San Francisco Art Institute?

[keithmca]

Can anyone give any input into this school's Photo program, it

seemed like its facilities were kinda weak, but i really have fallen

in love with SF since moving to California and an art institute is

very appealing to me compared to the bu$ine$$ oriented Brooks. Dont

get me wrong, i have a wife getting her teaching degree and a very

young son so what im also asking is how hard is it going to be

getting a job within the carreer feild. Please help me. all i want

to do is take photos, and i dont want to reenlist (im a photographer

in the AirForce) and my GI BIll will completely cover a program

$imilar to SFAI. thanks-keith

[timberwolf1]

If I were you with your responsibilities, I would only be headed towards making some $$$. Pro photography is a challenge. Art school is like a country club. The City College of San Francisco is only about $25 a unit. It is a business oriented situation, but I am sure it is filled with art students. It isn't a pretty school, actually one of the dullest looking set of buildings around. But you can get close to methods that are money making.

 

Art school isn't going to teach you about fill flash. They will teach you about using the Zone System to solve contrast problems instead of using additional lights and reflectors. Look at the results on photo.net of art students; ask yourself if these images can earn $$.

 

Keith, many people go to art school because they have personal reasons to convey. They convey their problems and frustrations through art. Francis Ford Coppola said something like this, "An artist is motivated by an emotional problem similar to a grain of sand that makes its way into an oyster. The grain of sand is the starting point of a beautiful pearl." Those are not his exact words, the quotes are served here to set off "his words".

 

Some people, for example, have been through war. When they return, they want to take pictures of nature, trees and beautiful scenes. They don't care about making money, because they are trying to heal their memories and give themselves some projects to venture into the future. In otherwords, art can be a form of positive therapy.

 

I think you have real responsibilities; and you should be directing yourself into the beautiful areas of professional photography. Art school is sort of a short term good time, a dream fulfilled. Brooks is a career pro school. CCSF is alittle of both. Don't expect to find many 4 year colleges that handle photography from a business prospective. Art school photography usually has no objectives in its catalogues. The objectives are usually more vague and left to the direction of the student with alittle prodding by the teacher. For example, my teacher told me to take a picture of "shadows". Everything else was left up to me. This is art school.

 

The reality is that you are better off to probably spend one year in school and then to go out and assist someone in a large metropolitan area like NY or LA. Then, after 2 years or so, you take the plunge and deliver your style photography to art directors.

 

Even with wedding photography, art school is not the place to be. You want to learn from an experienced person. Photography is mostly about experience, not hundreds of concepts as you would find in Economics or Statistics.

 

I would suggest to you that you get a back-up skill so that you can fail, and pick yourself up in as short a time as possible. I suggest a blue collar skill such as truck driving class A big rig or maybe working a back hoe on a construction site. With these positions, you can quit and go be a photographer anytime. And nearly anytime, you can find new work if you are willing to drive maybe an hour to work.

 

Do not believe that merely getting a diploma in photography will make any difference. It will only give you confidence. Clients do not care what your diploma is. They care about your personality and services.

 

I think alot of people fail in photography to make a living. If you would arrange a dual or triple career backup, you will be more likely to succeed by being strong and employable in back-up skills.

 

A professional photographer was in town yesterday at a session I attended. His formula for success was:

 

1. The people you meet;

 

2. The places you go;

 

3. The books you read.

 

His name was Smith in NY. He simply moved from South Carolina to NY and assisted for 4 years and then struck out on his own. He is definitely successful and probably making 6 figures.

 

I live in SF. I attended school here, too. The Art Institute is well regarded and famous people have taught there. But you must think about photography as a business if your are not independently wealthy. I thought I would save you decades of possible pain. It will all be difficult enough have a business school type of education in photography.

[timberwolf1]

Look at www.ccsf.edu

[keithmca]

Timber,

 

thanks for taking the time to help and answer that question. i understand the significance of my responsibilities, however when i started taking photos, i had an artistic mentality and it was beautiful. since joining the military and being a photographer here, my creativilty is completely stifled. take a look at my gallery, theres something missing. all my wonderful bi-polar tendancies...gone. i want all that back. i can use a camera as good as anyone, have kodak data-guides memorized, i can take apart and reassemble any processor on the market, i can calibrate log I, bias, and ND for printers...who cares. theres no passion, its been stolen from me and i want it back! i plan to take the 40,000$ reparation that is the g.i. bill to help me find it. sounds likes ive made up my mind?... but yeah my son just crapped his pants and im running low on diapers....i will look at the school you mentioned though, thanks-keith

[majid]

I don't have any first-hand experience of SFAI, but I know two people who followed the program there, and it seems to be quite a reputable institution (unlike that ubiquitous diploma mill, Academy of Art College). You might want to drop by the Focus Gallery (Polk @ Union) and talk with the owner, John Perino, who is an alumnus of SFAI.

