You should go to photo school if you want structured learning. Groundwork from the fundamentals to the bigger concepts. It will move too slowly for many of you, too fast for others. There are lots of great programs, worldwide.
If you don’t do better with structured learning and you are highly motivated and prefer real world experience, don’t go. Instead, teach yourself, take workshops, get mentors, read books, build your support network, work for other people. And most importantly take a helluva lot of photographs. Dig the long ditch that it takes to learn to make a living with photographs.
If this is too simple a post for you, then go to photo school.
We have an excellent school in Seattle called Photographic Center Northwest. Not only does it have classes, workshops and darkrooms but you get the feeling that you belong to a community, which is what I was seeking when looking for photography classes. In my opinion you’re going to learn a lot more from school than you would from your monthly photo club…
I was self taught for many years, but then I went to school and was able to put a lot of the things I’d be reading about or seeing into action. It’s not just having a structured way of learning, it’s bouncing your ideas off other people. It’s learning the history of your art. If you are dropping out or not wanting to go to school because people are telling you how to be a photographer well then, in my opinion, you weren’t an artist to begin with. Just a person with a good camera taking some pictures that turn out ok sometimes and your friends tell you has “great composition”.
Depends on the school. Some are very art-oriented and will “tell you what your vision should or shouldn’t be”. Others concentrate on photojournalism. Others (there’s a great one at a community college here in Seattle) will give you a great grounding in the nuts-and-bolts of technique, mechanics, self-promotion, and what it takes to have a commercial career.
One other point is I rather learn from a Pro photographer that is working in the field now than a teacher that was a pro in the film days. Not saying all are the teachers are, but the one’s I met are out of date. Plus like other say with seminars, workshops, and webinars I can learn from Pro’s in the industry that are current and working in the field. Just my 2 cents.
Don’t bother with school, don’t waste your time. Grab a book, read some blogs, study the masters, and shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot!
That is all. 🙂
I went for the first semester.Then I dropped out.I didn’t want other people telling me what my vision should or shouldn’t be.