Photography
Make a career out of showing off the world through your own lens.
Always pulling out your phone to document your surroundings? Dreaming of a career shooting current events as they unfold or maybe a future cover of Vogue?
Photography might be the Moore major for you.
WHY CHOOSE PHOTOGRAPHY AT MOORE?
- CUSTOMIZED: Our unique curriculum can be tailored to your interests—whether you want to create impactful visuals for commercial industries like fashion, journalism, weddings and special events, or you’re more of a fine arts photographer.
- CREDENTIALS: You’ll gain important industry experience working in analog and digital formats, with state-of-the-art equipment that the pros use.
- CAREER: Get a head start with a paid internship in the field between your junior and senior years, and make connections with guest speakers and critics who work in the field.
Explore and select from a variety of exciting electives, including:
- Fashion, Editorial, and Lifestyle Photography: create a brand and learn to work with clients
- Photojournalism: discover visual storytelling strategies for recording current events
- Animating the Image: use software to animate photographs, video, sound and illustrations
- Web Media: explore motion, time, information and interactivity in a web environment
- The Photo Book: examine a wide range of book- and zine-making styles
Photography alumni have been published in places like the New York Times, The Nation, Buzzfeed, and Vogue Italia, and have landed jobs at companies and organizations like…
PLUS: 100% of Moore Photography students kick start their future careers with a paid internship, working with established artists and organizations like:
- Carrie Mae Weems (MacArthur Fellowship recipient and photographer)
- Hank Willis Thomas (Guggenheim Fellowship recipient, interdisciplinary artist and photographer)
- WHYY, Philadelphia’s NPR Station
- Philadelphia Style magazine
- TILT Institute for the Contemporary Image (formerly known as Philadelphia Photo Arts Center)
- Philadelphia Fashion Incubator
- The Free Library of Philadelphia
“Moore has taught me what it means to be a photographer and how to be taken seriously as a photographer. My skills have evolved exponentially since coming to Moore—I’ve tried macro, fashion and studio photography, and I’ve strengthened my knowledge of professional lighting!”
Claudia Rubio ’24, Photography
Check out some recent student work!
Pictured: Photo by Claudia Rubio ’24, Photography
Take Advantage of Our Expansive Photography Facilities and Equipment
Professional Shooting Studio
Fully equipped with a Hasselblad H5D-50 50MP camera, colored backdrops, green screen, strobes, hot lights and other accessories
Equipment Cage
Rent the same equipment the pros use, such as professional Canon SLRs and mirrorless cameras up to 45 megapixels, Prosumer DSLR and point-and-shoot cameras, film SLR cameras, 4 x 5 film cameras, HD video cameras, tripods, and audio accessories like digital audio recorders, boom mics, gimbal stabilizers, and more
Computer Labs
Everything you need for digital work: 27” iMacs, Epson P800 17”x22” inkjet printers, Epson V750 scanners for film scanning and neutral color temperature viewing booths
Print Center
For wide-format work, including multiple 44”-wide photo-quality inkjet printers
Wet Darkroom
For processing film and printing black and white photos
FabLab
Your future favorite place on campus, featuring a laser cutter/engraver, 3D scanners/printers, CNC Router, ceramics decal printer and a digital embroidery machine
MEET YOUR MAJOR
Watch our Meet Your Major: Photography video to take a deeper dive into everything this program has to offer!
Network with the Pros
You’ll also meet guest critics and speakers—photography superstars who started out just like you—at special department events. Here’s a glimpse of some of our recent visitors:
Alex Da Corte
Da Corte is a Venezuelan-American artist based in Philadelphia who creates vibrant and immersive large-scale installations that include wall-based works, sculptures, and videos. He has exhibited at the Whitney Biennial, the Venice Biennale, the Hammer Museum, MASS MoCA and elsewhere.
Naomieh Jovin ’17
Jovin is a first-generation Haitian-American, a photographic artist, and a Moore alum. Her work has been featured in The Nation, Vogue and Buzzfeed, and she’s photographed for the New York Times and Vogue Italia.
Gab Bonghi
Bonghi has worked with clients like Universal Music Group, Starr Restaurants, and Philadelphia Distilling Company, and her work has been featured in EATER, Philadelphia Inquirer, NYLON, and elsewhere.
Photography Core Curriculum
In Year One, you will explore, research and discover the fundamentals of photography, including techniques of camera operation, starting as early as your first semester.
- 2D Design
- 3D Design
- Photography Core
- Foundation Drawing I
- Color Theory
- Visual Thinking
- Creative Design OR Drawing for Visual Communication
- Writing Workshop I & II
- Art History I & II
In Year Two, you will develop and refine your skills in video, digital photography and studio lighting.
- Digital Photography I & II
- History of Photography
- Studio & Location Lighting
- Video Core
- Photography Elective
- Modern Art History Course
- Non-Western Art History
- Gender, Race, Class & Power
- Studio Electives
In Year Three, you will put all your new skills to use, through dedicated studio time and an internship with industry experts.
- Photography Junior Studio I & II
- Video Projects
- Photography Elective
- Theory, Criticism & Aesthetics
- Professional Development I
- Creative & Critical Studies Electives
- Studio Electives
In Year Four, you will harness all the skills you’ve learned at Moore—collaboration, technique, presentation, and communicating a vision—to develop a professional documentation of work and to begin your journey to future success in the field.
- Senior Studio
- Contemporary Issues in Photography
- Senior Thesis
- Professional Development II (Internship)
- Theory, Criticism & Aesthetics
- Creative & Critical Studies Electives
- Photo Elective
- Open Electives
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PostedHear from Marissa Timinski, Ari Lopez, Abby Obfenda and Claudia Rubio about their roles in creating the promotional material for the 2023 Fashion Show.
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PostedMoore alums are soaring in their fields, using their unique talents and skills as artists and designers to make a difference in the world around them. Meet Emily Costello ’19, a Moore Photography hero! Learn more about their career since their time at Moore.
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PostedRead the full version of We Always Stay Connected: Melissa Ojeda ’15 in Conversation with James Johnson that appears in the Fall/Winter 2022 issue of Moore Magazine.
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PostedAfter coming across an extensive family photo album filled with photographs of her late mother, Naomieh Jovin ’17 realized she’d found a new lens for her art practice.
