Photography Intensives:
SOCAPA offers both two and three week summer programs in traditional 35mm darkroom and/or digital photography with a strong emphasis on capturing images for the entertainment industry. Students take classes in studio and portrait photography, photojournalism, documentary, fine art photography, Photoshop and web publishing (online portfolio).
Our Summer Photography Program is closely tied to our Acting, Filmmaking and Dance Programs. As part of their assignment each week, a photography student may be sent out to shoot production stills on a film production one morning, then off to the studio to light and shoot headshots for an actor that afternoon, and then back to the main stage to shoot publicity photos of the dance group during their rehearsal. In this way, each photography student builds an impressive entertainment portfolio to complement the documentary and fine art work they do in class and on field shoots. This also allows the photography students to mingle and work with other young visual and performing artists, which often leads to future collaborations and, more importantly, friendships that last a lifetime.
| - Sample Headshots by Photography Students |
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New York City & Vermont: 35mm Darkroom & Digital Photography
Our Photography Programs in New York City and Burlington, Vermont expose students to both 35mm black & white darkroom photography and color digital photography. Students learn to shoot and develop 35mm film and spend an average of twelve hours per week in our gang teaching darkrooms (2 darkrooms with 12 enlargers each). Students also learn color digital photography, and on most photo safaris (city excursions to Coney Island, East Village, Times Square, etc.) students will shoot with two different cameras, capturing a mix of both 35mm black & white negative film and color digital files. Students also learn Photoshop editing techniques and portrait studio photography using strobes, flashes and seamlesses. Students in the three-week program are introduced to web publishing during the final week and can create their own online portfolio hosted for free on the SOCAPA server.
Los Angeles & London: Digital & Advanced Digital Photography
Digital Photography: SOCAPA’s Digital Photography Programs in London and Los Angeles focus on digital SLR cameras, Photoshop, and studio portrait photography. Students spend more time at the parks, boardwalks, streets and museums, learning and practicing photographic techniques and theory than they do in the traditional classroom. Formal classes in the history of photography, photo theory, Photoshop and studio lighting complement the work they do out in the field. In a final class on web design and publishing, students learn to create an online portfolio of their summer work which is hosted for free on the SOCAPA server.
| - Advanced Photo Students shoot with strobes on the streets of central London |
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Advanced Digital Photography: SOCAPA’s Three Week Advanced Photography Program is designed for returning SOCAPA students who have completed our two or three week Photography Program. New students who have taken a similar workshop with basic classes in photo history, theory and techniques are also encouraged to apply. The Program will pick up where our basic workshop leaves off and focus on advanced digital techniques, advanced Photoshop, and web publishing. For their culmination piece, each student will learn to design and manage their own
online portfolio/website.
Tom LeGoff, Program Director:
SOCAPA’s Summer Photography Workshops for high school students are directed by professional photographer Tom LeGoff. Students in the NY Program get individualized, hands-on instruction with Mr. LeGoff in the studio, the darkroom and out in the field. Tom has photographed countless celebrities such as Spike Lee, Nick Nolte, Deborah Harry, John Waters, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Jean-Luc Godard, Christina Ricci, Martin Short and Ang Lee. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Elle, Entertainment Weekly, Interview, and IFC/Rant to name a few. For more about Tom LeGoff and his work, please visit www.tomlegoff.com.
| - Photography Students at Coney Island |
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