Photography (PHOT)

Digital photography is a powerful communication tool central to a variety of creative careers. While experimenting with manual camera controls and digital workflow in the context of professional conventions, students explore imaginative visual communication applications and dynamic career trajectories within fine art, advertising and editorial photography.

Empowered to discover their unique photographic voice and explore the potential of the medium, students delve into advanced exposure strategies and innovative digital postproduction techniques. As an introduction to professional communication and presentation, students articulate their conceptual and aesthetic choices in a thoughtful and comprehensive manner.

Color is essential to visual communication and storytelling. It evokes emotion, captures the attention of the viewer and triggers a chain of imaginative and intellectual reactions. Within the context of color theory, perception and aesthetics, students create compelling color images through experimentation with traditional and digital capture, scanning and printing techniques.

Whether lighting a product, portrait or anything in between, photographers must harness light to reveal the object’s essence and render as desired. By examining the physics of light, students learn to effectively balance artificial and natural light and pursue innovative strategies for light placement, modification and lighting ratios.

Spanning two centuries, this course explores the evolution of photography from its inception as a revolutionary invention to its contemporary role as a ubiquitous art form, communication tool, and cultural record. Exploring seminal works, pioneering techniques, and influential movements that have shaped the medium, students focus on the impact of photography on our visual culture. From the earliest experiments to the digital age, this course examines photography's transformative power.

Some of the most important moments in history are captured through iconic black-and-white images. In this course, students discover the timeless and expressive qualities of black-and-white prints, while exploring inventive darkroom techniques, chemical after-treatments and digital scanning.

A sophisticated blend of composition, style and message is key to creating powerful images that leave lasting impressions. In this course, students are challenged to achieve this balance in the development of a unified collection of photographs that highlights their unique personal style and skillset.

With its captivating clarity and diverse applications, large-format photography has the potential to capture minute details with superb resolution, from historic landscapes to art reproductions to the latest commercial products. Students cultivate fluency with view camera controls as they create vivid, revelatory images and explore an enhanced photographic vision.

Photography — as an art form, a communication tool and a record of history —has made an undeniable impression on our culture. By investigating the emergence of the medium in the 19th century and its evolution into the early 20th century, students learn how expressive and commercial photography has transformed and expanded over time.

As photography evolves and intersects with other disciplines, versatility becomes an essential quality for the contemporary photographer. To amplify their skillsets and augment professional opportunities, students explore techniques for effective digital capture for time-based media. While exploring traditional narrative and nonlinear approaches, students storyboard and produce creative videos for diverse professional applications.

From enigmatic shadow to brilliant illumination, photographers learn to harness light in the studio and on location. Students use industry-standard camera systems, capture software and advanced digital retouching to fully control light and communicate an intended mood and message. Propping, styling and light modification skills used in a variety of commercial applications are also introduced.

This course offers the unique photographic opportunity and challenge of finding intimacy and familiarity in the foreign portrait and the foreign landscape. Slide lectures explore important aspects of traveling with a camera in a foreign country and investigate how other photographers have faced this challenge. Assignments focus on urban and rural landscapes and populations. Students may work in black and white and/or color and may use large- or small- format cameras.

In contemporary markets, photographers distinguish themselves through the development of a unique visual voice. To be successful in the industry, photographers must find a balance between artistic intent and professional goals. Through research, critical analysis and refinement, students develop a professionally focused and dynamic body of work infused with their personal aesthetic.

This course explores a variety of nonsilver photographic printmaking and print-manipulation processes that depart from the more prevalent black-and-white, color and digital approaches. Processes covered may include hand-applied color, iron salt printing, gum printing, albumen printing, platinum and palladium printing and others.

This course focuses on various philosophical, aesthetic and technical approaches to photographing the contemporary, human-altered landscape. Through slide lectures, field trips, supervised lab work and in-depth critiques, students are expected to increase their awareness of how their own personal responses to the landscape relate to those of other photographers dealing with the same contemporary issues. Materials and format are open, but students taking this course should have a working knowledge of black-and-white, color and large-format photography.

Documentary photographers use the power of images to chronicle history or elevate social and cultural awareness. In this course, students explore the technical, historical and ethical considerations of the medium and integrate these into an in-depth, visual study of their chosen subject.

