Although often grouped with other hobbies, photography is much more – more technology, more creativity and the need for more education. There are numerous educational opportunities in the world of photography, but this article highlights three, one of which will work best for your situation, goals, schedule and budget.
1. A Formal Education – If you are extremely serious about digital photography and aspire to become a professional, then you need formal education. The campus/classroom-like settings at schools, such as the Hallmark Institute of Photography in Massachusetts, Brooks Institute in California and the Chicago Photography Academy, offer complete 4-year bachelor’s degree and even master’s degrees or a curriculum of hundreds of hours of classes and workshops and shorter 4-week programs.
There are also many traditional universities with outstanding photography majors, including Yale School of Fine Arts, CT; School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL; New York Film Academy, NY and CA; Columbia College, MO; Rochester Institute of Technology, NY; and Providence College in Rhode Island.
All of these schools’ programs include a wide variety of photography topics from beginner to advanced concepts and techniques; lighting; commercial and fine arts photography; photojournalism; videography; digital editing and workflow; and many more subjects too numerous to list here.
Although this kind of photography education is usually the priciest, many of the instructors and professors at these schools are the best in the business and have had successful real-world careers. These schools also have many graduates very well known in the photography world, who are actively involved mentoring students and helping them start their careers.
2. An Online Education – The Internet is filled with an enormous selection of online courses and workshops. Many are for casual and beginner photographers who want to learn the basics, such as Love That Shot and MyPhotoSchool. The learning experience with these online courses can spark an amateur’s enthusiasm and drive him or her to attend a formal education institution. Others offer a more in-depth education, such as the New York Institute Photography, which will earn you a certificate from this very well respected school, but allows you to work at your own pace and schedule.
The Bryan Peterson School of Photography has a Website full of online courses that the legendary photographer and teacher Bryan Peterson and his carefully selected group of instructors have created, also earning you a certificate. In addition, Bryan and BPSOP instructors conduct workshops throughout the world for a truly exciting opportunity to work one-on-one and hands-on with these photography luminaries.
3. A Photography Education in a Flash – Another interesting educational opportunity comes from the highly creative and innovative mind of Paul Michael Kane. Paul has written and published a number of photography books and folios, including his 2010 work,The Lakota Wolves. He was also the only photographic contributor to the 2009 book,The White Album, a visual tribute to The Beatles. His photographs have appeared in various publications, many of which combine his graphic arts skills and visions.
His latest project, Lightbox Photography Cards, is on Kickstarter.com, where he is providing interested photographers and others the opportunity to support his project. The Lightbox Photography Cards set consists of 52 cards, each with a different photographic challenge as well as an inspirational quote on the back from some of the most celebrated photographers throughout its history.
Paul designed the cards not only to help improve your skills, but also to five you the fun of randomly selecting a card and accepting the assignment detailed there. His Lightbox Photography Cards will inspire you to start shooting when you’ve acquired a new camera or help you discover new subjects to compose and capture. Paul includes a section on each card with suggested equipment you may need to bring home your best images, plus there is one of his images that show how he approached the particular challenge, and his results. Each set of cards also includes a bonus 3-in-1 grey card to set white balance and colors correctly during post-production and his photography cheat sheet, a handy, quick reference of camera settings.
As of January 23, 2015, there were just 11 days remaining in his Kickstarter campaign for Lightbox Photography Cards; so if you would like to become a backer, then you must act soon.
As with most Kickstarter campaigns, Paul is offering various free incentives to his supporters as specific pledge goals are reached.
Don’t wait another day, hour or minute to visit their Kickstarter Page to join the nearly 1,000 supporters of Paul Michael Kane’s Lightbox Photography Cards.
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