At Pratt, we consider photography to be a tool and message for personal and cultural expression. As a student you will develop a deeper understanding of your role within a complex image-based landscape, formulating a dynamic perspective in order to make a wide array of meaningful contributions to the field.
The Photography curriculum provides an extensive photographic education through a series of core classes that promote students’ technical and conceptual development.
Students are expected to establish their photographic practices through the study of analog and digital processes within a deeper understanding of the histories and theories of the medium. Given the central role that images play in our lives, demonstrating literacy in photography has taken on new meaning, new urgency, and new forms.
Student Work
Look at these bodies of work that our current Photography students are producing. Through concentrated learning about photographic processes, critical discourse, and exposure to contemporary art, you’ll develop your own visual language and artistic voice.
Our photographic production spaces are at the core of your educational experience at Pratt. The digital labs, analog darkrooms, and lighting studio are creative environments that foster community and function as an extension of the classroom. The atmosphere and culture of these spaces are centralized around promoting skill-building, creativity, and the exploration of materials and processes. Students are encouraged to expand upon what they learn in class, experiment with both concept and form, and question the boundaries of the photographic medium.
Labs and Facilities
At Pratt, our labs and facilities are capable of supporting a wide range of photographic practices. Our darkrooms can accommodate negative formats ranging from 35mm to 4×5 sheet film. They also provide areas for print finishing. Our digital labs feature state-of-the-art Apple computers, Epson printers, film digitization stations, and a Risograph Digital Duplicator for independent book publications. In the department’s lighting studio, Profoto and Lowell lighting equipment, stands, dollies and seamless backdrops make learning about studio shoots an important part of the professional experience.
Students have the opportunity to explore different sectors of the field through their choice of internships at various art institutions, galleries, and studios such as the Whitney Museum of Art, Conveyor Arts, Distributed Art Publishers (D.A.P.), David LaChapelle Studio, and Diverse Works to name a few. An internship provides students with real-world work experience. During their course of study, students have the option to complete an internship for program credit. A Pratt faculty advisor guides each student until their learning objectives are met.
Study Abroad
Immersing yourself in another culture is an incredible experience that can extend the boundaries of creativity. Study abroad programs are an integral part of the college experience, and Pratt has deep connections with university partners around the world. In addition to partnering with universities abroad, Pratt Photography has abroad opportunities as part of Pratt Berlin, a semester-long program where students will take Pratt course offerings with Pratt faculty while living in Berlin, Germany. Similarly, the Photography Department has elective courses with short-term travel components embedded into the curriculum, which include opportunities to travel and study during spring break in Havana, Cuba, or San Juan, Puerto Rico. See where you can go.
Learning Resources
We develop disciplinary fluency in our program of study and we celebrate the interdisciplinary nature of design critical to address the plurality and complexity of the environments in which we operate. Learning resources.
Our Faculty
At Pratt, the Photography Department’s faculty members are distinguished artists and creative professionals who are committed to developing and nurturing the creative potential of each individual student. The faculty come from diverse professional and educational backgrounds representing the intersectional nature of the photographic arts. This plurality of experiences and approaches creates a singular education experience tailored to the unique needs of the student body. See the full list of faculty and administrative staff here.
Our Alumni
Pratt’s distinguished alumni are leading diverse and thriving careers, creating and expanding upon the visual culture of our present-day world.
Where They Work
Programs Manager, Baxter St. Camera Club of New York
Assistant Collections Manager, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Founder, Blue Hour Press
Editor-In-Chief, The Daring
Commissioned Photographer, The New York Times Magazine
Join us at Pratt. Learn more about admissions requirements, plan your visit, talk to a counselor, and start your application. Take the next step.
