Should you study photography?
Welcome and Let's Begin
If you're reading this, you're likely an amateur photographer or a hobbyist of some sort. Perhaps you're contemplating studying photography to earn qualifications in the field and turn it into a full-time career. Or maybe, just maybe, you're curious to hear my point of view.
What makes me qualified to tell you this? Well... my life did a complete 180. Long story short, I sold my house, moved back in with my parents, and went back to college to study photography in my late twenties.
The Value of Photography
Photography is everywhere! You might not realise it, but it's a ubiquitous part of our daily lives. It often goes unrecognised because it's not always an image that gathers thousands of likes on social media. However, the company that hired a photographer to capture their product for their website knows exactly what they're looking for. On the other hand, we all dream of creating beautiful pieces of art with stunning models and a whole team working on a campaign seen worldwide. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen. But we should always be grateful for clients who trust us with projects that are important to them. Now, reading this, you'll more than likely notice that photography is everywhere and it's not going anywhere anytime soon! *Hooray!*
None of the People I Follow Studied Photography
I'm not going to name any names, but from my own experience, I've seen MANY social media influencers and YouTubers (are YouTubers influencers? Who cares.) talk about how they and their social circle (often other influencers and YouTubers) never studied photography at school. They boast about their achievements, blah, blah, blah. They often claim it's a waste of time because it's art and you can't teach art... tell that to Picasso, who had a mentor. *Please remember that most of these people's income comes from the videos they make, not from actual photography work.* While some people do make it without formal education, more often than not, most people remain in a grey area between hobbyist and semi-professional because they see taking the next step as too far out of their comfort zone. They don't know where to go or how to achieve the work they admire daily.
The Meat and Potatoes
Let me summarise my story before I dive into why I believe studying photography is a great thing to do and why you shouldn't drink the Kool-Aid of social media influencers.
Do you remember earlier when I mentioned that grey area? That was me. I was stuck. Photography had been a passion of mine since my early twenties, but due to relentless work hours, it became a luxury. Sure, I had a few paid jobs here and there (I'm so sorry to those people who actually hired me!) and even won a photo contest to get into a calendar. I was on cloud nine—I was going places! Silly, naive me. Did I know what a productive workflow was? No. Did I know the correct export settings? No. Did I know what ICC profiles I was using? NO! All basic things I didn’t learn because photography isn't just about taking pictures and editing them. A lot more goes into it. So, once I had enough of my job, I did a complete 180 and decided to turn my passion into a thriving business while getting some qualifications in the meantime.
After nearly 10 years of somewhat understanding and learning the basics, I found my first year of college overly easy. But that didn't matter—it was great seeing all my assignments come back as passed. However, never in my many years had I ever stood in an actual photography studio with professional lighting. 45-degree lighting—what's that? This is where going to college came into play. I learned so much about being in a studio, understanding and executing lighting setups that I had never even heard of months prior. Having access to a photography studio at any time during the week was something I loved! I spent more time in the studio, shooting and understanding how things work, than shooting on location. Having facilities like this is something you don’t get as a hobbyist without paying to rent a studio. Even then, you're not taught how to use it.
Maybe studio work doesn’t interest you? Well, why wouldn’t it? Photography is all about painting with light, and being in a studio is a great way to understand how light works. All this applies to the outside world as well! Okay, so you're not into studio work. How about this: being placed out of your comfort zone? No? Let me explain. Documentary, event, social, still life—types of photography I didn’t even consider as a genre, never mind actually shooting it. But oh boy, let me tell you, it was one of the biggest eye-openers I’ve had in recent years. Studying and learning about different genres of photography made me appreciate the medium more than ever. As part of each assignment, you're encouraged to study different professional photographers outside the realms of Instagram who do these genres as part of their professional work. This was a great way to learn and get into the mind of a professional photographer. This is where the secret nugget of going to college and studying photography lies. It not only makes you a great photographer but also helps you understand the medium as a whole. You can look at individual images, critique them, and fully understand what's at work within the images, the camera, and most importantly, the photographer's mind.
Working with Professionals
Would you rather sit and watch a 30-second video of someone who can talk a good game about photography or spend three days a week with multiple professional photographers who come from different backgrounds with various interests within the field of photography? *If your answer is the first, then why are you reading this?*
This was the biggest selling point for me. While in the trenches of studying, learning, and soaking up everything I could, nothing could beat being able to pick the brains of your lecturers who’ve been professionals in the field for many years. This is where learning to break the rules comes into play. Once you've shown and proved that you have a full understanding and can fully execute a photography brief correctly, then you can learn how your own lecturer would’ve approached it as a professional job. Learning all these little tips is more valuable and worth more than 30-second videos. You come away with more knowledge than any YouTube or TikTok video can provide.
Conclusion
Is studying photography worth it? Yes! Yes! Yes! It's the best thing I’ve ever done and I don’t regret it in the slightest. If you have a driving passion to take photography seriously and learn the medium outside social media—which there is a lot to learn—I can't recommend it enough. Being pushed, pulled, and moulded into a photographer who can handle anything put in front of them is an asset that can be strongly utilised. You'll learn more within two years than you will in ten years.
Author's Notes
Thank you for taking the time to read my first blog post.
