As a photography major, sometimes I find that people think our classes in the photography department are easy or that our schedules allow for more free time than other majors. Some students know how hard it is to be an architecture major or a nursing major, but do people know what it’s like to be a photography major? I decided to ask a couple of friends some questions about what they do with their time and studies to compare it to what us photography majors do.

When you think of photography classes, what do you envision?

“Classes outside, hands on or in the studio, working side by side with an instructor.” -Ty Mah, Photography Major

“People taking pictures of stuff.” -Randy England, Business Major

Classes as a photography major include a lot of hands on work. Normally, our classes last three hours long, that way we have time to work on things. We actually do a little bit more than just take photos of stuff; a lot of our class involves analyzing our photography in depth. A lot of work with film is done, as well. We have to develop the film ourselves, take photos with cameras off automatic, and talk about how we can make it better. The good thing is that we do not have to write papers very often like other majors. But we do have critiques almost every single week that either can make you improve or make you want to crawl in a hole afterwards. In some of the worst circumstances, your teacher may even make you start all over again.

If you hear someone complain about the cost of school supplies, how does that make you feel?

“I buy supplies constantly.”-Ty Mah, Photography Major

“Agree with school costing an outrageous amount of money.” -Tom McGlennon, Digital Media Major

I think the most important thing in this article is that the audience knows how much photography majors actually spend on their supplies. Besides the mandatory DSLR camera which is about $1,000-2,000 dollars including the lenses, we also have rolls of film costing $8 a roll, $50-80 darkroom paper of two different kinds, $100+ inkjet printer paper, and so much more. In the past two weeks, I have purchased $130 worth of photography supplies. Per month, I probably spend $300 just on photography supplies alone--most mandatory with the occasional optional purchase that will increase the quality of my photos. The amount of money spent on photography is outrageous! At the end of this month, I can see myself soon having to buy an $80 external flash. My lighting kit I have is worth $130 and that’s for minimalist, non-durable stuff. I also have a background holder and many backgrounds that adds up to about $200. I have spent so much of my own and my parents money just on my major alone: probably close to $1000 or more per year.

How much time do you spend on your work?

“A day. Like an hour or two on a weekday but about 6 hours a weekend day.”-Kelly Layton, Nutrition Major

“I spend countless hours a week capturing photos, editing photos, printing and presenting.” -Hannah Prisaznik, Photography Major

Since most of our classes require that we go out and take photographs, we could spend two hours just on one class assignment on one day. That does not include the editing. Editing and uploading probably includes another hour. In some of my film developing classes, I need to go out and take photos with a film camera then bring the film in to develop which takes two hours. It takes about one single hour to produce a regular image in the darkroom, when our critiques normally call for three or four photographs. I could spend up to 10 hours or more a week just on my photography alone. And when I’m hanging around at night, I spend time working on my website, uploading images to promote myself online. We have to be uncomfortably close to our work.

In the end, though, we photography majors love what we do! We just can't wait to get out and make a name for ourselves. We could just sit back and not care about our work, but that would bring us down in our careers. Since we are in a major that is not easy to get a job in, it's important that we are motivated. All of us photography majors have to try our very hardest and push to be the best, because if we don't we could lose the option of having a good career path. Because of this, there is one thing I know for sure: we are one of the most motivated majors.

Until next week,

Meaghan