A mandatory orientation is Monday, September 23, from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Classes start the next morning, Tuesday, September 24, at 9:00 a.m. Graduation is on Thursday, October 31.

We accept registrations on a first come, first served basis until the program is full. We recommend that students enroll as early as possible because our enrollment is limited. We will accept enrollment up to the start of session if space is available.

Advanced Intensive is the third session in the RMSP Career Training program. A student who has mastered the fundamentals of photography and focused on a career path, is ready to take this next step. AI is for the student who wants to build a portfolio, define a marketing plan and learn to work professionally with video and emerging technologies. Our commitment to students is that we provide them with an up-to-date look at how digital technologies are used today and teach them the skills they need to enter the marketplace and operate effectively within it. In addition, this session gives Summer Intensive graduates and photographers with a strong foundation in technical and aesthetic skills, the time and support for image-making and portfolio development. AI is the last stop on your path to becoming a professional photographer, business owner and creative thinker capable of backing up ideas with skill and training.

No, you do not need to have graduated from either Summer Intensive or a Professional Studies course to attend. Please see the information on entrance requirements below.

AI requires that a student have a solid understanding of the building blocks of photography, including digital capture, image processing, management and output, and artificial lighting. We require that students have a working knowledge of the most current versions of Adobe^® Lightroom^® and Adobe^® Photoshop^® software. For more information about specific requirements, please contact our office. Past and 2013 SI graduates are accepted into Advanced Intensive upon submission of a registration form. RMSP reserves the right in specific instances to evaluate a student’s proficiency in the foundation skills taught in Summer Intensive before advancing a student to continue on to the Professional Studies and Advanced Intensive sessions. If a Summer Intensive student is not approved for advancement into Professional Studies or Advanced Intensive, tuition paid in those sessions will be refunded. For all other Advanced Intensive registrants a portfolio must be submitted as well as a description of photographic experience (including any experience working with studio lighting), goals and previous photographic education. Finally, you must be a high school graduate (or have GED equivalency).

A typical day in AI involves classroom lectures and demos along with some lab/shooting time for individual work. Generally, classes and lectures meet Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. – noon and 1:30 – 4:30 p.m. Evening lab sessions are common, but lab sessions are sometimes assigned during the day as well. Full course schedules are available at orientation, Monday, September 23, 2013.

Finding housing is the responsibility of each student. However, RMSP collects and provides housing information for the greater Missoula area, including lists of apartment complexes, property management companies as well as private property room/home rentals.

Even though the schedule is packed full of lectures and lab time, an important feature of this session is time for portfolio development, including both image capture and image editing. Students will primarily photograph on their own time, outside of class, although studio sessions with instructors are a part of the schedule. RMSP has a limited supply of lighting equipment which we loan to students for outside shoots.

As with all our Career Training sessions, AI students who work the hardest typically get the most out of it. Because AI includes the component of shooting portfolio-quality images, some of the intensity of the course is self-generated. Time is built into the schedule outside of class for the student to work on their own shooting and image editing, whether inside our lighting studios, in our digital labs, in our multimedia lab or in the great outdoors. That time is your own. What you do with it depends on how motivated you are to succeed.

Part of our mission statement is that we support the photographic goals a student sets for him/herself. We’re actually known for it. Students will have access to assistants who will provide the support and feedback students need to continue to improve their photography.

Yes, you will need a digital SLR camera that takes interchangeable lenses. Most students will elect to use a digital SLR, but the new mirrorless, interchangeable lens camera that have a hot shoe are also acceptable.

Yes. As with any RMSP class, when you shoot digitally you need to have a computer. We require students to bring laptops and use them when working in our digital labs and out in the field. Please see the Equipment and Supplies List for laptop minimum specifications requirements. You will find that as you work more and more in a digital environment, your laptop computer becomes an essential part of your camera gear. In addition, working on your own computer enables you to set up and use your professional workspace and workflow in class with assistance from our staff. In general we recommend bringing all digital photography/imaging equipment you already own—you never know what you’ll want to use.

Yes, you will need to have the latest versions of the software we are using in our curriculum installed on your computer. Details will be provided as the start date of the session approaches.

Each group will be scheduled for “directed” lab times that provide time for students to process and print their work.

Graduates of the program will receive a Certificate of Completion. RMSP does not offer college credit or degrees. Since working in the field of professional photography does not require a degree, many of our graduates are qualified to work on their own, or be hired to work with other professional photographers in studios, digital labs, publishing companies and various other related fields. At this time, there are no job placement resources available at the school. However, through networking and individual effort, hundreds of our graduates have found work as professional photographers. RMSP will assist students as much as possible in their endeavors to succeed.