Certificate Photography 2 Yr Program

OVERVIEW

The New York Film Academy 2-Year Certificate Program in Photography is a dynamic two-year program, which provides candidates with a focused grounding in the fields of Commercial, Fine Art and Documentary Photography.

Across four semesters, students are immersed in all aspects of Photography study, representing a progression of knowledge that provides them with scholastically rigorous and creatively challenging courses.

The two-year conservatory program is an intensive, hands-on immersion program designed to train students in the art, craft, and business of contemporary image making. Encompassing state of the art digital technology, the moving image as a natural extension and 21st-century convergence of photographic and cinematic technologies and aesthetics, while being firmly grounded in the history and photochemical processes of the medium, students graduate with a comprehensive set of skills tailored towards making them fiercely competitive in today’s saturated marketplace.

The New York Film Academy 2-Year Certificate Program in Photography is a 2-year including summers, 4-semester conservatory-based, full-time study program.

Students will spend an additional twenty to twenty-five hours a week beyond the classroom on the preparation of their final portfolio and exhibition and the completion of homework assignments. Production or practicum hours are considered separate from lab and lecture hours. However, they remain necessary to successfully complete the program. The New York Film Academy recognizes that these hours will vary from student to student. In addition, students will collaborate with their classmates and instructors to ensure that projects are completed thoroughly and during the designated times.

Our prescribed four-semester Photography curriculum serves to address the following core competencies:

• Students will demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of available and artificial light and apply this to their images
• Students will demonstrate proficiency in the use of Lightroom as an organizational tool, Photoshop as a non-destructive editing tool and other image editing software
• Students will demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of and proficiency with lighting tools, digital and analog camera systems, digital output systems and the video controls on DSLRs
• Students will demonstrate an applied understanding of the visual language and aesthetic theories of photography and incorporate these in their creative work
• Students will demonstrate working knowledge of industry standard marketing and business practices
• Students will demonstrate knowledge of the history of photography, aesthetics and technology
• Students will demonstrate their ability to produce photographic work that is consistent with high professional standards

SEMESTER ONE OVERVIEW

The main goal of the first semester is to develop core photography skills using the Canon 6D or the Nikon D600 camera for assignments. As students shoot and edit, they are immersed in the theory and history of photography. Analyzing and critiquing images, students develop the skills to conceptualize, compose, expose and edit powerful images using light and perspective to underscore content.

Students are encouraged to think beyond convention and choose lighting that enhances the emotional and dramatic impact of an image. They explore a vast array of both artificial and natural sources of illumination and learn techniques to employ them in images.

Using Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom as the standard digital darkroom tools, students gain proficiency in image editing and RAW processing under the tutelage of industry experts.

Learning Goals:
Students will:

• Demonstrate working knowledge of the Canon 6D or the Nikon D600 and standard lenses for still imaging
• Apply working knowledge of the video capabilities of the Canon 6D or the Nikon D600 to the production of two film projects
• Evaluate the components of exposure by comparing and contrasting aperture ranges, shutter speeds, lenses, lighting tools and filtration options on a wide variety of subjects
• Thoroughly test the limits of over- and underexposure and RAW processing and their effects on the look of an image
• Apply digital darkroom skills using Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom
• Demonstrate working knowledge of audio devices by gathering audio for multimedia stories
• Demonstrate working knowledge of basic color management and be able to output accurate prints to modern inkjet printers
• Apply working knowledge of the characteristics of light and make creative use of basic lighting tools and camera positions
• Apply theories of aesthetics, semiotics, design, composition and color to their images
• Examine the history of photography and photo technology from its inception to 1960

SEMESTER TWO OVERVIEW

The second semester builds on students’ basic skills and challenges them to refine their technical, aesthetic and business practices. Students work intensively with studio lighting on a wide variety of assignments. Art direction and design elements are employed to create distinctive visual styles. Students expand their repertoire of techniques with light and shadow as they work with professional strobe lighting and grip hardware, as well as inexpensive and unconventional practical sources of light. The use of the moving image as a natural extension of still photography is explored.

In post-production, students move beyond basic color and tone correction into sophisticated compositing methods, dynamic range extension, and advanced retouching and masking techniques. Students thoroughly explore the creative potential of digital image-making technology.

As students examine a wide range of imaging disciplines, they also experience the essential business elements that professional photographers oversee routinely, including research, assignments, bidding, stock imagery, studio organization, contracts, exhibitions and licensing.

