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DPChallenge Forums >> General Discussion >> How to explain lack of education??
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 01/06/2006 03:02:19 PM · #1
I suspect like many of us I don't have any formal schooling in photography or the arts. (Please refrain from the funny comments about how it shows in my work LOL )

So since I have begun marketing myself and my photography I am getting asked about 'what kind of education do you have?' - I don't have a strong answer to this.

What do you other uneducated folks say?
 01/06/2006 03:04:18 PM · #2
I am one of those 'educated folks' ... but if I were you, I would present my portfolio and say I didn't.
 01/06/2006 03:05:01 PM · #3
The school of hard knocks...

I have some college (just not a degree) so if I have to I can always pull that out but generally I just subtly change the subject and talk about how long I've been doing photography. For many people experience is just as relevant as education.
 01/06/2006 03:05:44 PM · #4
Originally posted by Prof_Fate:
I suspect like many of us I don't have any formal schooling in photography or the arts. (Please refrain from the funny comments about how it shows in my work LOL )

So since I have begun marketing myself and my photography I am getting asked about 'what kind of education do you have?' - I don't have a strong answer to this.

What do you other uneducated folks say?


If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.
 01/06/2006 03:06:51 PM · #5
Something along the lines of

While I don't have any formal education in photography, I have a rich education through tutors, mentors, and hands on experience, which I'm sure you can see in my portfolio.

i dunno, does that sounds ok?
 01/06/2006 03:09:25 PM · #6
Originally posted by pidge:
Something along the lines of

While I don't have any formal education in photography, I have a rich education through tutors, mentors, and hands on experience, which I'm sure you can see in my portfolio.

i dunno, does that sounds ok?


Or:

Wherever there are beginners and experts, old and young, there is some kind of learning going on, and some sort of teaching. We are all pupils, and we are all teachers.
 01/06/2006 03:19:16 PM · #7
Betelgeuse: Ah. Well... I attended Juilliard... I'm a graduate of the Harvard business school. I travel quite extensively. I lived through the Black Plague and had a pretty good time during that. I've seen the EXORCIST ABOUT A HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SEVEN TIMES, AND IT KEEPS GETTING FUNNIER EVERY SINGLE TIME I SEE IT... NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT YOU'RE TALKING TO A DEAD GUY... NOW WHAT DO YOU THINK? You think I'm qualified?

I use this line from Beetle Juice and I always get the job....but if the line doesn' work, I usually start dancing smack in the middle of my pitch...with a rose clenched in my teeth.

Message edited by author 2006-01-06 15:21:23.
 01/06/2006 03:21:14 PM · #8
With any art field, your portfolio should matter FAR more than education. I have a degree in graphic design and finished summa cum laude with a 4.0 average, but nobody asks and nobody cares. All that really matters is what I can do. If I was proud of my work and a potential employer chose someone else simply on the basis of education, then I'd consider myself lucky I didn't get the job. Just emphasize your work.

Message edited by author 2006-01-06 15:53:02.
 01/06/2006 03:32:39 PM · #9
Einstein, the patent clerk shook the foundations of the world....
 01/06/2006 03:45:48 PM · #10
Originally posted by scalvert:
I have a degree in graphic design and finished summa cum laude with a 4.0 average


Smarty Pants! :P
 01/06/2006 03:49:54 PM · #11
Originally posted by pidge:
Originally posted by scalvert:
I have a degree in graphic design and finished summa cum laude with a 4.0 average


Smarty Pants! :P


The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.
William Shakespeare, playwright

01/06/2006 03:51:48 PM · #12
Originally posted by pidge:
Smarty Pants! :P


I think you're confusing me with someone else. ;-)
 01/06/2006 03:54:29 PM · #13
This brings up an interesting term I was introduced to this past summer.

