ACAD vs. SAIT (Photography Certificate)

[IllusionV]

I was debating to post this topic here or Campus Chat... this forum seems more appropriate.

So I'm looking at getting a photography certificate this summer and I'm looking at either ACAD or SAIT. SAIT offers night/weekend classes which fits in well with my summer job and I'm not sure what ACAD offers.

My question is - which institution is more prestigious? Say you were hiring a photographer, would you care where their accreditation is from?

And one more thing, do most professional photographers have formal education of any sort? I'm looking at starting to earn money off my photography and I figured this would be a good first step. Thoughts?

[davidI]

I am by no means a professional photographer, although I have thought about selling prints myself. In my mind, if I were to hire someone to take photos, their portfolio would be more important to me than their "formal education" - but I'm sure having both wouldn't hurt by any means.

[Melinda]

Originally posted by IllusionV
And one more thing, do most professional photographers have formal education of any sort? I'm looking at starting to earn money off my photography and I figured this would be a good first step. Thoughts?
If you're thinking about going pro, you shouldnt need to worry too much about a photography certificate, you should already be good enough to jump into it. The certificate is a lot of basics, but nothing TOO in depth. How long have you been shooting for? Do you have a fantastic portfolio to show people? Lots of experience with people both infront of and behind the camera? Know your camera inside and out? People care more about that than any classroom lesson you could throw at them.

As far as 'prestige', I suppose ACAD would have more, but both are good. Most people don't really care if you have any formal education though. Some of the best photographers out there are 100% self taught.

[EvolizePhoto]

Their courses at acad and sait are a joke. I checked into them just for shits and giggles.

SAIT required that I purchase a minimum $1500 on my camera.

ACAD required that I have at LEAST 10mp's in my camera.

If those are requirements to a photography course, I could only imagine what they are teaching those students.

[IllusionV]

Originally posted by Melinda

If you're thinking about going pro, you shouldnt need to worry too much about a photography certificate, you should already be good enough to jump into it. The certificate is a lot of basics, but nothing TOO in depth. How long have you been shooting for? Do you have a fantastic portfolio to show people? Lots of experience with people both infront of and behind the camera? Know your camera inside and out? People care more about that than any classroom lesson you could throw at them.

No haha I am by no means pro. By making money I mean submitting some of my better shots to stock photography sites, and maybe shooting the odd photoshoot. I just thought the best way to start my portfolio would be to get a backing from an accredited institution.

[Melinda]

Originally posted by IllusionV


No haha I am by no means pro. By making money I mean submitting some of my better shots to stock photography sites, and maybe shooting the odd photoshoot. I just thought the best way to start my portfolio would be to get a backing from an accredited institution.
Here's my advice on going pro:

http://forums.beyond.ca/st/223414/aspiring-professional-with-questions-read-on/

As for schools, the courses will run different prices too, so take that into consideration. SAIT is a tech school while ACAD is an art school. They'll be different in teaching methods as well. Do your research and see what fits you best.

[IllusionV]

Yea I read that awhile back (I just don't post often).

I'm no where near the level you talk about in that post, although I need to start somewhere. I don't think I was asking how to go pro as much as I was asking how to start myself up.

I don't want to make a living off photography, it's just getting a few dollars for my work is kind of a nice pat on the back, like someone out there likes my photos.

[Melinda]

Well you could go one of two routes, school or no school. But even doing school won't help you start up, nor will it make clients flock to you, especially for stock photography. The key is thinking your're good enough and having the confidence to take the leap then finding someone who agrees enough to buy your work/talent. If you think school is going to give you the confidence boost you think you need, then research the two courses based on what YOU need (not based on prestige) and go for it.

[Mitsu3000gt]

I'm not a pro either, but its always been my opinion that classes are a waste of money unless you need that specific environment to learn. All the technical information is available in countless places online, and the creativity aspect is up to you. Take what you read/learn from online or from other people and go experiment. Post up your photos and let people critique them. Learn from the constructive criticism. That is the best way to learn IMO, and also I would bet the most common.

If you are taking these courses for credits towards something else, then by all means, but you can take 100 courses and if your photos are crap, nobody will hire you. If you have never taken a course and your photos are great, people will hire you. I don't think anyone cares about photography education credentials, the proof is in the pudding.

[Lagerstatten.ca]

Not all photography courses are designed to create a PRO out of you. Some are just for fun.