Narrative photography visualizes the stories that surround us, inspiring contemplation and genuine connection. Through focused investigation, students will explore the inherent, narrative power of the medium as they develop an in-depth photo essay and gain exposure to business practices and markets for photojournalism and editorial photography.

This course examines the issues and materials involved in the evolution of a personal style of expressive black-and-white printmaking. Areas of investigation include paper characteristics, developer choice and fabrication, print size, multifilter printing and chemical after-treatment.

This course explores the issues involved in making photographs that are conceived as surrogates for reality. Areas of investigation include historical precedents, major movements and practitioners of style that lie outside the bounds of documentary photography or the aesthetics of straight art photography.

World-class designers rely on the trained eye and vivid imagination of fashion photographers to captivate audiences with the drama and details of their couture. Students investigate the history of fashion photography while learning the tools of the trade, from casting and directing talent to scouting locations and coordinating stylists. Students showcase these skills, along with innovative techniques for lighting and digital retouching, in the creation of a professional portfolio.

This advanced course explores the technical and aesthetic implications of the platinum/palladium process, one of the most beautiful and subtle of all photographic printing processes. Topics include compounding emulsions, hand coating, paper selection, development variables and techniques for making enlarged negatives.

This upper-level elective provides students with a working knowledge of all major aspects of portraiture, including studio/commercial portraiture, photojournalistic/editorial portraiture and the portrait as fine art, all within a context of historical and contemporary examples. A variety of lighting and camera techniques, basic business practices and career possibilities are covered.

Photographs provide a record of our culture, from significant socio-political events to astounding human experiences. In this course, students experiment with visual communication strategies to develop photojournalistic narratives that persuasively tell the stories of our time while balancing ethics, accuracy and aesthetics.

From digital image capture to final inkjet output, this course is designed to give students a thorough understanding of all aspects of image management and printing. Through lectures, demonstrations and supervised usage, students gain practical, hands-on experience with digital imaging and the production of inkjet technology, printers and paper.

Custom substrates allow for the expansion of the idea of what is possible in a digital printmaking aesthetic. Areas of investigation include direct printing on unconventional materials such as metal, acrylic, cloth and polymer skins as well as transfer processes to wood, paper, metal and plastic.

This course, targeted to advanced photography students, emphasizes the philosophical and technical relationship between the camera and the computer. Students are expected to mesh their personal aesthetic with the multitude of possibilities available in electronic media. Appropriate presentation, software options and sequencing of imagery are stressed, along with historical examples that provide background for understanding this new medium.

The large-format film camera offers the ultimate control that the medium provides. From image making to drum scanning to final print production, students investigate pictorial resolution, sharpness and lens characteristics. Their discoveries provide guidance for the creation of a cohesive, technically sound and aesthetically innovative portfolio.

Successful fine art photographers pair creative vision and singular artistic style with business acumen and self-promotional prowess. Students learn strategies for fostering industry relationships, and professional standards for publishing and exhibition practices. To launch their careers, students design a marketing plan and explore a variety of opportunities for recognition and networking, including residencies, competition submissions and portfolio review events.

In this course, each student photographs a specific subject. The resulting images are edited and sequenced to create a hand-constructed book.

Commercial photographers collaborate with other creative professionals in the execution of dynamic and memorable advertising campaigns. To simulate a real-world collaboration, photography and advertising students coalesce on projects from ideation to launch, including preproduction, lighting design and digital retouching.

Advertising photographers create innovative, engaging images that spark product demand. Students learn advanced lighting, preproduction and postproduction techniques, and explore markets for advertising photography as they produce images that exemplify advanced conceptual, technical and design skills.

Students will learn to elevate social media content by leveraging professional photography and videography skills. Building on foundational skills in video production and digital imaging, students explore advanced techniques for capturing, editing, and optimizing high-quality images and videos specifically for social media platforms. Through hands-on projects and critical analysis of current trends, students develop a unique aesthetic approach to professional-grade photography and videography for social media, learning to craft engaging narratives that resonate with audiences across various platforms.

Commercial photographers expertly adapt light and environments to craft vivid, compelling images that foster interest and demand. In this course, students advance their knowledge of commercial lighting applications while developing novel approaches to set design, styling, and postproduction to create a distinctive, standout portfolio.

