awax

Hi guys (and gals :0)!

I'd like to second Mark - it's a terrific experience (which sometimes feels like a rollercoaster)! I've graduated

this year (2008) and one things I can't stress enough - all Hallmarkers are one huge family. I'm sure you known

that already :-)

In my case, my enrollment process was waaaay far from smooth sailing, plagued with all sorts of "things" and my

head was splitting with tons of questions. I used to call and email some random alumni and ask all sorts of

things and not a single person turned me down! That was a truly unique experience and now that I'm alumni myself

(when did that happen...), now I can say that each of us has tons of advise and eager to share it. So use it for

what it worth! Don't hesitate to ask, the only stupid question is the one that you held back :-)

Lots of luck to each of you!

Alex Stepanov ::

alex@astepanov.com

I tried that program and a few others and (in my very personal opinion) - what you pay is what you get. $700+

that I invested in the complete course (that was a few years ago) got me a bit more than a bottle of snake oil

and a box of silver bullets. Glad I did it though, because it convinced me to go for *real* education and I ended

up enrolling in a full-time photo school. My major problem with NYIP program was the fact that students have a

very limited contact with the instructor (basically, it's a one-way road where you are given some 75 sec. or so

of feedback per shot) and in case of a major blunder (which tend to happen all the time when you are learning

something new) there will be nobody around to give you a hint or critique your work. The only difference between

reading a good instruction book and this school is that it costs a few times more than a book and gives you a

feeling that some wisdom has been dispensed. IMHO - given a second chance, I would never do that again and would

always opt for a live instruction course instead - at least you get valuable feedback, which worth gold.

I've been researching the same topic for the last month or so and that's what I came up with so far. Basically, there are two sides to photography: the craft itself and the way of leaving. Almost any school can teach you the craft (i.e. how to tame the camera, handling tricky exposures etc.) Technical (or certificate) school could be a good start if you are not quite sure whether you are going to make photography your way of earning the leaving or just keep it as a hobby (maybe selling some photos on the side occasionally). If you are still hesitating whether you *really* want to pursue the career of photo pro, then IMHO you'd be better off with a certificate course that will give you a feeling of what this mess is all about, all for a fraction of hefty Hallmark costs. At least, that's what I'm going to do :-)

Beware: WSP is changing the program drastically this fall, so you may want to inquire right away, as some classes will be gone in a few months...