The Reasons You Should Attend Photography School

Photography is a technical art, requiring mastery of a unique and constantly evolving set of tools. Professional instruction in photography is meant to give students hands-on experience with the tools of the trade, while instructing them in practical techniques for producing professional photographs. A good program will give students both the theoretical tools, such as composition and representation of subject matter, and the practical tools, such as developing one’s own film or editing digital images, necessary to succeed in the marketplace.

Traditionally, courses of study in photography have been broken down into the study of the physical process of capturing an image on film or other media, originally conceived as a branch of physics, and the study of the aesthetic and ethical concerns of producing images for the public. Understanding the camera and what goes on inside it to capture the image is an important part of learning to take great pictures. If you are working with film, learning to gauge the available light so that you can select the appropriate aperture and shudder speed is crucial to getting the image you want. If you are working in digital formats, understanding how the type of sensor your camera employs receives the image helps to predict and control the results you get.

Whether you are working in film or digital media, principles like composition and perspective still differentiate a successful image from an unsuccessful one. Knowing how to foreground your subject matter and make it stand out is crucial part of professional photography. Particularly in photojournalism, concern for and understanding of the accuracy and the context of what you are representing is required by the field. Immersing yourself in these standards helps you to understand the demands of a professional career.

Once you have finished your course of study, a good program should provide you with career counseling and contacts to the professional world to begin your career. Clients and employers want to know that you are reliable and professional, and recommendations from instructors, along with a degree or a certificate, are the best kinds of referrals. In addition to helping connect you to clients, your course work should leave you with a professional-quality portfolio to present to your clients. In a market that is full of people with cameras eager to sell their work, you want something to distinguish you from the rest in the eyes of potential employers. A diploma or degree from a good school can do that.