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Accomplished photographers present their work, build their brand and expand their client network through professional business strategies and practices. In preparation for successful careers, students hone business and studio management skills, including portfolio development, marketing strategies, accounting fundamentals and negotiation tactics.

A photographer’s portfolio must be comprised of a compelling and refined body of work that aligns with their career goals and that evidences both technical skill and visual innovation. In this course, students elevate their technical and creative abilities as they strategically curate a compelling collection of work that highlights their aesthetic range and capacity to captivate audiences.

Internships offer students valuable opportunities to work in a professional environment and gain firsthand experience to help them prepare for careers. In an approved internship setting, a student typically spends one quarter working with an on-site professional supervisor and a faculty internship supervisor to achieve specific goals and objectives related to the program of study.

Examining the photographic medium from invention through contemporary uses and practices, this comprehensive survey course discusses the most important and influential movements of photography as it is used as a cultural force, a means of personal expression and an aesthetically based medium.

Examining a range of techniques applicable to the medium of photography, this course is a combination of demonstrations, lectures, assignments and critiques with an emphasis on the unification of technical choices and individual conceptual interests.

Developing a portfolio that demonstrates a coherent vision, personal aesthetic and excellence in craft is the emphasis of this course. Students receive and participate in intensive critique of individual, self-directed, artistic projects in preparation for later graduate reviews. The course is designed to help students to successfully define, develop and edit a visually cohesive and formally sound body of work that makes evident the student’s personal aesthetic.

This course explores advanced technical controls of black-and-white photographic materials and processes. Topics include exposure and development control of negative materials through the application of the zone system, parametric testing of film/developer combinations, and exercises and demonstrations designed to strengthen the expressive quality of students’ printmaking aesthetics.

This graduate course is designed to familiarize students with the practical and historical fundamentals of the documentary photograph. Students learn, through examples and assignments, how to photograph in a documentary manner, and how to develop an authentic style within this genre.

This course is a technical and aesthetic exploration of the major color photographic materials, processes and techniques currently available. The course is designed to promote enhanced awareness and application of color as an aesthetic tool, with emphasis on the development of color printmaking skills.

This course is designed to refine a graduate student’s personal artistic direction and critical vocabulary. Historical context and critical theory in the medium are introduced and investigated as a reference point to the student’s individual work. Students receive and participate in intensive critique of individual projects.

This course explores the techniques, aesthetics and ethics of photographic image modification through the use of computer technology. Topics may include the use of scanners and other input devices, image editing software, various output options, projects in photomontage, layout and image sequencing, development of skills in color calibration, duo-tones, color separations, and compositing.

Students engage in a technical study of photographic illustration in a studio setting. Photo illustration is based on a language whose vocabulary consists of sets, still life arrangements and models; a grammar of cameras, films and lighting systems; and a photographer who creates totally controlled images directed toward fine art, editorial and commercial application.

In this graduate-level studio course, students are directed toward creating a body of work representational of the commercial marketplace. Students are exposed to diverse, image-driven assignments, working with interior studio spaces and exterior set-ups.

This is the first in a series of a flexible, self-directed seminar/critique courses that allow students maximum freedom to define and develop directions in personal artistic growth and evolution while receiving guidance and criticism in different contexts and from multiple viewpoints.

This self-directed seminar/critique course continues the photographic arts series.

In this course, students develop a clear photographic narrative using images in a sequential manner. Through thorough investigation and planning, students learn to express an idea or story in visual terms.

Dedicated to the awareness of industry trends and the development of a commercial portfolio in the area of fashion photography, this course helps students refine skills in lighting, directing the model, styling and creative technique both in the studio and on location.

Graduate students explore advanced technical controls of the printmaking workflows of digital imaging. Students experience input and output variances that affect the final print. Analysis and adjustment are expected in every stage of image production from black-and-white to color printing.

This course provides students with a hands-on knowledge of all aspects of photographic portraiture including historical references and new media exploration. Various technical aspects, such as multiple formats and various means of lighting, are presented in a series of demonstrations and assignments.

In this course, the creation of advanced composite images takes place in the context of exploration of the philosophical and technical relationship between the camera and the computer. The course also presents the history, purposes and means of the electronic medium.