[jason neymeyer]

Hi Keith,

 

I don't know anything about the SF Art Institute, in particular. But I'm an Army Vet, who decided to use my GI bill money to attend the Art Institute of Seattle's photo program. I'll give you my experience, which is all a person can really give.

 

The Art Institutes are a "for profit venture", which only means that anyone with the money can get into the program. No entry portfolio required. What this meant to me was that there are several "kids" right out of high school that attend because Mommy and Daddy said they have to go to college (and they thought art school would be easier than a 4 year university). Therefore about 1/3rd of the students that start the program have no real passion or talent for photography, and they probably won't stay until graduation.

 

The Art Institutes are far from being a "Fine Art" school, it is definitely focused on "Commercial Photography". Is there a Zone System class, yes, but it is an elective. I feel that the school has taught me all the technical skills needed to be a successful professional photographer. The one area that is significantly lacking in the program is the business side of photography. There are a few classes, but not nearly enough. You should plan on taking some business classes at a local community college to supplement this. The good thing about the business classes at the Art Institue is that they are focused specifically on the business of photography, which is something that you could never get a community college.

 

The instructors can recognize who is really serious about photography and their education. And if you're one of those people, they will give you special attention, and have higher expecations of you that of the kids wasting Mommy and Daddy's money. They will push you to succeed, and you will find other student who are as serious as yourself to work with.

 

It is a very expensive program. The GI bill alone will cover about 1/2 the tuition (about $950/month for the length of the program). But you should assume an average of $250/month in supplies (film, processing, paper, etc.,) in the early quarters it will be less than that, but the later quarters will be greater than $250/month.

 

I didn't want to re-enlist either, and I also had a good job in the service. I always say the two smartest things I've ever done was to join the military soon after high school, and then to get out after my first enlistment (6 years).

 

How hard is it to get employment in photography? HARD. Will you get rich? Most likely not. Will you love what you do? Only you can answer that.

[Spearhead]

The San Francisco Art Institute is an excellent fine arts school. It has a good photography program - I know people who have been through it. The teaching and the facilities are excellent.

 

The mechanics of photography can be learned in many different ways, including teaching yourself. What can really work for you in school is developing ways of looking at art and how to develop yourself. It also provides an excellent opportunity to work with peers.

 

Things like fill flash and the zone system aren't what makes a school program work for its students.

 

Email me and I'll put you in touch with a recent grad, if you want.

[matt_c3]

Someone mentioned something earlier about the Art Institutes. Despite the name, I believe SFAI is not affiliated with them. The one affiliated with the Art Institutes is called "Art Insitute of California-San Francisco."

 

Sorry, I don't know a whole lot about SFAI (and take my comments with caution, i'm still in high school anyways), but in terms of Bay Area art schools, i get the impression that SFAI (and CCA in Oakland/SF) have the most "art-world credibility" (if that means anything). SFAI also has some pretty prominent alumni, and while a good reputation and known alumni don't guarantee anything, it's still slightly reassuring.

[_________1]

Keith, seems as if you already have all the technical skills that you need and then some.

 

The San Francisco Art Institute (at Chestnut just up the hill from Fisherman's Wharf) is an art school in the purest sense of the word. It teaches you how to think about art with photography as your medium. It is not about fill flash and not about the Zone System. It is about using photograhy as a medium to depict the world as you see it visually.

 

It is strong on thinking conceptually. It is a very fine art school similar to CalArts in Southern California with a strong faculty. I recommend it highly.

 

What this means is that you'll be looked at quzzically by those who are used to the conventions of photography. If Phillip Lorca Di Corcia, Andreas Gursky, Thomas Struth, Thomas Ruff, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, et al. are more your thing, check out its programme.

 

If you're trying to be reunited with your creative haptic half, SFAI is for you. As I said, you already have all the technical skills you need; what you need now is the thinking to know when to apply them.

 

N.B. Whether it helps you to survive as a photographer in the real world upon graduation is strictly up to you. Certainly, an unusual portfolio and original conceptual thinking will make you a standout. Inez and Vinoodh are fashion photographers whose work is greatly admired in the art world.