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Thread: Photography Schools/MFA

  1. #41
    msk2193's Avatar
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    Re: Photography Schools/MFA

    James,
    Some interesting posts here.
    I know it is not a MFA, but if you want to work on your photography skills, don't skip over the Rocky Mountain School of Photography's Intensive Studies (http://www.rmsp.com/) program whcih will absorb a full summer, but will do more for you getting to know your camera. Then, with this new knowledge, go on to your MFA!
    Good luck.

  2. #42

    Re: Photography Schools/MFA

    james,

    this thread has produced some interesting responses. in terms of a career in teaching and maybe fine art an MFA can be useful....as such and because there are many people for whom $100,000 plus and a full 2 year commitment is not possible there are some interesting "low-residency" programs ....a new one currently under development and soon to be announced is from the University of Hartford Art School. look at their Design/Illustration Program as a guide to the new photography program being developed....it promises to be challenging,informative, taught by current high profile practitioners in the field and also affordable........allowing students to continue with their life while going thru the program.....

  3. #43

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    Re: Photography Schools/MFA

    there seems to be this giant split with reasons to get MFA's. for me, i'm in it for the experience. to work under someone i admire. and just to be in the location of where it's all going down.

    i checked out hartford, sounds pretty good. but couldn't find anything on the mfa in photography despite finding some portfolio websites claiming they had their mfa from hartford.

  4. #44

    Re: Photography Schools/MFA

    Well, now you have me curious. Other than the prestige of the piece of paper, what do you expect to do with the MFA once you have it?

  5. #45

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    Re: Photography Schools/MFA

    If he works it out right, a challenging education and refining of his vision.

  6. #46

    Re: Photography Schools/MFA

    Okay John, fair enough. Then what would one do with that refined vision?

    I'm asking because I'm not independently wealthy, don't have a trust fund, and don't have wealthy parents. I do have a BFA, and I managed to get one of my images into a museum last year.

    P.S. - I'm going off the premise that if one wants to make a small fortune in photography, then one should start out with a large fortune.

  7. #47

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    Re: Photography Schools/MFA

    precisely what john said.
    i know it'll be alot of money. if i can get scholarships, the better-

    but i'm not wanting to teach after. if it is a means for money, then sure i wil have a crack at it. but it is more for me to produce the work i want to whilst working in the enviroment that fits/under the supervision of my favourite photographers. i don't think i'd get the same experience elsewhere-
    maybe an MFA isn't the best option. but if i'm furthering my education i dont' want to do a certificate or something when i already have a BFA

    as for what i do afterwards, i have no idea.but at least an MFA might help.

  8. #48

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    Re: Photography Schools/MFA

    Gordon,

    For some, the MFA is just the next logical step beyond a BFA. By earning that degree you took an educational track that some people think is a complete waste of money. (If you want to make money, get a business degree and just shoot picture because most of the profession is about business.)

    But there is value in the BFA that cannot be expressed in dollars. If you had a good program, you learned the craft (technical aspects) of photography as well as learning about how to approach photography so that you could express yourself in the manner that is satisfying to you.

    An MFA program (in my opinion-a good one) will challenge your approach and preconceptions about photography. In this way it will force you to question what and why you do what you do. In this way you get rid of the slag (the refining reference) and get a cleaner, purer vision.

    Also, the type of photography you do may influence the value of an MFA. If you just produce photography whose value is based on aesthetics, the MFA may not always be the best results. If the photographer is very self-motivated and self-critical, just getting out, shooting and editing your work may be what is needed.

    But if one produces a more intellectually based photograph, the MFA program (again, a good one) will force the photographer to constantly re-examine their intent and force them to confront how the photograph communicates to their intended audience.

  9. #49

    Re: Photography Schools/MFA

    When I neared completion of my BFA, many of those I attended college with wanted to continue to an MFA. The idea was that they enjoyed the BFA process so much, that they wanted that to continue. The reality was that few did that, cost being one reason, and lack seeing a benefit being another. Of course, San Diego State University is not a high dollar school, so money was an issue for nearly everyone I knew.

    The reality of creative degrees and creative professions is that less than 10% remain in a creative profession five years after graduation, and less than 5% remain after 10 years. So here I am eleven years later (graduated 1998) and barely 20 out of over 530 fellow graduates are doing any creative work.

    I don't know your financial situation, but I would guess that you will need to work for a living at some point in your future. I didn't get a BFA because I envisioned making a fortune; I chose that path because I wanted the challenge. However, I also knew I would be doing commercial work, and I had a clear idea of how I was going to turn my degree into a creative profession. Just to mention this, my specialty was oil painting, and not photography, while I was at SDSU.

    You have to be a bit of an idealist to get a BFA, and probably a bit more to get an MFA. I don't think either is a bad choice. What I would warn you about is that if you do not have a clear idea of where you will land after you graduate, then it is very likely you will have some better images, a nice piece of paper, and a load of debt ... but no creative profession. I hope for your sake you have some idea of what you will be doing in five years; idealism needs some balance in reality. Best of luck to you.

    Ciao!

    Gordon Moat Photography

  10. #50

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    Re: Photography Schools/MFA

    Gordon,

    Those are good rational warnings. Most of my fellow grad students with whom I am still in contact, are still in the creative field. Most of them weren't interested in obtaining a degree to teach and, fortunately, they don't. However, the statistic bear out your message. Art is an extremely tough career.

    BUT, on a totally impractical and probably dangerous note, in an MFA program you don't have to take general ed. classes. With the exception of a few classes in some programs, it is all about ART!!!

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