Identification

• Digital photography classes begin with a class that teaches the basics of photography, such as aperture, shutter speed, white balance, depth of field and simple compositional techniques. Upper-division digital photography classes teach not only the importance and uses of light, but the equipment needed to manipulate and control the photographic scene.
  
  In some college courses, a course in film photography is required for the student to obtain a degree within the field. The thinking behind this among college instructors is that students do not learn to properly shoot if they are able to take thousands of pictures.
  
  

Types

• The more advanced the class, the more specialized it will become. There are many different types of photography, including editorial, commercial, fine art and portrait.
  
  Editorial photography is photography that is not for commercial use rather to support news articles or anything word-related. It is not meant for the purpose of selling the object photographed. George S. Smith, Robert M. Smith, and Timothy O'Sullivan are a few examples of photographers who documented the Civil War.
  
  Commercial photography is photography meant for the purpose of selling the object photographed. Artistic license is usually more restricted than editorial since one is capturing the idea of the client.
  
  Fine art photography is the photographer as artist. The photographer has unlimited creative license since the work is sold based on the artist's creative ingenuity. These classes focus more on composition and artistic expression as well as combining other fields of artistic expression.
  
  Portrait photography is photography that is for the purpose of capturing a human figure, a family or human event, or even for the promotion of that person, such as head shots for an actor or model.
  
  

The Pros

• Photography courses are helpful in that they provide insight into the quality of equipment that is demanded of you as a professional photographer. Furthermore, meeting other people who are also passionate about the industry is also helpful to an aspiring photographer.
  
  

The Cons

• Upper-division digital photography classes are designed to pinpoint certain areas of photography. They are taken either online or at fine art schools. Even though photography classes are helpful in learning photographic skills, they are not required in the business world of photography. What matters is the quality of the portfolio of the photographer and the photographer's creative sense.
  
  

Masters in Fine Arts

• If an aspiring photographer wants to obtain a graduate degree in photography it is necessary to have either a BFA in photography or have a couple years of experience in the industry.