College Life

Private Schools That Are Well Known for This Major

• Yale University
• School of the Art Institute of Chicago
• Rhode Island School of Design
• California Institute of the Arts
• Rochester Institute of Technology

State Schools That Are Well Known for This Major

• University of New Mexico
• University of California—Los Angeles
• Virginia Commonwealth University
• University of Arizona
• Temple University

Classes in the Major

General Photography. You might think this class focuses exclusively on the photographing of high-ranking members of the military. It's an easy mistake to make. So before you show up to class, ready to snap some candids of General So-and-So in his swimwear, get ready for a little disappointment. This class is your overview of the major and the discipline. This answers your question, "Hey, what's with all this photography and how can I get involved?"

History of Photography. What if you have the best idea ever for a picture? It's a cat hanging from a treebranch, and you'll write on it "Hang In There." It'll make millions, right? Not so fast. This is where history of your discipline comes in. It's a good idea to know about what's already happened before you start adding to everything. This will also give you an idea of where photography came from, the visionaries (har har) who invented it, and how long cat pictures have been around. (True story: a lot longer than you'd think).

Darkroom Techniques. We'll admit it: this sounds sketchy to us, too. You tell us about techniques in a dark room, and we're looking for an exit. Probably fruitlessly, since it's, you know, dark in there. No, darkrooms are a vital part of non-digital photography. Since photographs are fundamentally captured light, the process of putting them on paper requires no light to be polluting them. That's why you end up with a dark room filled with chemicals, the use of which determines things like how dark or light the picture ends up being. Either you'll fall in love with the process, or you will vow to never use a non-digital camera again. Either way, you win.

Digital Photo Imaging. This is the opposite side of the coin. While technology has marched on, some photographers have embraced it. There's a lot to love for digital photography, not the least of which is the convenience of actually being able to see a picture right after taking it. You no longer have to go back to the lab only to discover that you had the lens cap on the whole time (rookie). Because digital photography is so tech-intensive, you'll need a good grounding in it.

Photojournalism. Regardless of whether you intend to follow this career path, there's a lot of practical knowledge to be gained from the study of photojournalism. If you think of photos as the collective memories of a culture, the importance of photojournalists becomes very clear. Additionally, you learn how to take pictures under less-than-ideal circumstances and how to get the best images in chaotic times.