anne_park1 Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 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?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill_chenaille1 Posted August 28, 2006 Share Posted August 28, 2006 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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