Teaching Philosophy
Bryce Denison is the director
of Midwest Photographic Workshops. He has been teaching photographic
workshops and courses for over 38 years and has put together
guidelines to ensure that students have the finest workshop
experience possible. All workshops are taught on location
in the environment, at our modern studio (with complete lighting
setups, props, and backgrounds), at our new computer lab (8
stations) or at our darkroom facility with state of the art
equipment (including enlargers for printing negatives through
11x14, and enough individual enlargers to accommodate up to
7 students).
Midwest Photographic Workshops' teaching
methods center around a commitment to a hands on approach,
where the majority of the student's time is spent in the field
with the instructors. This translates into some classroom
instruction, with most of the workshop time spent photographing
on location with personal instruction and demonstrations.
To achieve this optimum experience, we limit class sizes to
an ideal student to instructor ratio. Because of this low
ratio, workshops often have two, three, or more instructors
present. In workshops where a model is used, the maximum student
to model to instructor ratio is kept at one instructor per
model for every 6 to 8 (or less) students. Each student receives personal
help as he or she may need. Instructors are always present
to answer questions and assist with composition, metering,
and exposure. Student groups rotate to each instructor at
the workshop, giving them exposure to a variety of philosophies
and techniques. In our artistic nude figure, fashion, and
boudoir workshops, instructors help students develop confidence
in the areas of posing, makeup, and lighting. As a result,
our students are capable of working independently in their
areas of interest rather quickly. Our students often comment
on the advantages of having more than one instructor at some
of our workshops. Each instructor usually has his or her own
viewpoint on which elements to include in the composition
and how to frame those elements in the final image. By exposing
the students to different concepts on how to photograph a
scene, the students feel free to experiment with composition
and develop their own vision as they become aware that there
is more than one correct approach to making a photograph.
By the end of the workshop most students have progressed to
the point of making personal statements by previsualizing
the finished image and by experimenting with composition,
posing, and lighting to achieve these statements. Many classes and workshops will provide the student with a CD or DVD containing notes, images or a Powerpoint presentation of information relevant to the class they are enrolled in.
Model releases are not provided for images made with models
in workshops. Our goal is to provide instruction in order
to make students self sufficient to to hire their own model,
shoot, print and display works as independent fine art photographers.
Images taken in MPW workshops can be used in camera club competitions
or placed in the students portfolio, but may not be offered
for sale. Images taken at a Midwest Photo Workshop workshop
may be included on the students personal web site provided
that photo credit is attached that the image was taken during
a Midwest Photography Workshop workshop.
Many employers and labor unions such as the UAW offer Tuition Assistance Programs (ETAP). Midwest Photography Workshops participates in many of these programs. MPW is also a Veterans Administration approved vocational school. Please check with your employer to see if you qualify or contact Bryce Denison - Director of Midwest Photography Workshops at
(313) 804-9266 to discuss details. Revised 2-21-2008
|