"Outsider Art"

When an artist has no formal education in art, they get this label from the art community. The term doesn't really define how good or bad an artist may be, but it does seem to put the uneducated into a specifically lower social class on the art scene.
01/06/2006 03:56:07 PM · #14
Originally posted by IceRock:
The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.
William Shakespeare, playwright


Jesus said it first :-)

Just about everyone and their dog asks me if I have any formal training (I always think of William Hung on American Idol who said "I have no formal training in singing" hahahaha). I tell them no, then show them my portfolio and that's about it. Stretching the truth or putting it any other way only makes me feel like I'm ashamed of myself, when really, I'm proud.
 01/06/2006 03:58:01 PM · #15
Originally posted by pidge:
Something along the lines of

While I don't have any formal education in photography, I have a rich education through tutors, mentors, and hands on experience, which I'm sure you can see in my portfolio.


I like Pidge's advice.

I've sat in the interviewer's seat many times, and if anybody ever tried to change the subject after I asked them a question, they'd be shaking my hand on their way out the door within 20 seconds. (I don't like Megatherian's advice.)

Don't lie & don't make stuff up.
 01/06/2006 04:01:51 PM · #16
attend a couple of classes & that way you can say you've had classes 'early' in your career (umm last month .. ;)
01/06/2006 04:03:01 PM · #17
Pidge has the right idea, Strikeslip has the right idea. Don't evade the question, answer it succinctly and as positively as possible. Let your work represent you. It's the client's right to choose to work with someone "educated" if he wishes, nothing you can do about it.

I have NO formal education in photography, but I ended up TEACHING it. The work and the attitude are what matter.

R.
 01/06/2006 04:03:46 PM · #18
Originally posted by Strikeslip:
Originally posted by pidge:
Something along the lines of

While I don't have any formal education in photography, I have a rich education through tutors, mentors, and hands on experience, which I'm sure you can see in my portfolio.


I like Pidge's advice.

I've sat in the interviewer's seat many times, and if anybody ever tried to change the subject after I asked them a question, they'd be shaking my hand on their way out the door within 20 seconds. (I don't like Megatherian's advice.)

Don't lie & don't make stuff up.


To each their own, whatever works for you. I've been in the interview seat a few times myself and have gotten every job I have ever interviewed for.

And just in case it was directed at my comment, I also don't recomend lying or making stuff up.
 01/06/2006 04:08:08 PM · #19
Tell them you followed an informal, self-directed course of study that, while it did not lead to a formal degree, manifests itself in your work.
 01/06/2006 04:08:57 PM · #20
Originally posted by Spazmo99:
Tell them you followed an informal, self-directed course of study that, while it did not lead to a formal degree, manifests itself in your work.


Nothing is sometimes the right thing to say.
 01/06/2006 04:18:13 PM · #21
I have never taken a photography class and I probably won't. I could if I wanted to, but I am very stubborn. I feel that I won't be proud of my work if someone else told me how to do it. I would rather struggle through and teach myself everything. Sure, I seek advice from other photographers and read books on the subject, but I try to keep to my own vision. My mother was a professional photographer and an artist. She has taught me so much!

I have never been asked about my education in photography. But if someone did ask me, I would just say that I am self taught and driven by a passion to make memorable photographs. If that isn't good enough than they can hire someone else. I could care less.
 01/06/2006 04:31:32 PM · #22
ive never taken one either!
i think it would help though
say your a natural
01/06/2006 04:47:59 PM · #23
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
This brings up an interesting term I was introduced to this past summer.

"Outsider Art"

When an artist has no formal education in art, they get this label from the art community. The term doesn't really define how good or bad an artist may be, but it does seem to put the uneducated into a specifically lower social class on the art scene.


Interesting, artists label other artists that are not formally educated in art. I figured the art community would be above that.
 01/06/2006 04:54:06 PM · #24
Most people who have a problem with a lack of education are those without it. It's easy for me to say, but having being educated up to MA level means very little unless I want to stay in that world by doing a doctorate. Especially in the arts.
And sorry to say guys, but photography is NOT rocket science. There really isn't that much to learn. For that reason, I really don't understand why people do degrees in photography... I'd recommend a degree in art for those that want to learn photography. Much more useful. So I don't see why a lack of education is a problem with photography. What counts is hard work, commitment, ability to get on with people, creativity and results. A degree or similar doesn't show any of these qualities.
 01/06/2006 04:59:21 PM · #25
"I've studied extensivly with the masters at DPC"
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