Comments on: Five Reasons NOT to Attend Photography School

By: Rodolfo

Rodolfo — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 20:08:28 +0000

Everyone has its own learning style.

The technical aspects of photography can be learned in a class or by self-learning from books, internet, or videos.

The art part is different… That is a gift that either you have it or not!!!

By: Hummie

Hummie — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 17:33:32 +0000

I love photography, but do not plan on doing it as a profession, so I am thankful that I can learn as a hobby with all the great resources.

By: Susheel

Susheel — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 07:48:38 +0000

Ha ha ha… boy, you had me… I agree with both your posts. I guess each one of us has his own path to enlightenment…

By: Johan

Johan — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 20:38:54 +0000

Im going to attend to a photography school for a year. Starting in August, not because i Need to learn how camera works. Without getting friend and inspiration from others. And its always nice to listen and get personal tips from famous photographers. :-) And where I come from education are free.

By: Ringu

Ringu — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 20:37:32 +0000

In regards to mompop Said, this is quite a Catch 22. I’ve seen very talented minds come into a classroom with an already impressive portfolio. Placing them in the wrong hands has, in some cases, dulled their visual senses preventing some from ever recapturing their photographic grace. On the flip side, there are those who are fortunate enough to be paired with someone who connects helping them grow and reach their potential. These teachers are also aware their own personal limitations and tend to expose (no pun intended) these students to a variety of human resources that can add to the overall effectiveness of their growth. Looking back it has been the classroom that tends to have the advantage in these cases.

By: mompop

mompop — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 19:52:31 +0000

You may be right regarding the technical aspects of photography. But, what about the art part? Those selftaught internet photographers may be technically competent, but most of them are artistically average.

By: Brian Auer

Brian Auer — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 19:36:10 +0000

Nice contrasting article from your previous one. I’d have to say that I completely agree with you on much of this one, though. I wouldn’t mind taking some classes on photography, but the informal education system (the Internet) is definitely my kind of thing.

I’ve also found that not only can you learn from other bloggers and photographers, you can learn a lot from yourself if you become involved. I’ve learned so much since I started blogging about photography, and I wouldn’t have had the same experience by just reading other people’s work.

By: Ringu

Ringu — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 17:35:44 +0000

As a former college educator the biggest challenge was fighting a system that was not focused on teaching but rather on backstabbing and egos. I still believe in the educational system. There are certain things that you can only get through quality supervision. You have to search for the good teachers. But, education moves much slower than a real world. I’m sorry that the previous comment states that classrooms are dull and stuffy. When I read that I think that either the system failed that individual or that the person was not ready to learn. “When the student is ready the teacher appears.”

There are reasons to embrace both the onine world with the structured setting until technology can provide a seamless integration between the two.

By: photographyVoter.com

photographyVoter.com — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 16:50:12 +0000

Five Reasons NOT to Attend Photography School…

Photography schools, bah! Who needs ‘em? More and more, new photographers are learning their craft from the wealth of information online instead of some dull, stuffy classroom. So you know what? Forget all that crap I said. Don’t go to photography …

By: Ed Z

Ed Z — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 13:23:32 +0000

I would tend to agree with you. However, I did find some photo classes to be extremely useful. At least when it come to the “basics” of understanding photographic principles (exposure, EV, aperture/shutter relationship, metering, lighting, the inverse square law etc…)

for a lot of these things I think a “hands on” learning method is much better than a book or internet resource method. Maybe not a class necessarily, but at least hook up with a more experienced photographer who can teach, and more importantly *demonstrate* the basic techniques and ideas.

Once you’ve got that down, I agree entirely… learn it on your own, and practice, practice, practice!