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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There are TWO more days to catch this week’s MFA Thesis Exhibitions, by Lena Smart and Chloe Scout Nix.
Come by the Pratt Photography Gallery, open from 11am-5pm today and tomorrow, to see the shows!✨
@prattinstitute @soartpratt
OPENING TONIGHT! Collections from the archive of Professor Anne Turyn’s “Top Stories” publications will be on display at Printed Matter this month—be sure to stop by! Congratulations, Anne! 📷📚✨
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Posted @withregram • @anneturyn @printedmatterinc @topstories_periodical_archive #cookiemueller # #davidarmstrong (photo Cookie Mueller) @janetsteinart #kathyacker #lindaneaman #patihill #constancedejong #newyorkartbookfair
Professor John Lehr’s speaking at Penumbra next Wednesday, 5/1 @ 7PM!
Register via penumbrafoundation.org/artist-series-spring-2024
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Posted @withregram • @john_lehr Please come to my lecture next Wednesday , May 1 at 7pm at Penumbra! Free and open to the public! Link in bio to reserve a seat.
The second round of MFA Thesis Exhibitions opens TODAY! This week showcases the work of Chloe Scout Nix and Lena Smart.
Please join us in the Pratt Photography Gallery tonight, from 5-8PM for the opening, and from 11AM-5PM the rest of the week.
Congratulations Chloe and Lena! ✨
@prattphotography @soart
There are TWO more days to catch this week’s MFA Thesis Exhibition, “strangers are friends I haven’t met yet” by Rachel Handlin.
Come by the Pratt Photography Gallery, open from 11am-5pm today and tomorrow, to see the show!✨
@prattinstitute @soartpratt @handlinrachel
Congratulations to the recipients of this year’s Photography Departmental and Convocation awards!
Pictured here: BFA graduates Kevin Gutoskey, Lana Ho, and Conan Darrah, and MFA graduates Erin O’Flynn, Rachel Handlin, and Chloe Scout Nix. (Not pictured: Lida Ramsay and Jiahong Wang) 📷✨🎓👏
@prattinstitute @soartpratt
Our MFA Thesis Exhibitions begin today! The first week showcases the work of Rachel Handlin.
Please join us in the Pratt Photography Gallery tonight, from 5-8PM for the opening, and from 11AM-5PM the rest of the week.
Congratulations Rachel! ✨📷🎓
@handlinrachel @prattinstitute @soartpratt
The Department of Photography is committed to the education of artists and professionals who have acquired a comprehensive understanding of the artistic and proÂfesÂsional 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 pubÂlication. 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 relationÂships 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 demonÂstrate 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.
