Photography Qualifications

superflyninja

Hi all,what would be the best/most respected/useful qualification to look at doing?

cheers

melekalikimaka

none... basically

at the end of the day its you're quality of work at the end of the day, a piece of paper doesn't make you any better or worse.

this is coming from someone who studied photography. All the courses are tailored differently, you would need to look at the courses and pick what suits you the most. I know people who have done degrees/diplomas/nothing and tbh it doesnt reflect on their work at all. I will say studying it gives you an advantage, but not in getting work at the end, perhaps in a round about way, I know many from my course got some great photography full time work off the back of their degree, but I also know people who got work through their own work off their own back.

Rambling slightly but its an interesting topic.

I dont regret studying photography, I found it beneficial.

The_Gatsby

I have a friend who makes plenty of money from photography and he studied accountancy. Like the poster above said, it's the quality of your work that stands out

magicbastarder

melekalikimaka, it's hard to disentangle the study you did from the photographer you are now.
saying it's only down to the quality of work you produce at the end of the day may be true in the sense that the buyer may not care about your qualifications, but ignores what those qualifications did to how you take photos. it probably gave you a greater sense of capability.

melekalikimaka

magicbastarder wrote: »

melekalikimaka, it's hard to disentangle the study you did from the photographer you are now.
saying it's only down to the quality of work you produce at the end of the day may be true in the sense that the buyer may not care about your qualifications, but ignores what those qualifications did to how you take photos. it probably gave you a greater sense of capability.

i agree, it thought me a huge amount. But in saying that, there are far superior togs even here, with no qualifications, and far worse with qualifications, the course isnt a one way ticket to making money in photography, far from it. But it does give you an advantage in that it teaches you skills and more so a thinking and mindset to spur creativity. I personally think it does help you alot more than teaching yourself, but there is many whom would disagree a degree in it is worth the time.

Corkbah

superflyninja wrote: »

Hi all,what would be the best/most respected/useful qualification to look at doing?

cheers

in terms of Ireland ... a FETAC course is the most recognised/respected, but depending on the area of photography you wish to pursue then success can be determined by your ability to conduct business/network, upsell, personal/public image and opinions, your dress sense/style and your ability to brown nose !!

oh and the quality of your work and a consistency are also factors which can help your survive in the photography world, personally, I believe that the manufacturers and to a lesser extent part-time photographers have devalued the photography industry.

The manufacturers have created digital cameras which can cope with a multitude of different scenarios and made the products available to the consumer, digital media allows us to re-shoot until we get it right in camera ...or post process until we achieve the image we want.

I did mention that part-time photographers have (to a lesser extent) devalued the photography industry and its not their fault, in times of old you would do an apprenticeship under a master and learn the ways of controlling and using the light, you would slowly appreciate the work involved in getting an image and hold an appreciation of the required costs when selling an image, however, in the modern era, the part-time photographer sells his/her time/work at a rate which makes them a profit (*but they are meerly adding to their income and absorbing the "usual" costs)...I don't blame them really ..its mainly the availability of information and equipment....training etc its all available if people look online for resources.

and or course,....... the consumer does not want to pay "full rate" for anything and less so for an image when digital media is so cheap......Also the consumer is not willing to pay now for an image that they could "in theory" do ...lets face it anyone with a DSLR can "in theory" do any image ...they just need the equipment (money) and knowledge of how to do it (usually available online).

So... in answer to your question ... doing a course will give you a better understanding or structured learning in a broad area of photography but practical experience will give you a different understanding of the photography world, no amount of qualification will give you work, but business connections and your ability to sell yourself and your work.... helps to survive in a dying art.

superflyninja

fair enough, interesting all right.I suppose i might just be better to work on myself. I wouldnt be against part time togs at all. Like I would have an end goal of making some money and giving up the day job. I guess i need volunteer monkeys to pose for me and just plough in.

Good points about how to present yourself etc.....hmmmm I may need to shave more often!