10 Things Your Instructors Don't Tell You

There are some things your instructors don’t tell you. Maybe they think you already know. Maybe they think that, if you don’t know, you will find out from other students. In any case, here are 10 tips you must know.

You could be more concerned with impressing your instructors. The good news is it takes so little to impress them! Come to class on time, be curious about the homework, ask some good questions, and plan how you intend to make interesting images for your assignments – and before you go out and make photos. Impressing your instructor can bring lots of advantages that support your learning objectives and your photography practice. It can also play a beneficial role when you launch your career path. If your instructors believe you’re genuinely interested in photography and that your work is impressive, it could raise the quality of future recommendations.

Making an impression on your instructors is a great way to start building an after-college professional network. If you aim to impress, this raises the energy behind your degree of effort, which can result in higher grades (because you are working harder and learning). Plus, you’ll be able to ask for those letters of recommendation or those instructors’ names as references. You may also gain access to your instructors’ network of connections in the photography world. These are all very valuable assets!16

Procrastination can be a powerful method for boosting creativity. Studies have shown that procrastination can boost creative potential. Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist, conducted studies that show moderate procrastinators to be more creative than people who plan ahead and get projects done ahead of time. Grant believes that, because procrastinators have time to “incubate” ideas, it gives them “time to consider divergent ideas, to think in nonlinear ways, to make unexpected leaps.”³ Given the nature of the creative mind, it can take time for the storm to gather before the lightning will strike!

For creative people, final grades aren’t as important as you think. In many cases, grades are secondary to a standout portfolio. And sometimes grades can be the third most important part of college – behind the portfolio and professional relationships you have with people in your field, your instructors, and classmates.

Many of the photographs you make aren’t that interesting. Don’t be discouraged! Most of the images that people make aren’t successful. The thing that makes your uninteresting photos so important is that capturing those compositions is necessary for the growth of your photographic abilities. There is an old saying that goes, “Not all acorns that fall will produce an oak tree.” Hundreds, if not thousands, of acorns have to fall before one emerges as a towering success! Photography is the same. You need to make those hundreds or thousands of unsuccessful photos to arrive at those images you want to put in your portfolio. Being faithful to your practice is an important part of the process, which leads to achieving images of excellence and discovering your voice as a photographer. So, never be disheartened by boring, uninspired photos, because they are just the acorns that pave the road that leads to success.

Unless you are in a commercial photo program, the purpose of college (and photo courses) isn’t necessarily to get a job. The purpose of academic opportunities is to provide learning experiences that inspire you to think. Your college curriculum, which includes photography, helps you refine the ability to think critically while accelerating your creative maturation process. An essential part of that process is also to teach you how to learn. Self-directed learning will be your lifeline after college. If you plan on continuing your photo practice and getting a job using photography, then you have to be able to learn and adapt to a constantly evolving professional field.

College also helps you develop:

a complex understanding of the world you live in and your relationship to it

a wealth of marketable skills needed for higher-paying jobs

an important network of lifelong connections with others (classmates, instructors, and professionals)17

a high level of personal responsibility that is required for a successful life

the realization that what you learned can contribute to a more meaningful, purposeful life.

College instructors commonly assume that the main reason you are in college is because you want to learn. They hope this is true. It’s likely their teaching approach is based on this assumption. It would help your instructors to know that, for some students, learning isn’t their primary motivation for being in college. Students may be in college because it’s the next stage of life, the step that comes between high school and a real-world job. Students could be in college because, if they want to level up to the next stage of life, this is what they have to do.

Knowing what your instructors think can help you navigate your classes. You can use this information to impress your instructors by showing them that you really are interested in what they have to teach. Show them evidence that you are learning. For example, if you’re writing a major paper for a class other than a photo class, make an accompanying photo-essay of images and turn it in with your paper. Also, show your photo instructors what you are doing, and you may impress more than one instructor at the same time!

Some instructors prefer you not to see their work. They don’t come out and say it, but they don’t want you to identify their work as being an example of “good” photography. They don’t want you to emulate what you see, believing you’ll get an A if your work looks like theirs. There is a real possibility that students may emulate the work of their instructors. Instead of imitating their work, most instructors would rather help you continue down the path of your own stylistic discovery.

Opinions are limited. When your photo instructors make suggestions, remember that these are just opinions. An instructor’s opinion may be intelligent, insightful, and thoughtful, but it could conflict directly with another instructor’s feedback. It could also clash with your purpose. Ultimately, you have to decide what parts of your instructors’ opinions you can use and which parts to discard. Being able to sort through all the feedback is part of the maturation process of a student photographer.

There is no such thing as a good or bad photograph. Beginning students commonly ask two questions: “What is the difference between a good and a bad photo?” and “How do I make a good photo?” Instructors tend to shy away from answering these questions, even though they come from a student’s desire to get a good grade and to take impressive images. Students sometimes ask such questions because they want to meet or exceed an instructor’s expectations. Lots of instructors use them as learning opportunities by turning them back for their students to answer, as they can lead to engaging class discussions about what it is that separates 18a good photo from a bad one. If you’re in a beginning photo class where no one has asked either of these questions, maybe you should. Also, take a look at https://www.photostudent.net">www.photostudent.net> Resources > Chapter 33 Is This Photo Good or Bad?

There can be a lot of chance involved in photography. Sometimes photographing is like going fishing. You take your camera for a walk, look around while being hypervigilant, and hope to stumble across something that will catch your attention. There are so many unknowns to consider. For example, you have to find a subject that is worthy of photographing, the lighting has to be right, and it all has to happen in the limited time you have allotted for getting your assignment finished. Unless you are lucky, and can find something interesting to stand in front of, you might have to take a different approach.