comprehensive education in equipment including digital cameras, lenses, tripods and camera bags. These classes also teach you about specific techniques and equipment used in photojournalism, portraiture, macro, landscape and other genres of photography.
Image Capture, Edit and Management is your introduction to working in the digital environment. This series of classes takes you through the basics of digital capture and progresses on to more in-depth instruction in image management and editing. Using the most current versions of Adobe® Lightroom® and Adobe Photoshop®, you learn to easily work with a large quantity of images and to begin making local adjustments to the brightness, contrast, color and clarity of your images one at a time. Being able to find any image in your library on a moment’s notice is important to the efficiency of your workflow. You learn to use Lightroom to categorize, rate and keyword your images, allowing you to stay organized as your library grows. Working with these two industry-standard applications lays the groundwork for operating with comfort and confidence in the digital environment—skills that are necessary as you move toward starting your own career in photography.
To be a well-rounded photographer, you should know where photography came from, be familiar with a variety of photographic methods and have a grasp of what goes into making an image work. Visual Studies courses expose you to many different aspects of photography including composition and idea development, history of the medium and techniques to help you effectively critique a print. Interactive critique sessions with your instructor and fellow students allow you to identify the elements that make certain images stand out in the crowd. Training your eye during these sessions helps you become a more purposeful photographer when it comes time to compose an image. Visual Studies classes introduce you to traditional and alternative framing techniques and how the finished look of your prints can dramatically influence the viewer’s reaction. By looking at a large number of images, you begin to develop a sense of what goes into creating a body of work.
Our Color Management and Output series is geared toward color management and inkjet printing using Lightroom® and Photoshop.® Color management is a broad topic. Our instructors break it down into small, digestible pieces so that you understand the relationship between computer, monitor, printer and paper when producing a print. You become familiar with printers and are able to troubleshoot printer issues when they arise. You learn how to correctly prepare a file for a variety of output methods including a personal inkjet printer and an online print fulfillment service. During these sessions you also begin to train your eye, and focus on applying the critiquing skills learned in Visual Studies as you learn to critique for technical and aesthetic elements.
Light is the heart and soul of photography and is the most important factor to consider when creating images. Our Light series teaches you the fundamentals of available and artificial lighting. We begin by introducing you to the characteristics of available light and show you how to work with it before moving on to advanced techniques. Gaining confidence using artificial light sources is a valuable step in mastering light and producing high-quality images. In these classes, you learn to work with studio equipment including power packs, strobes, softboxes and other light-modifying tools. You also learn to use your flash—on and off camera—to help create images that pop.
Becoming a professional photographer and learning Business and Marketing are inseparable. Whether you want to create images for the commercial, editorial or consumer markets, you must be familiar with what goes on before and after a shoot. The curriculum in SI gives an overview of business and marketing considerations for photographers. You learn about model and property releases, copyright, how to protect yourself and your images in the digital environment, and you gain an understanding of the importance of marketing your business. Time with other photographers who are working in the field gives you a valuable look at the day-to-day realities of life as a professional photographer and allows you to learn how each operates his or her business, their approaches to marketing and daily lives at work. Each professional also shares personal experiences, answers questions and gives you insight into the realities of working as a professional photographer.
Progressing through the 11 weeks of Summer Intensive gives you the photography education you desire and prepares you for whatever path you decide to take. The schedule of SI is demanding and all-consuming. It tests your motivation and forces you to constantly evaluate your priorities. Because of this it is also rewarding beyond words. At the end of the course your notebooks and hard drives are full. You evaluate scenes in terms of light and shadow before anything else. You might even recite f-stops and shutter speeds in your sleep. More importantly, you learn a lot about yourself and come to appreciate the similarities and differences of the people surrounding you. Every individual sitting next to you at graduation set their sights on a specific goal and made sacrifices to achieve it. The collective sense of accomplishment is inspiring and sticks with you.
Through this entire process, you realize that learning photography really is within your reach; that this can be your future.
“RMSP met several criteria in my research: length of time commitment, scope of education, location, size of class, cost. But what attracted me most was the intensive approach to instruction—proper exposure, digital workflow, lighting, art—that focused on effectively telling a story with pictures.” –Mel M., Nebraska