Best college/university for photography

[table1349]

Makes me laugh today. The old retired guy just off the phone with the place that I retired from. They needed the old guy to answer some questions and straighten out a situation. Not a problem to me, but funny none the less.

 

[dpryke]

So, the question was, can anyone recommend a college, not the pros and cons of a degree. I understand them all to well. We have already talked about learning Graphic Design and Business along side of Photography.

Except for a few, you all sound a lot like my dad. "Don't major in film production, computers are a much better thing to major in". Well I can say that after 25+ years in the "biz" I am doing just fine, including running my own business for the last 16 years. There is a lot more to college than just a degree. It's a great place to try and explore so many things without the repercussions of losing your job. Will she ever get the full ROI for college, maybe not. That's why RISD is off the list at $250K. She even thinks that makes no sense. However, she has passion, which is something I can't say about a lot of people her age. I'm very envious of the experiences she will have in college. I wish I got all the opportunities she will get.

We live in a visual society and there are plenty of opportunities out there. Will she make a million dollars doing it, probably not. Will she be happy, probably. There are plenty of miserable people out there making good money.

 

[The_Traveler]

So, the question was, can anyone recommend a college, not the pros and cons of a degree. I understand them all to well. We have already talked about learning Graphic Design and Business along side of Photography.

Except for a few, you all sound a lot like my dad. "Don't major in film production, computers are a much better thing to major in". Well I can say that after 25+ years in the "biz" I am doing just fine, including running my own business for the last 16 years. There is a lot more to college than just a degree. It's a great place to try and explore so many things without the repercussions of losing your job. Will she ever get the full ROI for college, maybe not. That's why RISD is off the list at $250K. She even thinks that makes no sense. However, she has passion, which is something I can't say about a lot of people her age. I'm very envious of the experiences she will have in college. I wish I got all the opportunities she will get.

We live in a visual society and there are plenty of opportunities out there. Will she make a million dollars doing it, probably not. Will she be happy, probably. There are plenty of miserable people out there making good money.

Confirmation bias
There are gazillions of people wanting to be artists, trying to be artists, not making enough to live well and being unhappy.

 

[JoeW27]

I've got a number of thoughts on this:

1. Do feed her passion. Encourage her.

2. Yes, there is photo work out there. It's a heckuva lot harder to get a full-time paying job with benefits where you are a photographer. One of the best ones is the Combat Camera unit in the US military (I know, probably not what you have in mind for your daughter, but you get to do a ton of shooting--no pun intended--of many different subjects, build your technical and compositional skills and your portfolio is available to the public so a lot of publicity for a new photographer).

3. As for a school....a lot depends upon what she wants to photograph. If she's interested in high fashion then it probably helps to go to school in NYC for instance. Sports and athletics...then go to a school with a full range of athletic events (doesn't have to be and in-face probably shouldn't be Division-I). But ultimately, my advice would be to NOT pursue a degree in photography. Instead, get a degree in something else (Art, Journalism, or a topic that gives her expertise that would appeal to a specialty or trade group), take courses in photography, and (this is critical) work on the school paper as a photographer. Or shoot for the athletic department. And freelance for the local paper (school board meetings, elections, fires and important announcements by the local DA, promotional events when a new company comes to town or a festival kicks off). First of all, it will build a diverse resume. Second, she'll make a ton of contacts (working with editors and local journalists) for the local paper...and those contacts often go to national or major outlets.

If she graduates with a degree in IT or Art or Journalism and a couple of photography classes, a diverse portfolio, a track record shooting for the college paper for a couple of years, a couple of exhibits in the campus student art gallery, some work as a free-lancer for the local home paper and a good recommendation from the editor, and actual proof in her portfolio that she can shoot fashion, food, sports, crime, public events, portraits, architecture...then she will have contacts and credentials that will likely beat any Photography degree she can get.

