Photography

Message from Bob Thall, Chairperson

The Photography Department is one of the largest and most comprehensive photo departments in the nation. We provide a truly exceptional program for ambitious, motivated students, one that is as broad and as rigorous as the competitive world they’ll encounter after graduation. Our faculty members are active professionals and artists who have achieved remarkable success in a range of commercial and artistic photography. Instructors in the Photography Department have exhibited at such venues as the Art Institute of Chicago, the Whitney Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art, and have also won numerous grants and fellowships, including the Pulitzer Prize and the Guggenheim Fellowship. They bring their enthusiasm and passion for photography and their knowledge as working professionals to the classroom to help students bridge the gap between college and the real world.

Columbia’s Photography Department facilities are the most extensive and advanced in the Midwest. The Digital Imaging Lab includes more than 200 workstations, highly sophisticated scanning equipment, and an assortment of large-format printers. We also have two studios with an extensive array of professional lighting equipment, as well as numerous 8 in. x 10 in. and 4 in. x 5 in. cameras, medium-format and digital cameras, and other digital equipment. Our darkrooms have more than 150 enlarging stations that accommodate all popular film formats, both color and black and white.

The Photography Department is an excellent program for students who have high ambitions. Many of our students develop compelling and personal photographic projects. Recent graduates have exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the City Gallery, and at many other notable institutions and galleries. Our undergraduates have proceeded to graduate study at some of the nation’s most prestigious institutions and then on to careers as artists and teachers. Many other students from our program are pursuing successful and exciting careers as photojournalists and commercial and editorial photographers. We provide a solid education in photography and then support our students as they each discover a unique direction for their work and career.

Bob Thall
Chairperson, Photography

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