Ah, the great question: Do photographers need to go to photography school to be successful? If you’re like me, you’ve wondered about this more than a few times. It’s hard to know which path to take in order to create that photo life of your dreams. So join me in the library and let’s chat about it!
Watch the video now to see what we did, and what some of the pros and cons of photography school are.
Ok, here’s a rundown of the Pros and Cons of photography school!
Pros of Photo School
1. Structured Learning Environment
One of the biggest benefits of going to photography school is the structure. There’s both the careful organization of classes, with instructors presenting information to you in the right order, without missing anything critical. Then there’s the structure of school itself: you’re committed to going 5 days a week, for a couple years or more. That’s a lot of dedicated learning time! After you’ve spent some time working in your business, you’ll yearn for that kind of time to just read and talk about photography. Trust me.
2. Social Environment
There’s a reason photographers have so many conferences and meet-ups. It’s fun to hang out with each other! Surrounding yourself with like-minded people is both enjoyable, and also informative. The other students will have different ideas and interests than you, and being exposed to those new ways of thinking will help expand your brain!
You’ll also have the opportunity to make connections that could serve you well when you graduate. There’s a good chance you’ll meet someone to start a new studio with, refer work back and forth to, or become an assistant for. Your photography business won’t exist in a vaccuum, and knowing other photographers can be a big help!
3. Credentials
Now you don’t need any credentials to be a photographer (at least not in North America, and I believe it’s similar around the world). But being able to say that you graduated from photography school shows clients that you’re dedicated to the art, and can help give them some reassurance that you know what you’re doing. This is primarily a psychological thing. Just because you have those credentials doesn’t make you a better photographer than someone without them. But from a clients’ view, it might be a bonus.
Cons of Photo School
1. More Photo than Business
Photo school is about photography, which is great! But to run a photography business requires a LOT of business knowledge. Now as far as I know, most photography schools do have business courses, so it’s not that you’ll be sent out into the world without any preparation to run your company. But the world of business changes FAST, and it will be such a huge part of your day to day life as a professional photographer. Really, the only way to learn the stuff is to actually DO IT.
2. Time
School takes up time. A lot of time. Time that could be spent actually starting and running your business. Granted, you’ll have to learn the stuff one way or another, but many people find they learn faster when they are self-directed, and learning by experience rather than in a classroom.
3. Money
School costs money! Generally it’s a lot of money! There’s a great quote in the movie Good Will Hunting:
You dropped 150 grand on an education you could have got for a dollar fifty in late charges at the public library!
If you can teach yourself photography and business by using the library and the internet, you could save yourself a LOT of money. And it’s completely possible. There’s a reason we talk about the library all the time. This is what we did!
4. You’re Still Just At The Beginning
Once you’ve made it to the end of photo school, you’re still at the beginning of creating your photography business. And that’s where the real work starts. Building a portfolio. Branding. Making connections. Marketing yourself. Finding clients. Developing contracts. Actually shooting! Editing. Printing. Bookkeeping. Pricing. And continued learning. Always continued learning.
The workload doesn’t change whether you go to photo school or not. You still have to put in the time to make your business successful!
The Big Idea
Whether you go to photography school or not won’t determine whether you become a successful photographer. That will come down to whether you have the grit necessary to keep working at it for the years it takes to really be successful.
But should YOU go to photography school? Well, it simply comes down to what type of learning you prefer. If you’re the kind of person who can self-direct themselves through learning all the necessary parts of photography and business, and get out there and network on your own, then you may not need to go to school. But if the idea of totally immersing yourself in a photography learning world with other students for a couple years sounds like just what you’d need, then photo school could be a wonderful experience for you.
We didn’t go to photo school, and we haven’t regretted it for a second. But don’t get me wrong: if Hogwarts opened up a photography program I would be FIRST IN LINE.
Your Turn
Now I want to know what you think about this. Should photographers go to photography school? Are there any pros and cons that I’ve missed? What did YOU do?