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LAST CHANCE ✨ to catch this week’s round of Senior Thesis Exhibitions, featuring:
I Saw You Caught Between by Ava Schlesman
Post No Bills by Megan Proctor
Where the Light Was Meant to Be by Jehan Rana
Echoes, Luminance by John Cushman
🕚 Open until 5PM, today
📍Pratt Photography Gallery, LL ARC
@prattinstitute @soartpratt @avaschlesman @mproctorphotography @jehan.ranaa @johncushman_
SAVE THE DATES! ✨
We are excited to invite you to the Pratt Photo MFA Thesis Exhibition:
In truth? / “In truth” / (In truth)
Curated by Darling Green
In truth? - Opening April 28
Aidan McLellan
Liv Dawson
Cléo Sương Mai Richez
“In truth” - Opening May 5
Liv Davidson
Matthew Cohn
Jesse Wendelken Brooks
Draven Zhao
(In truth) - Opening May 12
K Bodrock
Yujia Ma
Ming Jin
Aileen Schretzmayer
Location: Dock72, 3rd Floor Photo Gallery
Please see the LINKS in our bio for more information, and to reserve your spot!
@prattinstitute @soartpratt @darling_green_studio
Scenes from “No Soy Perfecto, Pero Al Menos Soy Real” (“I am not perfect but at least I’m real.” –Bad Bunny), an exhibition showcasing student work from the Pratt in Puerto Rico study abroad program. 🇵🇷✨
Featuring work by:
August Gross
Jazmin Chapman
Joshua Luna
June Bhattarai
Lewis James
Maria Montes
Megan Lee
Natalia Gonzalez
Riley McMenamy
Serena Booth
Stella Kowalsky
The show can be found in the Nancy Ross Project Space, on the 2nd Floor of the Main Building. 👏
@prattinstitute @soartpratt @prattarted #PrattinPuertoRico
Join us TOMORROW for the OPENING ✨ of “No Soy Perfecto, Pero Al Menos Soy Real” (“I am not perfect but at least I’m real.” –Bad Bunny), an exhibition showcasing student work from the Pratt in Puerto Rico study abroad program.
🗓️ Wednesday, April 16th
🕛 12:30-2:00PM
📍 Nancy Ross Project Space, Main Building, 2nd Floor
The participating Art & Design Education and Photography students have been thoughtfully curating this exhibition following their journey to San Juan. The opening is free for all in the Pratt community to attend; food and drinks will be available at the reception.
Please RSVP via the LINK in our bio. We hope to see you there!
Special thanks to participating faculty Borinquen Gallo and Stephen Hilger, and program coordinator Aileen Wilson.
@prattinstitute @soartpratt @prattarted #PrattinPuertoRico
APPLY for our 2025 Open Call Student Exhibitions ✨
We are excited to invite students to apply to exhibit your work in the Pratt Photography Gallery in the Fall of 2025.
Please see the LINK in bio for details on how to submit.
Alumni from 2019 - 2024 are also encouraged to apply.
DEADLINE: Thursday , April 17 by 12PM
@prattinstitute @soartpratt
Opening TODAY ✨ the next round of BFA Thesis Exhibitions, featuring:
Where the Light Was Meant to Be by Jehan Rana
Echoes, Luminance by John Cushman
I Saw You Caught Between by Ava Schlesman
Post No Bills by Megan Proctor
🕔 Opening Reception: today, 5–8PM
🗓️ Tuesday - Friday from 11AM - 5PM.
📍 Pratt Photography Gallery, LL ARC
We hope to see you there!
Congratulations Jehan, John, Ava, and Megan!
@prattinstitute @soartpratt @jehan.ranaa @johncushman_ @avaschlesman @mproctorphotography
LAST CHANCE ✨ to catch this week’s round of Senior Thesis Exhibitions, featuring:
Supernova by Celia Gossow
He Faced the Silence by Braden Morrison
Mestizo by Arno Reyes Baetz
Each Stick Smoked a Little and Turned to Ash by Erik Smits
🕚 Open until 5PM, today
📍Pratt Photography Gallery, LL ARC
@prattinstitute @soartpratt @celyuh @bmorrisonphoto @arnobaetz @erik_smits_
fierce pussy’s @fp_1991 new poster work, I got all my sisters with me (2025) and MFA Photo students meeting the collective at Participant Gallery @participantafterdark for a walkthrough and conversation.