Offering unique opportunities to photograph and learn in a foreign environment, this course gives students in-depth insights on another culture’s façade, reality, traditions and values. In an intensive program that deals with both creating photographs and investigating photographic history, there is a focus on comparing students’ work to the existing canon as created by previous native (and foreign) photographers.

Graduate students study the utilization and application of custom substrates that allow for the expansion of the idea of what is possible in a digital printmaking aesthetic. This course investigates direct printing on unconventional materials such as metal, acrylic, cloth and polymer skins as well as transfer processes to wood, paper, metal and plastic. Comparative research is required in both written and visual forms.

Constructed image strategies are explored through both research and practice. Students investigate methods of creating and photographing both tableaux and tableaux vivant that are constructed only to exist as a record, as a photograph. Historical and contemporary ideas and methods of fabricating scenes-to-be-photographed are examined alongside the production of student work.

This seminar provides self-motivated graduate students with insights into today’s multifaceted markets for photography. The course focuses on understanding and navigating the business of being an artist. Classroom lectures foster a broader awareness of career options and professional prospects for photographers seeking to approach successfully the world of art. Individual research required allows students to explore an area in depth. Students share their research methodology and results with their fellow students, fostering growth of peer relationships.

This course focuses on each M.A. student’s personal vision and the many ways to present that vision through a final portfolio in printed and/or digital format. Students utilize compositional elements with appropriate descriptive methodologies in order to clearly communicate particular ideas or concepts. Students also are expected to develop appropriate business practices for their chosen field.

Exploring a variety of historic photographic printmaking and print-manipulation processes, this course teaches 19th-century and early 20th-century photographic printmaking processes with an incorporation of digital methods for better output control. Techniques covered include cyanotype, hand-applied color, iron salt printing, gum printing, albumen printing, platinum and palladium printing.

Students explore the technical and aesthetic implications of the platinum/palladium process, one of the most beautiful and subtle of all photographic printing processes. Topics include compounding coatings, various methods of hand coating, paper selection, development variables and techniques for making enlarged negatives. Students also research contemporary artists choosing to work with the platinum/palladium process as part of their photographic aesthetic.

This self-directed seminar/critique course continues the photographic arts series.

Designed to provide students with a practical understanding of the business of freelancing, this course provides a comprehensive survey of a range of photographic career choices, including editorial photography, commercial studio photography, art photography and stock photography. The course guides students to identify the appropriate market for their style/aesthetic and directs them toward creating effective strategies of legitimate self-promotion aimed at that specific target.

This course leads students toward the development of a self-directed, in-depth photographic project to be presented in book form. Students construct both a handmade physical book and an online book. The course covers the importance and significance of editing and sequencing to direct the audience through an intimate viewing experience of the self-produced book. Historical and contemporary bookmaking are researched and discussed throughout.

Focusing on the various historical, philosophical, aesthetic and technical approaches to contemporary, expressive landscape photography, this course increases student awareness of how their own personal responses to the landscape relate to those of other artists. Materials and format are open, but students taking this course should already have a strong working knowledge of the processes and techniques they intend to employ. The emphasis of the course is more on the development of a body of work that expresses ideas about the landscape than about learning specific photographic techniques.

This course explores the unique problems and opportunities of photographing with large-format cameras and materials. Students have the opportunity to discover and refine their personal vision by making images in a variety of genres, including landscape, architecture, portrait and still life. While initial emphasis is placed on the use of traditional black-and-white materials and natural light, students may make use of color materials, digital technology and/or artificial light, depending on prior experience and personal preferences.

This course explores a variety of critical aesthetic and practical issues relevant to today’s expressive photographer. Readings, lectures, discussions, research and writing are employed to stimulate and polish critical thinking and expression.

This self-directed seminar/critique course continues the photographic arts series.

This course explores the creative use of view cameras larger than 4"x5". Students become familiar with large format negatives, the development thereof, drum scanning, large-scale printing and professional exhibition practices for "oversized" prints. Students produce a thematically based final portfolio and participate in a group exhibition.

This self-directed seminar/critique course continues the photographic arts series.

Students in this course undertake a field assignment under the supervision of a faculty member.

Students in this course undertake a teaching assignment under the supervision of a faculty member.

All photography M.F.A. students must develop and prepare an original exhibition accompanied by a written component.