Help, Photography school.

[XshannonrolfeX]

Hey guys, im 18 years old, the young end to start photography. BUT its my passion and i really have the drive to be a photojournalist. So one day i will. I was wondering what anyone thinks of this Photography school in London. It looks good to me , but what do you have to say... old young, i want all opions.

http://www.mdx.ac.uk/courses/UG/Art%20and%20Design/BA%20Photography/135W640.html

i also have my website so u can see what im like too,
http://xshannonrolfex.photoposts.org/

[Robert16]

I think it looks good too. Would it be possible to actually visit the place before you apply? That way you would get a real feel for the place and the people. Anywhere could look good on the web. To be honest, if they are offering a full BA course with honours it must good. The only other one I know of is Glasgow School of Art which do a BA honours in Fine Art Photography - An amazing course (I loved it) but not as usefull for your photojournalist stuff.

[XshannonrolfeX]

oh wow good feedback thankyou. yes i am going to london soon, i shall take a look then :)

[Karl Johnston]

Photography is one of those fields where you don't need a school to go to become brilliant in it, or get a job, or be good at it. School for photography is, from my perspective, is good if it opens doors for the above three. It won't guarantee you any of the three, above, but it will (a good program that is) hopefully give you direction and a route.

Dalhousie university in Canada does an award winning photojournalism program, as well as loyalist college in belle ville, Ontario.

Sorry I just know of Canadian schools.

I think i've heard of MS uni, I'll look into that school.

Whatever you do, skip the program in wellington

[gregpphoto]

Skip the schooling, jump right into it. As a PJ, all the degrees in the world won't mean squat. What will is being in the right place at the right time.

[Tarzanman]

...What folks here are neglecting to mention is that in lieu of formal schooling, you should throw yourself into research and study of the field of photography. Simpling going out and snapping pictures and soliciting opinions on a message board will be a very slow (and probably futile) path to evolving/developing.

When you aren't snapping photos, you should be versing yourself with the technical aspects, technology and techniques used for different kinds of photos. It would also be of great help to take some art classes to give you some perspective on the more subjective areas of the field (i.e. why one photo might be considered 'better' than another similar one).

I'm not a professional photographer, but the only things that will put you one up over an enthusiast with the same gear you have in the same situation is what you have behind the camera that she/he doesn't (ur brain!).

Go forth and learn, young padawan.

[gregpphoto]

...What folks here are neglecting to mention is that in lieu of formal schooling, you should throw yourself into research and study of the field of photography. Simpling going out and snapping pictures and soliciting opinions on a message board will be a very slow (and probably futile) path to evolving/developing.

When you aren't snapping photos, you should be versing yourself with the technical aspects, technology and techniques used for different kinds of photos. It would also be of great help to take some art classes to give you some perspective on the more subjective areas of the field (i.e. why one photo might be considered 'better' than another similar one).

I'm not a professional photographer, but the only things that will put you one up over an enthusiast with the same gear you have in the same situation is what you have behind the camera that she/he doesn't (ur brain!).

Go forth and learn, young padawan.

Well said. I firmly believe in self-education, and seeing what's out there and learning from it is a crucial step in advancing yourself.

[tim]

Simpling going out and snapping pictures and soliciting opinions on a message board will be a very slow (and probably futile) path to evolving/developing.

When you aren't snapping photos, you should be versing yourself with the technical aspects, technology and techniques used for different kinds of photos. It would also be of great help to take some art classes to give you some perspective on the more subjective areas of the field (i.e. why one photo might be considered 'better' than another similar one).

I'm not a professional photographer, but the only things that will put you one up over an enthusiast with the same gear you have in the same situation is what you have behind the camera that she/he doesn't (ur brain!).

I'm a professional photographer, and I have no training whatsoever - but I have nationally recognised professional qualifications. I learned everything I know from books and just going out and doing it.

My experience with photography school graduates is that their generally awful at taking photos. They've been led by the hand through the process of taking photos, but when given a camera and ask to take a photo many have no idea how to take a good photo. They also can't work well under pressure, they're used to 2 month assignments and studio work. Of course this is generalisation, based on the four or so graduates i've employed at various times. I've had one graduate who was even worth my time at all, she still works for me.

Enthusiasts who are passionate, intelligent, and motivated are far better photographers IMHO. A degree may open doors, but being a great photographer will open the customers wallet.

If you do a degree as a photographer be prepared to be hungry. I STRONGLY recommend you don't rely exxclusively on photography to make your living, the whole industry is going through a change right now.

Looking at Shannon's portfolio they photos are kinda nice. Kinda. I see minor technical problems in some that should've been corrected in post, and a lot of really boring photos of the backs of heads and bored looking people.

[Tarzanman]

... and bored looking people.

I'm not a photographer, but I'd think that as a pro.... many a photograph you have taken containing bored looking persons has put cash in your bank account, regardless :D

[S.Horton]

Consider a degree in journalism/political science.........

The technical side of photography you can learn without a degree.

[tim]

I'm not a photographer, but I'd think that as a pro.... many a photograph you have taken containing bored looking persons has put cash in your bank account, regardless :D

Who would pay for a photo of people looking bored?

[gregpphoto]

Who would pay for a photo of people looking bored?

If it's the only photo available. How many newspaper cover shots are actually good photographs?

[tim]

I don't know, I stopped reading newspapers years ago, and online there are less photos. I guess my view is different, i'm a wedding and portrait photographer, not a documentary photographer. Relying on newspapers for work would seem to be a fair short sighted choice for someone about to get photography.

[jblaschke]

I took two photography courses last fall. I'd "self-educated" a great deal, bootstrapping as it were, but I learned a lot from the courses that would've taken me a long time to get on my own. One was a traditional B&W course, with chemicals, developing, making prints, the whole nine yards. The other was photojournalism.

The traditional class gave me a good grounding in the history and foundations of photography. The actual picture-taking, however, was really fixated on artistic photographers of the late 20th century who produced work that isn't what I'd call accessible. The result was a lot of bad experimental photography from students who didn't understand why this out-of-focus image of a woman's backside on a rainy street was good (something I'm still dubious about myself).

The photojournalism course was the exact opposite: 100 percent digital, get out there now and take pictures for the next hour and a half--and they'd better be good, with full caption information. It was a very intense, baptism by fire course, but I learned a great deal of practical shooting knowledge, technical know-how not even hinted at in the B&W course.

Formal photography education has its place, but you have to realize that it's not complete, and not self-contained. You have to continue to work hard on your own, reading voraciously as well as experimenting and doing. Apprenticing or assisting a pro photographer could be a viable alternative for you, but again, that's not a complete education either. Frankly, the education never ends (but I'd recommend a photojournalism course all the same!).

[jblaschke]

If it's the only photo available. How many newspaper cover shots are actually good photographs?

While disinterested photojournalists will indeed turn in mediocre art on occasion (or on many occasions, as the case may be) often what starts out as an excellent photograph turns into something else when cropped to fit the space available. Unless it's a ribbon-cutting. Not much anyone can do with drek like that.