School of Photography

Create images that define brands, clients, and publications. Collaborate with stylists. Master lighting. Direct with confidence. Build your own editing workflow. Every step sharpens your craft. Every project builds momentum. It all leads to a portfolio built for the fast-paced world of commercial photography.

Find your voice as an artist. Build a visual language that expresses your ideas clearly and with impact. You’ll sharpen your craft—technically and conceptually—while learning how to share your work through shows, publications, and the wider fine art world.

Learn to capture authentic moments and craft visual stories with impact. From long-term projects to the poetry of street photography, you’ll gain the skills to move seamlessly from fieldwork to editing and sequencing. The result is work that ethically informs, engages, and inspires change.

Learn to tell stories that spark curiosity and command attention. Collaborate with writers and stylists. Create photo essays that resonate. You’ll produce polished, publication-ready work for magazines, websites, and digital platforms.

Bring style to life through striking imagery. Direct models. Collaborate with designers and stylists. Master studio and location shoots. You’ll build a portfolio ready for fashion media, branding, and campaigns where your vision drives the look.

Portrait photography is more than likeness. It conveys character, emotion, and story. At the Academy, you’ll build the technical expertise and creative sensitivity to create portraits that resonate in editorial, commercial, and fine art settings. By mastering lighting, composition, and the art of connection, you’ll produce work that reveals both your subject’s essence and your own vision.

Master the art of food and product photography, where creativity meets commerce. Turn everyday objects into compelling visuals. Learn lighting, styling, and composition for advertising, packaging, editorial, and digital campaigns. Build a polished portfolio ready to make an impact in both commercial and editorial spaces.

Learn to combine your photography skills with intelligent tools to reimagine what’s possible. From sparking bold new ideas to shaping visual worlds, you’ll develop the skills to seamlessly integrate technology into your creative practice. The result is work that pushes boundaries, amplifies your vision, and inspires fresh ways of seeing.

Learn to see beyond the horizon and engage with place as both subject and story. From sweeping vistas to fragile ecosystems, you’ll refine the art of observation, light, and timing while exploring our evolving relationship with the environment. The result is work that evokes emotion, deepens connection, and bears witness to a changing planet—inviting reflection, dialogue, and action.

From Sony, Canon, and Phase One digital systems to Hasselblad and Mamiya analog rigs—including 4×5 Sinar large format—you’ll have access to the full range of professional tools. Our studios are equipped with Broncolor, Profoto, and KinoFlo lighting, along with audio and motion capture gear for any project. With equipment room experts by your side, you’ll have the technical support you need at every step of your education.

From capture to print, you’ll get expert guidance in our color-managed Mac labs equipped with Adobe Creative Cloud. Scan negatives on Hasselblad large-format film scanners. Print on Epson large-format printers up to 40 x 60 inches. You’ll train on the same professional hardware used in top commercial and fine art studios,ensuring your work meets the highest industry standards.

Discover photography’s roots while experimenting with timeless processes in a modern context. Work in black-and-white darkrooms for film processing and printing. Explore a large mural darkroom. Push boundaries in our alternative process lab. From mural printing to tintype, cyanotype, Van Dyke, and platinum printing, you’ll transform historic techniques into your own creative practice.

Discover the art of working with light in every form. Our natural light studios on the upper floors capture light in its purest state, while black box studios below offer total creative control—from subtle continuous light setups to dramatic strobe lighting. With 40-foot ceilings and whitewashed walls, these spaces are built to shape and reflect light with elegance. At our Washington Street location, The Cove delivers 2,277 square feet for large-scale shoots and Phase One large-format classes. An enclosed outdoor studio adds yet another dimension where you’ll learn to photograph in shifting natural light.

The gallery at 625 Sutter is a showcase for creativity, where students and alumni present their work in a professional setting. This space connects your photography to the wider artistic community and gives you real-world experience in presentation and curation. From intimate student showcases to large group exhibitions, the gallery highlights talent and vision while providing meaningful exposure in the heart of San Francisco’s cultural scene.