Help!! looking for some good advice!!

I'm currently a community college student, and I've decided to

become a commercial photographer~ I currently live in OC/California,

and I wanted to know what University is good for commercial

photography...Im thinking about going to CSULB or CSUF for BFA in

creative photography...But Ive always wondered whats the difference

between B.A in photography & BFA?? Is there a big difference if I

want to become a "commercial" photographer?? I mean, fine art

photography is wonderful, I love it, but Im really interested in

getting big in commercial photography...& I really dont want to go

to a institute because I want to graduate from a 4 year college..

So please anyone, tell me what University might be a fit for me??

Hi Anne:

BA "Bachelor of Arts" is a general term used to a categorize majors in the natural and

social sciences and languages, etc... The BFA or Bachelor of "Fine" Arts is actually a

category of Art majors (i.e. Studio Art, Photography, etc...) that concentrates on the history

and aesthetics of Photography as an art form. While this can help you develop your

conceptualization, it will do little for acquiring the skills that commercial photographers

look for. Unfortunately, you are discrediting the one form of training that could give you

exactly what you need and what commercial photography studios wants in a new hire.

Namely, a strong commercial portfolio.

Here's why: A Bacheloreate degree requires a total of 120 credits. (average 3 credits per

class) This equates to 40 classes (20 classes in academics, 10 classes to fulfill the Art core

corses, and 10 classes in photography). So, if we already know 1 class meets 3 hours per

week, then at a 14 week semester that class meets only 42 hours. (3 hours/week X 14

weeks)

If a B.A. only requres 10 photography classes at 42 hours each, then 420 hours of training

should equip you for a full-time job in commercial photography, right? Well, think about

this . . . If you were hired as a commercial assistant and you worked an 8 hour day for 52

days, do you think you would be ready to start shooting commercial jobs? Probably not.

Especially if the studio had you in the black & white dark room processing film or

answering phones.

The kicker is, the commercial studio is interested in your portfolio and personality . . . not

the degree hanging on your wall. There are plenty of 4 year college graduates who never

received the real-world commercial training from their 4 year college who are now serving

food @ local restaurants.

Profile ANY professional photographer and you will see 3 attributes: Strong body of work

(portfolio), a "go-getter" personality, and the ability to market themselves. These are

taught in decent specialized photography schools like the Center for Digital Imaging Arts

(CDIA) at Boston University.

Check them out: www.cdiabu.com