Learning Goals:
Students will:

• Thoroughly test a wide variety of lenses and alternative image-capture devices
• Demonstrate working knowledge of refined lighting skills and apply these under any conditions using a comprehensive array of tools
• Demonstrate working knowledge of commercial business practices, ethics and legal issues
• Demonstrate advanced digital imaging skills using Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom
• Examine the history of photography and photo technology from 1960 to the present
• Demonstrate refined aesthetic sensibilities in composition, color, design and lighting
• Apply working knowledge of printing by exploring the wide range of output options available
• Demonstrate critical and analytical thinking skills as they pertain to problem solving and textual comprehension and technique

SEMESTER THREE OVERVIEW

In semester three, students refine and apply their knowledge of the characteristics of artificial and mixed lighting over a broad range of more complex assignments. This semester, they are introduced to an intensive filmmaking course where they will have the opportunity to become directors, cinematographers, producers and editors of two major projects. Their digital imaging skills are further refined with advanced color correction techniques for digital prepress, website design and building programs and instruction in live digital capture. Students are immersed in using mechanical cameras and lenses and will learn the technology and processes involved in photochemical photography. They will gain hands-on experience shooting black and white film in a variety of genres and lighting conditions and develop the film, making silver prints on both RC and fiber papers. They will use their analytical skills to explore the ever increasing fluidity of media in photography and art, and their rich exchange. Finally, students will conceive a body of work in their main area of interest and begin to expand their ideas in preparation for the final semesters’ presentation.

Learning Goals:
Students will:

• Apply working knowledge of the characteristics of studio lighting (continuous and strobe) and mixed light sources and make creative use of light modifiers, camera positions and grip equipment
• Apply key skills needed to effectively control and manipulate artificial and mixed light sources in a variety of situations
• Demonstrate working knowledge of the components of exposure and color temperature
• Demonstrate the ability to pre-visualize an image and realize it through lighting and photographic techniques
• Apply knowledge of color management in Photoshop to images and output accurate prints to inkjet printers and photographic techniques
• Demonstrate knowledge of film scanners for medium and large format black and white film and prints
• Apply advanced theories of aesthetics, semiotics, design, composition and color to their images
• Examine and interact with working professionals in the photography industry to create networks and gain information
• Examine master photographers’ techniques, aesthetics and approaches and apply these to their images
• Demonstrate knowledge of technological, artistic, social and cultural currents from the history of photography
• Examine current trends in various facets of the industry as well as photographic printing methods
• Demonstrate knowledge and analyze the effect visual media has on the way contemporary society reads images
• Apply theories of lighting using medium and large format cameras and film
• Demonstrate working knowledge of the Zone System for exposure, film development and darkroom printing
• Evaluate the limits of over and under exposure using black and white film
• Demonstrate advanced working knowledge of DSLR for video
• Produce two non-sound film projects

SEMESTER FOUR OVERVIEW

During the fourth semester, students focus on their final projects. Consolidating their work from previous semesters, students will demonstrate advanced technical skills, creative vision and personal aesthetic in the production of their final portfolio and body of work for the group exhibition. Students work with medium and large format digital backs for familiar camera systems and reinforce their digital editing, compositing and design proficiencies. They produce two-sync sound film projects and execute large-scale conceptual projects that present formidable technical and creative challenges, and involved specialized techniques and equipment.

Refining their business skills, students learn to brand and market themselves over a broad range of areas within the photography industry. They become familiar with target markets and interact with working professionals, creating valuable networks and seeing first-hand the myriad professional paths available to them on completion of the program. Students will leave the program with a written business plan, printed business cards with personal logo, a social media and marketing strategy, promotional image mailers, and a tightly edited, complete live web site on a custom URL.

The Certificate program culminates in a final portfolio presentation and group exhibition in which invited peers and industry professionals attend. This event is an opportunity for students to exhibit their best work and to develop their professional network.

Learning Goals:
Students will:

• Apply expert digital imaging skills using Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, Moving Image II, Adobe After Effects Pro, Adobe Premier Pro, AbodeSpeedGrade
• Demonstrate the ability to pre-visualize an image and realize it through lighting and photographic techniques
• Write a business plan and construct a marketing strategy
• Conceive, develop and construct a live web site
• Apply working knowledge of the Zone System to analyze and evaluate images
• Produce a portfolio of digital prints using inkjet printers
• Produce two sync-sound film projects and apply their knowledge of core skills in cinematography, continuous light sources, directing, screenwriting, location sound recording, directing actors to their projects
• Examine master photographers’ techniques, aesthetics and approaches and apply these to their images
• Demonstrate knowledge of and discuss key histories and theories of photography
• Examine current trends in photography
• Demonstrate the critical thinking skills necessary to interpret images
• Produce a project proposal and body of work for the graduate exhibition
• Produce a comprehensive artist’s statement and bio for the catalog and final exhibition
• Demonstrate knowledge of and execute current exhibition practices
• Discuss and critique their own work and that of their peers
• Create and implement marketing plan for the exhibition