necessity of photography school

[RustyTheGeek]

A few photography school related questions.

for those who went to school, do you feel like you learned a great amount, or was it more of a business decision to have a diploma.

And from 1 to 10, where would you say you were at before and then after 1 = not knowing you can take off the lens on a slr.  10 = Neuroanatomist

And lastly, could you have learned the same from the internet and experienced friends?

Edit- I do consider photography a form of art and when I said learn, I meant more than just the tech aspect.   
   

I agree with many of the previous posts that either say the following or I just decided to add now...

-  "Proper" Schooling will help you know what you should know, what you don't know and how/why you should go about knowing more.  It gives you perspective.
-  If you are proficient in the technical, take more classes in the art aspects, if you are already art savvy and need technical, put more emphasis there.  Make it count.
-  Decide if the investment in classes is prudent for the ROI when you're done.  If not, review your goals first.
-  We all excel at what we are good at in our comfort zones.  Classes may force you to go outside that zone and learn things you've ignored or put off before.

Keep in mind that if you are considering classes to become a professional photographer + primary breadwinner for your family, think long and hard.  The photography profession, esp these days, is a very tough field to provide for a family with.  It would have to be your dream job in a big way to not go crazy.

[jp121]

can anyone recommend an online course?

[FatDaddyJones]

can anyone recommend an online course?

http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=7901

This covers a great deal of both technical and compositional aspects of photography. It's not free, but a good course nevertheless.

[FatDaddyJones]

When I studied photography, the technical jargon included developer and stop bath and fixer. Now it's about megapixel count and raw file adjustments and IS VC USM STM, etc.... Metadata was whatever you wrote on the slide or your negative folder. Times change. Technological progress never ceases. So learning should never stop. Especially if you want to be a better photographer.

[jp121]

Thanks FatDaddyJones

[crasher8]

School starts back up for me in a week, I don't attend every semester but when a particular class is offered that will help me sharpen my saw or open me up to a new niche I go for it. I'm excited! Plus then it gets me out of creativity ruts that come every so often by having an instructor give me weekly assignments.

[BrandonKing96]

I'm considering it just for the papers that I can use towards a CV.  But I've still got a while considering I'm only 16.  Yet, I'm self-taught in photographer and I find it better to be self-taught as you get to learn what you know and don't bit by bit through seeing your best photos and absolute worst photos (and learning from those).  Plus, imo, you'd get more comfortable shooting with your own style rather than having a set system made by someone else.

[jp121]

Plus, imo, you'd get more comfortable shooting with your own style rather than having a set system made by someone else.

Fine Arts courses specifically teach you to copy the style of the artists. So that when you do develop your own style, it will contain elements that you like of the Great Masters.

[agierke]

Plus, imo, you'd get more comfortable shooting with your own style rather than having a set system made by someone else.

Fine Arts courses specifically teach you to copy the style of the artists. So that when you do develop your own style, it will contain elements that you like of the Great Masters.

uh...no. i am a university photography instructor and that is absolutely not what we try to do. in fact, i have a specific assignment that requires students to identify a photographer that they will do a presentation on and then use their work to inspire their own original photos. the main thing i stress in that assignment is that i absolutely do not want them to exactly copy individual photos of their chosen photographer.

a good fine art course will stress understanding the intent and message an artist is trying to impart as well as cover the techniques used to execute that message and why it is successful. simply "copying" another artists work is not a great approach.

[crasher8]

Plus, imo, you'd get more comfortable shooting with your own style rather than having a set system made by someone else.

Fine Arts courses specifically teach you to copy the style of the artists. So that when you do develop your own style, it will contain elements that you like of the Great Masters.

uh...no. i am a university photography instructor and that is absolutely not what we try to do. in fact, i have a specific assignment that requires students to identify a photographer that they will do a presentation on and then use their work to inspire their own original photos. the main thing i stress in that assignment is that i absolutely do not want them to exactly copy individual photos of their chosen photographer.

a good fine art course will stress understanding the intent and message an artist is trying to impart as well as cover the techniques used to execute that message and why it is successful. simply "copying" another artists work is not a great approach.

Thank you for that response. I have taken many college visual arts courses and NEVER has an instructor pushed a style or niche upon anyone. These are artists, open minded people teaching these courses, folks with vision. I have encountered nothing but good listeners who assist you in sharpening your saw and making you aware of your options.

[LetTheRightLensIn]

A few photography school related questions.

for those who went to school, do you feel like you learned a great amount, or was it more of a business decision to have a diploma.

And from 1 to 10, where would you say you were at before and then after 1 = not knowing you can take off the lens on a slr.  10 = Neuroanatomist

And lastly, could you have learned the same from the internet and experienced friends?

Edit- I do consider photography a form of art and when I said learn, I meant more than just the tech aspect.   
   

First, you need to say more, what are your goals, what do you want to do? Does making a living out of it matter in the end? PJ oriented? Fashion? Weddings? Nature? Street? Abstract? Everything?

I'd go to school for something else, photography isn't the easiest way to make money. Many who make money in it or who became big names never took any photo classes at all or just a few the side too. Sometimes business skills and to be a huge self-promoter can matter as much as anything else, depending upon what your goals are. Depending upon your aim you could fill up electives with either more PJ-oriented or more art-oriented creative photo classes on the side, some lighting classes and such might help if you might ever want to go that way, try to nab internships and tag along or third shooter assignments, go to serious clubs, try to get involved in circles of the sort of photography you want to do. I'm not sure how many schools have pure photography majors, I'd guess that at most liberal arts schools it would be more like a general art major with an extra focus on photography. Work for the school paper or become involved in the campus art/photo community on the side. Having a PJ degree might help a bit but that is a tough business these days, you could get a lot of experience just working, in a serious fashion, for school paper if it is a big one.

But it is hard to say without knowing what your actual goals are.

[LetTheRightLensIn]

"Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop."
Ansel Adams

I am sure he had a few bad exposures.

I wonder what he would have said about DxO scores.

Probably a lot considering how much time he spent in the lab fiddling with emulsions and developers and practicing arts of advanced dodging and burning and so on. Heck, he might have even been the head of DxO scores division.

He was both an artist and outdoors guy AND a big time techie, lab guy.

[awinphoto]

If i could, when looking into college... make sure you are looking into the right degrees... I got a BA in professional photography with a major in industrial photography...  I am now settled and I interview students every so often from our local universities "Fine Art" students with an emphasis in photography... wow... They can conceptualize well, they can do elaborate scenes... but when it comes to professional photography, coming up with products a client would buy, they struggle.  As fine arts, they are good at self portraits... good at making artsy fartsy photos you may see in a modern art gallery... BUT... to come up with a solid portrait that a client would pay money for...  they are few and far between.  So I would be wary of fine art degree schools with an "emphasis" in photography, but instead look for schools that offer degrees in Professional Photography. 

[Krob78]

I think degrees are great and schooling will certainly get you over the learning curve quicker.  Hard to replace all the lessons learned by pushing that shutter button over and over and over too!