Leave me a comment and tell me your thoughts, I’m super interested to hear what YOU think!
Duchess says
I disagree with some of the cons. I am currently in photography school and we have units on business and marketing. We will not be at the beginning of starting our business when we graduate, because our professors started us building our business from day one. We will be ready to launch when we graduate, not ready to just “start”. Also, you can read as much as you want from a library, but having your work critiqued by pros who have been in the field longer than you have been alive is invaluable.
Alaina says
If I may ask, where did you go to school?
Elizabeth says
I completely agree with this. I have friends who went to photography school and didn’t end up ever becoming ( or working as) photographers, despite the amount invested in the school…yet most of my friends who work as photographers are self taught. It’s the best way to go if you are motivated, and can always take classes or courses if you need mentorship.
Krystal says
I agree and disagree.
I agree because I personally think self teaching is the best experience. You get to find out your *why* from the very start, and you get to focus on achieving your own goals, whether you set a deadline or not. With school I don’t think you get to learn productively, I feel like it may be rushed, and they just want you to remember fancy words and other peoples techniques. What makes a great photographer is originality.
I disagree, because while studying photography at a higher level may be counter productive, learning basic fundamentals, and basic functions, may be crucial to your success.
Lisa says
I think back in the “old” days before internet and social media we REALLY needed to be taught by a school or be an apprentice with a successful photographer. Schools were really expensive back then as they are today. Now, with the internet and social media and Meetups you can meet other experienced photographers online or in person for feedback.. Plus now and days community colleges still have courses in photography if you want to learn technique. Whats also really great with technology today is that we have more tools to be successful. What you cant buy is natural talent and passion. So either you have the eye or you don’t. I would of hated to spend 70k on a school and be told I didnt have “it”. You do need to learn business only if you want to have a business and that can be done through tons of ways SCORE being one of them. So IMHO you don’t need a school as much as you used to especially an expensive one.
Robert Nowell says
I’d like to respond to the comment from Elizabeth above.
I completely agree with this. I have friends who went to photography school and didn’t end up ever becoming ( or working as) photographers, despite the amount invested in the school…yet most of my friends who work as photographers are self taught.
That is true, but it’s also true for many college and University courses. Many kids drop out or change their major in any variety of subjects not just photography. Going to college and not doing what you went for doesn’t equal a waste of time & money. It’s part of who you become.
Those that work hard, apply themselves and get involved are the ones who will get the most out of the school experience. They likely would also be just as successful learning in other ways. What’s missing in our industry today is a solid understanding of the fundamentals of photography. One advantage of the school route is that they “force” you to do assignments that you might not be interested in but actually make you a better photographer by learning solid technique.
Bill Griffith says
This has been a sore point with me for fifty years. As one of the arts you take photographs with your heart, your sole, your gut, NOT your brain. When quoting on jobs the client wants to see your work, NOT your diploma. You can talk all you like about what you’ve got by way of educational qualifications but it all comes down to the quality of your photographs.
These days there are some excellent and easy to read books on photography, for beginners and advanced shooters. If you can read you can learn all you need to know from these books if you practice. But there is something much more important than practice, and without it you may as well sell your gear. The most important thing for success in ANYTHING is DESIRE. You will never be any better than your desire, no matter how much practice you do. And that’s something not taught in any school that I have been too or taught at.
Forget about being judged by school teachers or other students. Your client is the main one you have to please, they pay your bills.
Set your goals – Get the books – and go out and take pictures, and more pictures and more pictures and let your desire be your master. A diploma might get you a job to prove yourself in – desire will get you what ever you want.
Myra says
First of all, you have to know where to go to learn what you need to learn about photography.
Secondly, if one wants to WORK FOR SOMEONE after school, its worth it to get the experience!
Thirdly, a certificate is a good choice when starting out and you do not want to start a business.
Lastly, starting a business is a HUGE headache, as well as teaching yourself about a subject.
People who hire people to do photography would want someone who is schooled in the subject
and has had a job doing so. Rather than someone who is just winging it on their own.