Amateur wanting to apply to a Photography program: Waste of time? Seeking critique!

[sobolik]

I'd clear up my writing skills before I'd claim school is a waste of time. Writing skills help us to determine whether the writer actually can be trusted in the facts he states.[/QUOTE]

==

Very weak because you got nothing. You said "school a waste of time", I didn't. Perhaps reading skills "help us to determine whether the writer actually can be trusted in the facts he states"

Again, a degree in photography is no guarantee of a career in photography. In fact a photography degree is very much not like a degree in nursing for example that actually delivers a likely nursing job.

But I really don't care if yet another student gets a degree and then never works in that field. It neither benefits nor harms me.

 

[Derrel]

I know a lot of professional photographers that do superb work and they never took a photography class! Here's a website some friends of mine have put up for their business.

And they are all full time nurses!

Flipartimages - We are excellent McAllen Wedding Photographer and Texas Wedding Photography

>SNIP>

Those do not look like professional photographs...those look like the output from a totally, 100% self-taught shooter with zero training in the arts....bad,blown exposures, bad posing, clearly MWAC-level stuff. NOT very good.

I'd love a self-trained nurse who had never studied or gone to school, but just picked up the profession from the web and people who blog. Yeah...

 

[chito beach]

I know a lot of professional photographers that do superb work and they never took a photography class! Here's a website some friends of mine have put up for their business.

And they are all full time nurses!

Flipartimages - We are excellent McAllen Wedding Photographer and Texas Wedding Photography

>SNIP>

Those do not look like professional photographs...those look like the output from a totally, 100% self-taught shooter with zero training in the arts....bad,blown exposures, bad posing, clearly MWAC-level stuff. NOT very good.

I'd love a self-trained nurse who had never studied or gone to school, but just picked up the profession from the web and people who blog. Yeah...

HMMMM I see a school snob here, I can show you hundreds of self taught photographers, many of the best and famous photographers the world has ever seen do not have any formal training.

Oh like
Ansel Adams,
Jim Zukerman,
Ajay Rajgarhia,
Herb Ritts,
Anne Geddes,
Al Paglione,
Arthur Fellig (aka Weegee),
Brett, Pelletier.

The list goes on and on

matter of fact as far as artists and photographers go it is easier to find self taught famous people than ones with formal education. schools do not make photographers.

As for the link some of the shots suck and some are brilliant. Better than many I've seen

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

 

[chito beach]

\\

Hey pass me some of that

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

You're starring in the show. You can't be in the audience eating popcorn.

 

[Derrel]

No, chito beach, you see an "education snob" here, not a school snob. Nice try at a put-down though. The woman's portfolio shows that she's self-taught. LOADS of technical and artistic incompetence. For a new guy, you're trying pretty hard. Clearly, the nurse/photographer lady is self-taught...that's pretty obvious by the blunders she makes. As the OP said, it is CLEAR that the lady shooter has NEVER taken a single class...

Anne Geddes??? LMFAO....the queen of kitsch! Hilarious!

The guy is better, but the first portfolio speaks volumes. Being able to differentiate between a studied photographer and a MWAC is pretty easy for me.

 

[Opher]

Hey so im just going to ignore the who education debate and just say what i know... My righting has no baring on what i say as art and writing (well in terms of structure) are to very different things

So here is go. I am in my first year of Photography at Fansawe (London ON) and i have people in my class that know nothing and i mean NOTHING!!! It is kinda sad but i just said that so you would not think everyone will be amazing, They are not. I also have some people like me (and im assuming like you) that kinda know what we are doing but are still "new". This is where most of the people in my program are. We also have the people that we all wounder why they are there because they are freaking amazing.

But back the the argument. You can self teach or go to school for it. But dont limit yourself to that. I was self taught up to this point and think its a great way to learn. In my opinion a combination of both structured and unstructured education is important. If you are not sure what you want to do you can always hold off a year and just work and teach yourself maybe go to a few seminars/shows and see what happens.

Hope that helps and its not just random babbling(cause i do that sometimes)

 

[chito beach]

No, chito beach, you see an "education snob" here, not a school snob. Nice try at a put-down though. The woman's portfolio shows that she's self-taught. LOADS of technical and artistic incompetence. For a new guy, you're trying pretty hard. Clearly, the nurse/photographer lady is self-taught...that's pretty obvious by the blunders she makes. As the OP said, it is CLEAR that the lady shooter has NEVER taken a single class...

Anne Geddes??? LMFAO....the queen of kitsch! Hilarious!

Well she is a bit over the top in many of her presentations but her lighting and composition are among the best. Her simple portraits are stellar

 

[kami]

I know a lot of professional photographers that do superb work and they never took a photography class! Here's a website some friends of mine have put up for their business.

And they are all full time nurses!

Flipartimages - We are excellent McAllen Wedding Photographer and Texas Wedding Photography

>SNIP>

Those do not look like professional photographs...those look like the output from a totally, 100% self-taught shooter with zero training in the arts....bad,blown exposures, bad posing, clearly MWAC-level stuff. NOT very good.

I'd love a self-trained nurse who had never studied or gone to school, but just picked up the profession from the web and people who blog. Yeah...

Ok, if not professional, then maybe just highly paid amateur photographers that do a lot of weddings out of state and around the world. With very satisfied clients.

The OP was asking about a career in photography and the importance of entering a program to be successful. You have to read my post in it's entirety to get what I meant.

In Photography, you can get away being successful without a degree or having taken any classes. In Nursing, I would love to meet a nurse who is self taught. They just don't exist.. legally that is.

 

[burgo]

To say that self taught people have no "education" is a stretch. Many photographers I know have been self taught and they have done loads of short courses and read loads of books and got out here and experimented until they have got it right. Many have studied the photos of the masters and other good ones to learn about composition and styles.

I am a professional Nurse too actually and while I agree that a self taught nurse is a ridiculous concept, I have met many St John ambulance first aiders who could put more than a few nurses to shame with their knowledge.

The point is their is room for both. Regardless of your personal preferences and subjective opinions of their images. In the end if the client loves your work then that is all that matters, not what another photographer thinks of it. (unless you are going in some competition, then it counts)