I've taken two classes at ACAD:

1. Black & White Wet Lab: shooting with B&W film and just going through the whole developing process. Loved this class! It didn't make me a pro, but sure made me appreciate the art a bit more. Came out of the class with about 12 rolls shot and got maybe a dozen photos that I printed out and hung on the wall.

2. Digital Portrait Photography: there's one class left but so far I think the class is OK. The instructor is a former graduate from ACAD and really knows his stuff. His commercial work is also amazing. He really pushes you to go outside of your comfort zone and shoot portraits the way you never really thought of before. The first couple of classes were pretty basic with him explaining aperture/shutter/ISO and etc to the class. Some of us knew all that stuff already, but most didn't and it was a good refresher.

I rarely use flash and have never used a reflector/soft box ever, so it was really cool seeing and learning how to use one properly.

Will Young is the instructor for my current class (if you decide to take classes at ACAD).

In contrast I have a friend who took some weekend photo classes at SAIT and her portrait shots still look the same as the ones she took before the classes. Maybe it was just her but she didn't seem to have learned anything from the classes she took.

As to the work that's being produced by both institutions, I like the work of the SAIT photojournalism students more than the ACAD students.

Just my $0.02

[quazimoto]

Any educational classes that will give you a good understanding and background of how to properly use a camera in manual mode and how to properly use light whether natural or artificial are worth their weight in gold as any professional can spend years learning this on their own.

That being said some of the very best professional photographers in the world have ZERO formal education.

[dragonone]

you probably won't consider taking it in Vancouver, but i've only heard good things about this program:

http://www.langara.bc.ca/creative-arts/photography/programs.html

you can use it for comparison. of all the people i know that make a living off photography, none of them went to school for it. you probably would learn a lot quicker in a class since i doubt you deal with aspects of it that many hours a day. and there is a good chunk of the program dedicated to starting your own business

[IllusionV]

Yea to be honest I enjoy learning most aspects of photography on my own. It's the trial and error that makes photography such a satisfying hobby.

I'd really only want to take classes if the cost/benefit ratio is high enough that I'd really advance through the classes.

On a side note - from the Langara College you linked, photojournalism seems like an interesting field I've never through about.

[Melinda]

Originally posted by IllusionV
On a side note - from the Langara College you linked, photojournalism seems like an interesting field I've never through about.
SAIT offers an associate degree/diploma in photojournalism. Good program, went through it myself actually, and Gibson (fellow beyonder) is going through it as we speak. REALLY pushes towards newspaper journalism though, not so flexable for other areas. I had to arrange with most of my profs to do my projects/studies around magazine type stuff which is where I saw myself going in the future. They were good about it though, and in the end I left having a pretty good knowledge of both areas of study, in both the writing side and the photo side of things.

[JTI]

I took some courses at SAIT when I started out in 2005. I already had most camera basic knowledge and felt like the class was mostly basic. I took the wedding photography course there and learned a little bit. I also took "how to make money with your camera" and that was informative, but again, it really didn't teach what is really going on in the industry. What the courses did do for me, was it gave me motivation to make a photography career happen.

What really launched my career and my business was attending photography workshops with some of the best wedding photographers in the world.

[quazimoto]

Not to mention getting your name listed with the palliser hotel lol. I'm going through the process right now of being added to their list. I would agree with you though that workshops with active pro's are way more advantageous. It's really the little things that you learn that will help a lot.

[JTI]

I am listed with the Palliser but they have sent me 1 referral and I didn't book the couple, in the last 4 years. Even though my photos are hanging in their office and in their albums.

[sputnik]

My wife got her BFA in photography from ACAD.

I don't know how it compares to SAIT but it was a tough and technical program to get through. At the time my wife was part of a show that combined ACAD, MR and SAIT students and the ACAD work was much stronger in general.

Also to get into ACAD you need to have a portfolio for review and do a year of core art classes in your first year. After which you have to apply with a photography portfolio to enter your major in 2nd year. My wife ended up taking a year of electives and to work on her portfolio before declaring her major.

[quazimoto]

Originally posted by JTI
I am listed with the Palliser but they have sent me 1 referral and I didn't book the couple, in the last 4 years. Even though my photos are hanging in their office and in their albums.

Wow that is such crap! I can't believe that. I saw the other photographers they had listed and none of them were anything special with the exception of you.

I had to help my friend who had a horrible issue with the photogrpaher she hired through the palliser. What saddened me was the she was considering hiring you at the time but the photographer she hired did this huge upsell of course.