Formal Education for photographic careers

The debate about whether or not a photographer needs a formal education goes back as far as the invention of photography. The best suggestion is for students to look at all the options and then choose the path that works for them.

• Self-taught: Throughout the history of art, students have learned their craft by taking on a strict regimen of work by themselves. They become artists or photographers by doing art and photography. For some, this is an effective method. The key is probably the term “strict regimen of work.” The combination of technique plus artistic vision has to come from somewhere.

  Professional sports photographer Brad Mangin notes, “Hard work and paying your dues is still a good way to separate yourself from the pack and get on everyone’s radar as a good person to hire for a given job or freelance assignment.” Says Mangin, “Being the son of an old-school basketball coach I was brought up with a philosophy that hard work and respect for the veterans were traits that would be rewarded in my future.”

  With the Internet, on-line courses, software manuals and a vast array of professional workshops, being self taught may be more accessible that ever before. For those who learn best on their own, this might be the most effective method.

• College training in photojournalism: Many state universities and art institutes offer formal college degrees with photojournalism majors. The advantage here is a set of progressively challenging courses over time; instructors who act as coaches and mentors to take students to the next level; and an array of like-minded students who share a vision in which students can compare work and ideas. For students who like a focused, structured environment, a two to four year immersion in a formal program might be the best solution.
• College training in other subjects: There is a thread in journalism that suggests one need not train in journalism or photojournalism per se. Using college to learn about the world through the study of other subjects is the recommended path. These voices insist photography and journalism can be learned later. In the beginning, they say study government, politics, international relations, sociology, anthropology, psychology, economics, English, foreign languages or any number of other subjects that will prepare one to work out in the world. The theory here is, if you can think and if you can write, you can probably find work if you’re good.

Whatever the approach, the key will be to assemble the necessary skills to be an effective storyteller with the kind of camera or current digital tools one aspires to use to tell the stories one wants to tell. (Reprint from NPPA)