If you/she persist on her getting a photography degree, here would be my advice: make sure you choose faculty that is a working faculty. Yes, the classes are useful. Yes, the critique of her work will be good. But she will need to have someone who can say "I have a contact at the AP who might take you on as a stringer to cover some of the polls this election--are you interested?" Or "I really like your architectural work--it's impressive. I know someone at the local office of HOK--you know, the architectural firm. They're looking for a staff photographer. How would you feel about focusing mostly on shooting buildings and interiors?" Or "let me tell you how to get credentials for that event. And I've shot that venue--here are the 3 best sites to shoot from. And you're going to need a custom WB setup when there's a score--here's what I do so my highlights aren't blownout." You are only going to get that if the faculty also work at the same time. Or take a semester off to work full-time. Too many art schools are about providing jobs for unemployed and starving people with photography degrees. They could be good teachers. But they don't have contacts and connections that are current. So that should be your first, second, and third priority in evaluating any school y'all look at.

Last of all, there is a significant chance that where she goes to school is where she's going to get her first full-time job. That's b/c she will have done internships and free-lance gigs, b/c the faculty have contacts locally, b/c the school is visible. So don't choose a school in the middle of no-where. Doesn't have to be a major city. But if she's going to go so Savannah, you need to be sure there is enough of a market for her to be able to get a job when she graduates from a school in Savannah.

 

[Gary A.]

If you list a specific genre, that would help in suggesting a university/college.

 

[Overread16 4]

I can't suggest anywhere as I'm not in the USA and have honestly never looked for such a course I also won't get into the degree or no degree thing - if she wants to do it let her; if nothing else a few years focused learning in her craft and room to mature and get some additional thoughts is no bad thing in my view.
A few thoughts that might help the choice and the seeking;

1) Look at the optional modules in the latter years of study. Most colleges/unis will vary a lot even within the same subject depending on the focus of the teaching staff. Thus look at the optional components in the latter years not just the core nor the first year. This gives you an idea of the real focus of the course and what will be covered.

2) Study the works of those who are teaching - if they are teaching photography one will expect them to have a portfolio (if you can't find it easily - email and ask). See if your daughter likes/respects any of their work. It's VERY hard to learn any skill if you can't like or respect the teachers skills - thus see if their work is up to standard for what she wants to produce. Remember respect doesn't mean she has to like the photography but respect the skill of the creator in making the photography.

3) Study the works of students from the college - the top photos; the awarded photos etc.. whatever the Uni has on show. This gives an idea not only of what the teaching can achieve but the type of student they are clearly focusing on. There are a LOT of arty courses (inc photography) which are very low grade - they'll teach you how to write a 5 page essay on why a blurry blob is fantastic but won't teach you proper skills nor technical know-how. They also aim at achieving a very low passable skill level (these are the kind of places were composition is rule of thirds or magical natural intuition).

 

[dpryke]

She hasn't chosen what she wants to narrow her photography down to yet. The only thing she doesn't like to shoot are protraits. She has shot landscapes, abandoned buildings, thematic series, lots of different things.

So far the colleges we are looking at all have "working" faculty.

 

[Gary A.]

Knowing the direction she wants to take is pretty instrumental to selecting a best match university. My much better half is a college counseling for the highest academically achieving public high school in California. There is a lot she has the student/family consider prior to selecting a college. The more renown schools are also centers of high scholastic competition which is intimating to many and the less outgoing/competitive students are much better off at a less renown school. Larger school tend to be less nurturing than smaller schools. Money is another serious consideration. Local state schools is much less expensive than local private schools, out of state public schools are more expensive and finally out of state private schools will typically cost the most. A physician friend says that if he had to do it again he would attend community college and pocket the saving instead of attending a four year college.

Personally, I would look for schools which have a very successful intenship/externship program. There is no substitute for total immersion into your craft/career/passion to get quickly get you up the learning curve. For me, reviewing a school's internship program and examining how many were interned and where they were interned and how many were hired, would help me choose between schools. Many interns are hired by the company they have interned.

There are three immediate degree potential for a photo related degree:

1) a drgree in Communications/Journalism;
2) a degree in Art; and
3) a degree in Photography. (There are many schools which offer a degree program in photography. If she hasn't decided on a particular genre, then maybe 'photo' degree where she explores many of the genres might be her best fit. In this category, it appears that many prestigious universities offer photography degrees. Google is your best friend here.