As summer comes to a close and students around the world are heading back to the classroom, many are considering the next steps in their future. I think it’s an incredible time to be a professional photographer as brands need more visual content than ever to compete for attention in the digital world. Being a professional photographer is fulfilling, flexible, and can be tweaked to your interests. I think the next generation of creative professionals have a significant advantage, as they’ve been tapping into visual expression for years through popular social media apps.
While I encourage anyone who enjoys photography to explore the career path, I would not recommend going to school for Photography.
The Expense
The first reason is the cost of education. It’s no secret that college has become more expensive throughout the years. The average cost of tuition and fees for an art program is $42,000 a year, according to Campus Explorer. I’m not here to tell you that tuition costs aren’t worth it — that’s a very nuanced discussion. But I can tell you from experience in the photography industry that the return on such an investment is very low.
A majority of the photography industry is built on sole-proprietors, or individuals that build a photography business around a specific niche whether it be wedding photography, portrait photography, corporate events, sports, etc. There are also photography studios and event companies that employ photographers, either on salary or as independent contractors. None of these positions require degrees. Therefore, having one does not significantly improve your odds of being hired, or earning more.
The bill accumulated for a degree in Photography has the potential to cripple your finances, pushing you further away from the investments necessary to build a photography business.
Disconnection from Real World
The most frequent thing that I hear from people who attend college for photography is that the curriculum had little application in their eventual career. There are a ton of reasons for this. It’s impossible to teach photography in a way that prepares someone for all the possible career paths. Equipment, software, and social media are fast-moving technologies that are difficult to keep up with, especially when trying to build a formal education. Educators may lack the boots-on-ground experience to properly guide students on a constantly changing career.
Availability of Niche Education
I wish I had the current photography community when I first picked up a camera. With the rise of social media over the last decade, education has been commoditized to the point that you can learn how to fly a helicopter for free. There are educational resources on YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook. There are dedicated courses on Skillshare, Udemy, and Lynda. Hundreds of blogs, like the one you are reading, offer free and premium resources. I share lighting diagrams on my Instagram.
The big advantage this has over higher education is that you can find something that directly applies to your specialty. For instance, there is the Wedding Photography Training System from SLRLounge. You don’t have to learn landscape photography. You don’t have to learn studio lighting. You can focus on the exact skills necessary to build a successful wedding photography business. By leveraging niche education, you can learn and find success faster and cheaper than broad education systems.
To put it simply, everything you could possibly want to know about being a working photographer is online somewhere, without a $42,000 price tag.
Benefits of Other Degrees
You’re probably thinking that I feel college is a waste altogether. That’s not true at all. I think there are massive reasons to attend college even if you plan on taking a shot at a photography career.
If you intend on building your own photography business, there are many aspects beyond capturing and editing images. Marketing, accounting, sales, and communication are all necessary skills that tend to have a bigger impact on your success than the quality of your photos. Getting a degree in these fields will undoubtedly give you an edge on the business side.
Building a photography business also takes time. It varies in difficulty based on location and economy. I mean, imagine starting an event photography business in 2020. Having a degree in a high-demand field can allow you to build a photography business while having a stable income from another position.
Conclusion
For the reasons above, I think pursuing a degree in photography is irrelevant to most photography careers. I do think there are significant perks lost by avoiding art school — like a network of creatives and receiving informed critique. You can find this outside of higher education, it just takes more individual effort.
Instead of pursuing a photography degree, I recommend you explore free educational resources, continue to practice, and try to assist a working professional. All of these will give you tremendous insight if photography is the career path for you.
Opinion essay by Robert Hall