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The poster embraces a line from Sister Sledge’s 1979 disco anthem “We Are Family” written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers. For the Library of Congress entry on the song Tim Lawrence writes, “on the surface, the lyrics referred to the close relationship enjoyed by the four sisters who laid down the vocals. A little below, they expressed disco’s underlying ethos: to establish the dance floor as a social space that cut across the boundaries of class, creed, gender, nationality, race and sexuality.”
On the occasion of the exhibition arms ache avid aeon: Nancy Brooks Brody / Joy Episalla / Zoe Leonard / Carrie Yamaoka: fierce pussy amplified: Chapter Eight, curated by Jo-ey Tang, at PARTICIPANT INC. @participantafterdark (116 Elizabeth St, New York, March 2 - May 11, 2025), the poster is available for the taking at art organizations across New York City, as a connector of public spaces of New York, where the queer art collective fierce pussy first began their work. Chapter Eight is the latest chapter of an ongoing project that explores the resonances between the individual practices of the four artists in relation to their collaborative work.
Collaborating venues include: American Academy of Arts and Letters, Center for Art, Research and Alliances (CARA), Giorno Poetry Systems, Housing Works, KARMA Bookstore, The Kitchen, Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, Light Industry, MoMA PS1, Performance Space New York, Pratt Institute’s Photography Department, Printed Matter, and Triple Canopy.
@fp_1991 #nancybrooksbrody @jepisalla #zoeleonard @carrie.yamaoka @participantafterdark @thenotarypublic @artsandlettersnyc @cara_the_org @giorno_poetry_systems @housingworks @karmabookstore @thekitchen_nyc @leslielohmanmuseum @lightindustry @momaps1 @performance.space.new.york @printedmatterinc @triple_canopy
The Department of Photography is committed to the education of artists and professionals who have acquired a comprehensive understanding of the artistic and professional opportunities in the field. The curriculum provides an extensive photographic education through a series of core classes that promote students’ technical and conceptual development. Photography majors move from a highly structured program in their freshman and sophomore years to a more flexible program in their junior and senior years in which students choose from a variety of electives in photography, other studio disciplines, and in the humanities. This approach is intended to facilitate the transition from student to independent artist and professional. Completion of the curriculum culminates with an exhibition in the Pratt Photography Gallery, as well as a group show in a New York City gallery, and a collaborative photography publication. Small class sizes help to promote a strong sense of community in the intimate setting of Pratt’s Brooklyn campus. Students are given opportunities to meet artists and critics through the Pratt Photography Lectures, visiting critiques, and artist studio and museum visits. This access can help students build contacts and relationships with influential professionals in the field. Like a small town within a big city, we look to give students their own voice, so they can employ it in whichever direction they choose.
Undergraduates establish strong photographic practices and discourses through the study of analog and digital processes, the history and theory of photography, and the development of critical thinking and writing skills through required and elective courses in photography, other creative disciplines, and the liberal arts. Participating in this experience prepares students to actively contribute to culture and society as leaders in the photographic arts and applied industries, as well as to pursue graduate studies in related fields. Graduates are expected to demonstrate excellence in artistic vision, professional skills, innovation, and a contextual understanding of their work in contemporary culture.
Upon completion of the program:
• Students will demonstrate an understanding of the broad range of possibilities available in analog and digital photographic materials.
• Students will demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of the aesthetic principles of photography.
• Students will articulate a broad knowledge of photographic and relevant cultural histories and an in-depth understanding of contemporary issues in photography pertinent to their practices.
• Students will create a cohesive body of photographic work in which an artistic vision and contextual awareness of their work is evident.
• Students will apply the technical skills and professional practices necessary to pursue careers or graduate studies in the photographic arts and applied industries.
