“Since arriving here, RMSP has encouraged me to expand my personal boundaries and open myself up to my inherent creative style, all while teaching me a thing or two about photography. Being surrounded by individuals—all arriving at RMSP with unique backgrounds, perspectives and ideas, and all with the similar desire to become a skilled photographer—completely enhances the unique learning environment of Rocky Mountain School of Photography.” – Claire R., Montana

Advanced Intensive Program Information

Image Capture, Edit and Management II builds on the digital workflow and image editing skills taught in Summer Intensive, while shifting your focus from dealing with large quantities of images to working with a single image at a time. Working primarily in the latest version of Adobe Photoshop you learn color management, different methods for converting images from color to black and white, and how to make image enhancements using advanced selection and mask techniques. You take advantage of Photoshop’s powerful automation capabilities by learning to perform edits quickly through the use of actions and scripts. You learn to apply darkroom affects digitally in order to make your images simulate an old Polaroid, cyanotype or a print from cross-processed film. Becoming more familiar with Photoshop allows you to finesse your overall workflow and broaden your knowledge of working with images post-capture.

Business and Marketing II gives you the opportunity to develop the “behind-the-scenes” business aspects of being a professional photographer before completing the Career Training program and heading out on your own. In this series of classes, you work to develop your identity and explore ways in which you can begin to market your brand. Through class discussions and independent research time you build an outline of your business and marketing plan. You learn accounting and bookkeeping considerations for photographers, and the importance of negotiating contracts and photo agreements with third parties. During discussions about local versus global marketing strategies, you learn how to maximize the benefit of your self-promotional tools, both in print and on the Web. As the Internet continues to remove barriers and allows people to come together, social networking is becoming a tool used by professionals in every industry across the board. With that in mind, you learn how to use a blog as an effective marketing strategy to promote yourself and your photo business all over the world. Having a tightly edited, professional portfolio is necessary for any working professional. To assist with your portfolio building efforts, studio lighting equipment is available for you to use during AI.

If you have ever wondered how digital artists and creative professional photographers achieve the results they do, the answer oftentimes can be found in one word: Photoshop. Our Image Illustration series of classes takes you deep into the world of Adobe® Photoshop® and teaches you to use the software to make specialized enhancements to your images. You learn how to effectively use filters and blending modes to make alterations to your images and discover methods for compositing multiple images together seamlessly. These skills also help you in retouching portraits and restoring old or damaged photographs. Having a solid grasp of these Photoshop techniques expands the possibilities for your still images and lets you create any image you can dream up.

An increasingly large part of being a professional photographer means that you must understand how to work with images in a variety of contexts. The Emerging Technologies series of courses introduces you to thinking about photography in a way that goes beyond the still image. Working in the latest version of Photoshop, you begin to work with images in 3D. As video is becoming a more dominant influence in photography, where still images have been the norm, you learn the ins and outs of shooting video. Sessions of this course cover video composition, editing and creating multimedia slideshows.

By the end of AI, intense photographic study has transformed you into a different photographer; one who isn’t hesitant to shoot in manual mode, who can work confidently with both studio and natural light, who can work efficiently in the digital environment and who has the business knowledge many photographers lack. At this point, you can look back and celebrate the progress you have made, and you can look forward with confidence to the path that lies before you.

It was within your reach the whole time. This is it. This is your career.

“The staff is awesome. They are passionate about photography and teaching. Their goal is to help each person succeed, and they are willing to do what it takes to help you reach that goal.”  -James T., Oklahoma