Teach In Photography School - Professional Photography 101 - Photography School - Photography Career Guide