Are Photography Courses Helpful?

When I first started getting passionate about my own photography, I pretty much winged it in terms of learning...but a big part of the early learning process was the instant feedback I got with my first digital cameras, and sharing images on online forums. Of course, this was back in 1999 and 2000, so the forums weren't as overcrowded as they are now, and I got a fair amount of instructive feedback from some helpful and knowledgeable individuals. I also learned a great deal from other posters who were obviously more skilled than I was.

I've previously discussed the ways personal work can be shared in two posts: How Do You Share Your Photographs and Grow as a Photographer? and Sharing your Photography and Getting Feedback. An option I listed was taking courses in photography schools, or photography courses offered by local colleges, high schools, adult education centers, etc. After a couple of years of winging it, I took a $100 basic adult education class on portraiture, and since then, on the recommendation of the teacher, I've started taking regular workshops at the New England School of Photography (NESOP).

The overall experience of taking courses has been superb...NESOP has been an excellent resource, and with many of the classes, you have access to darkroom and studio resources outside of class hours, which justifies the admittedly rather high course costs. I've recommended the experience on several occasions to people, particularly those I encounter online who tend to view progress in terms of what their next camera should be (and I'm been guilty of this as much as anybody). Courses do not automatically make you a better photographer, of course, but under the right circumstances, they lay much of the groundwork for one to become a better photographer, and enjoy the process more.

More importantly, beyond instruction in useful technical skills (darkroom, studio lights, flash, etc), the most effective courses can open a photographer up to different ways of seeing, and enable them to discover what they want to do with photography, beyond just snapping the shutter competently in the direction of compelling subjects.

I get asked the question every so often about how useful classes really are, and I see the question asked on various online forums as well. The quality of courses is variable, after all, especially courses that are offered by large adult education centers with limited facilities, and teachers who come and go. The key to a class that's worth the money and really builds your skills, based on my experience and that of colleagues, is the following:

1) A committed and open-minded instructor (with equally committed teaching assistants/advisors, when applicable). This is obvious and fundamental. A class may have a great deal to offer in terms of technical knowledge, but without an instructor who cares or commits to students, knowledge rarely sticks.

2) Regular Assignments and/or a Project. Believe it or not, many instructors don't bother with assignments because evening students don't get graded, so they give up on trying to make students do them. Even if the assignments are somewhat open-ended, a weekly review of images makes a *big* difference, in my experience.

3) Good Classroom Community. Good learning rarely takes place in a rarified atmosphere consisting of student and teacher. I've found that in my favorite classes, I had classmates with a good attitude and a reasonable commitment to getting something out of the class, regardless of experience level. Pros in the class aren't necessary (they can even make things worse)...it's simply better to have people who care and who have genuine interest in learning from others, rather than people looking to fill time or a gap in their life, or people who are prima donnas and think the class exists only for *their* benefit, not everyone else.

4) Quality facilities with reasonable access. This gives students more incentive to do work on assignments outside of classes, and even take advantage of access to studios and darkrooms to experiment in ways they might not have otherwise.

5) Good course structure, and a reasonable balance of lecture and field/lab/studio work. Photography courses can feel overwhelming for even experienced photographers, given how technical a discipline photography can be. I've personally appreciated it when a course has enough structure to allow me to understand where I am in the learning process, relative to how a professor has structured a course.

6) (optional) Outside speakers or experts to provide another perspective. One of the best classes I ever took had speakers from the commercial and fine arts worlds...having such speakers makes the learning feel more connected to what people are actually doing in the outside world.

One of my first black and white portraits from my first NESOP workshop. This looks good online, but it required a great deal of cleanup and is difficult to print properly.

You would be surprised how many classes fail on one or more of these points ... and actually, this could refer to *all* adult education, not just photography classes. For example, the teacher broadly demonstrates enthusiasm and commitment, but he/she has no structured syllabus and doesn't show up all the time. Or you have a mix of students who barely know how to use the camera and more advanced amateurs with an inflated sense of themselves, and the teacher doesn't know how to teach to both audiences (I've seen this first hand...not pretty). Or the teacher lectures endlessly and gives you lots of stuff for your notebook, but is hostage to his structured lectures...he/she doesn't reach out to students, doesn't bother to critique work or listen to suggestions from students, and is only in it to promote his business/get his name out there.

Two B&W workshops later, I felt more comfortable with understanding what made for a good scene and print, and this was mostly a straight print.

My favorite classes, and the ones I got the most out of, were ones with at least four of the above factors for success. If I had to prioritize, a committed and fair teacher that provided regular assignments is probably the most crucial. A strong and inspiring teacher can motivate anyone, but there's nothing like actually doing something and seeing others' work in comparison, and working continuously to improve under the guidance of a mentor and peers.

There are different considerations to take into account as one gains more experience, and education is slightly different when considering shorter but more intensive workshops, or when taking courses that are more oriented toward a personal project. But regardless of one's ambitions, a single good course can make photography that much more fun. Given how online discussions of photography these days tend to be dominated by talk of the latest digital gear and hopeless equipment wars (Nikon vs Canon, 35mm vs digital vs medium format, etc), the perspective provided by a good class can be truly refreshing.