YEAR-ONE EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Master of Fine Arts in Photography students at NYFA will be introduced to the tools and develop the skills necessary for researching, composing, and capturing Digital Photographic Projects. Students are encouraged to be creative but are also taught to think of each project as a concise statement of artistic, documentary, and/or journalistic intent. Clarity can be as important as creativity.

Skills learned as a result of successful completion of this program include:

YEAR-ONE REQUIREMENTS:

The Master of Fine Arts in Photography Program requires successful completion of the following creative projects in partial fulfillment of the graduation requirement:

YEAR TWO

YEAR-TWO EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Skills learned as a result of successful completion of this program include:

YEAR TWO REQUIREMENTS:

The Master of Fine Arts in Photography Program requires successful completion of the following creative projects in partial fulfillment of the graduation requirement:

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

Satisfactory completion of 60 Semester Credit Units is required for graduation from the New York Film Academy’s Master of Fine Arts in Photography Program. The New York Film Academy Master of Fine Arts in Photography Program is an accelerated full-time study program and does not provide for multiple tracks of study. All courses are mandatory. This is a highly specialized program, and there are no majors or minors. The program may not be completed in less than two semesters. Classes are taught in either a lecture, seminar, or laboratory format. Students are also scheduled for hours of practicum. For the designation of instruction hours, lab and practicum are treated as “studio hours” as is customary in visual arts studies.

Studio Practice 1

This course is an introduction to the operation and use of digital cameras, lights, and digital printing technology. Subjects include aperture, shutter speed, focal length, contrast, diffusion, filters, and photo imaging and printing using Photoshop Creative Suite. Through a series of lectures, seminars, and studio workshops, basic principles of Black and White and Color photography, techniques including use of f-stops, depth-of-field, and three-point lighting, are covered. Beginning with a technical and applied exploration of Black & White image-making, followed by the introduction of the wealth of aesthetic tools made available through the use of color, students will learn to both expand and control the expressive quality of the photographic print.

History and Theory of Photography 1

This course is a survey of the development of photography from its 19th Century origins to the mid 20th Century. This history includes technological, artistic, social, and journalistic fields of the medium.

Fine Art Photography 1 (3 Semester Credit Units)

This course is an exploration of photography as a creative art form. It examines the techniques and methodology of master practitioners including Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Man Ray, Ansel Adams, Sally Mann, and Robert Mapplethorpe among others as touchstones for students' own work. Students create and present work for critique on a weekly basis throughout the semester. Students’ work will be evaluated in part on their application concepts taught in class including photographic composition, camera placement, subject placement, traditional and non-traditional framing.

Documentary Photography & Photojournalism 1 (3 Semester Credit Units)

The course is an exploration of photography as it applies to journalism and social commentary. The seminal work of photographers including Walker Evans, Berenice Abbott, Brassai, Henri Cartier Bresson, Robert Capa, Margaret Bourke-White, and Roman Vishniac among others will inform provide a context for students' own. Subjects include journalism ethics and standards as well as first amendment rights and legal issues pertaining to both photojournalism and documentary photography. Black and White and Color photography will be utilized as students create and present work for critique on a weekly basis throughout the semester. Students’ work will be evaluated in part on their application concepts taught in class including photographic composition, camera placement, subject placement, traditional and non-traditional framing.

Studio Practice 2

Intermediate and advanced use of digital cameras, lights, digital printing and technology. Subjects include full spectrum photography (including ifra-red and ultra-violet), composite imaging, advanced photo-editing, and printing using Photoshop Creative Suite. Through a series of lectures, seminars, and studio workshops, this course will explore the many creative advantages to digital processing, augmentation, color correction, photographic effects, and photo finishing. Instruction in cropping, toning and printing teaches students to enhance even the most subtle elements of their images.

History and Theory of Photography 2

A continuation of the study of the development of photography from the mid 20th Century to present, and beyond. This development is considered in relation to technology, art, and popular culture; as well as its impact as a socio-political form and its use in the field of journalism.

Fine Art Photography 2

This course is continues the exploration of photography as a creative art form. Advanced lighting and digital processing techniques are applied to students' weekly work. Each student creates an art photography portfolio for exhibition at the end of the first year. Students’ work will be evaluated in part on their application concepts taught in class including photographic composition, camera placement, subject placement, traditional and non-traditional framing.

Documentary Photography & Photojournalism 2

Research, investigation, and storytelling methodologies are taught and employed by students as they pursue news stories and documentary subjects. New Media applications of non-fiction photography are examined as students post their work to a class website. Students’ work will be evaluated in part on their application concepts taught in class including photographic composition, camera placement, subject placement, traditional and non-traditional framing.

History and Theory of Photography 3

This course is a close academic study of the history of aesthetics (from Plato, through Kant, Romanticism, Modernism, to current postmodern theories) as applied to the visual arts and photography. Special attention will be paid to the evolution of the still visual image through history, and how artists have both paralleled and rebelled against the predominant artistic and aesthetic movements of their respective times.

News Photography

This course will explore the theory and practice of news photography, practical experience taking news photographs, as well as the professional standards required of photojournalists. Specific emphasis will be placed on photography for a daily metropolitan newspaper. This photography will include: general news, features, sports, opinion/editorial, and photo essays.

Portrait Photography

A study of the photographic principles applied to portrait lighting, posing, printing, and subject direction, this course explores all genres of portrait photography, including commercial portraits, formal and informal studio portraits, and environmental portraiture. Students’ work will be evaluated in part on their application concepts taught in class including photographic composition, camera placement, subject placement, traditional and non-traditional framing.

Elective: On-Set Production Photography

This elective concentrates on the business and craft of motion picture set photography. Production photography plays an integral role in the marketing of a motion picture. The on-set photographer must capture the essence of a film shoot, while working in cooperation with a film crew and a pre-existing lighting scheme and production design elements. Students will learn to be both creative and adaptable collaborators as they interface with NYFA filmmaking, producing, and acting students on their shoots.

Elective: Nature Photography

This class trains students in techniques and methodologies of photographing wildlife, landscapes, and scientific subjects. Subjects include optimization of natural light, use of special lenses, underwater photography, creating a blind to photograph wild animals, and microscopic photography.

Thesis Prep

At the beginning of Semester Three, master students must form a thesis committee. Students must meet regularly (at least once per week) with thesis committee members in order to ensure compliance with New York Film Academy standards. This one-on-one course will focus on the thesis goals of each individual, with an emphasis on perfecting craft and exposing them to the realities of the photographic industry and the business of professional photography. It is designed to prepare MFA students for their thesis projects as well as for a life in the industry after graduation.

History and Theory of Photography 4

An examination of critical theory as it applies to photography and students' own work. The course explores question of how meaning is constructed by the photographer and interpreted by the viewer. Prominent critics and thinkers including Roland Barthes, Susan Sontag, and Jacques Derrida will be central to the discussion as students see images as texts and artifacts which reveal and describe humankind. The course identifies the "filters" of gender, ethnicity, culture, and politics and uses them to analyze the work of major photographers as students apply these concepts to their thesis projects.

Fashion and Advertising Photography

An exploration of fashion photography in terms of trends and techniques included in studio and location work. With an emphasis on model direction and lighting control. This course also covers the planning, setup, execution and presentation of product photography. Students will develop the skills necessary to photograph a variety of products including glassware, fabrics, reflective objects, and food.

Thesis

MFA students must write a thesis proposal of ten to twenty pages and receive approval from the thesis committee made up of their faculty. The proposal must include a clear statement of the artistic vision, purpose, and technique(s) the candidate hopes to employ. It should include historical and aesthetic references and may include sample sketches or photographs from the students previous work. The final work must include a minimum of twenty gallery quality prints, with accompanying text, and summary statement of the artist. Students may chose a fine art or documentary approach, and will be evaluated by the standards established for those genres in coordination with the thesis committee.