At Pratt, we consider photography to be a tool and message for personal and cultural expression. As a student you will develop a deeper understanding of your role within a complex image-based landscape, formulating a dynamic perspective in order to make a wide array of meaningful contributions to the field.
The Photography curriculum provides an extensive photographic education through a series of core classes that promote students’ technical and conceptual development.
Students are expected to establish their photographic practices through the study of analog and digital processes within a deeper understanding of the histories and theories of the medium. Given the central role that images play in our lives, demonstrating literacy in photography has taken on new meaning, new urgency, and new forms.
Student Work
Look at these bodies of work that our current Photography students are producing. Through concentrated learning about photographic processes, critical discourse, and exposure to contemporary art, you’ll develop your own visual language and artistic voice.
Our photographic production spaces are at the core of your educational experience at Pratt. The digital labs, analog darkrooms, and lighting studio are creative environments that foster community and function as an extension of the classroom. The atmosphere and culture of these spaces are centralized around promoting skill-building, creativity, and the exploration of materials and processes. Students are encouraged to expand upon what they learn in class, experiment with both concept and form, and question the boundaries of the photographic medium.
Labs and Facilities
At Pratt, our labs and facilities are capable of supporting a wide range of photographic practices. Our darkrooms can accommodate negative formats ranging from 35mm to 4×5 sheet film. They also provide areas for print finishing. Our digital labs feature state-of-the-art Apple computers, Epson printers, film digitization stations, and a Risograph Digital Duplicator for independent book publications. In the department’s lighting studio, Profoto and Lowell lighting equipment, stands, dollies and seamless backdrops make learning about studio shoots an important part of the professional experience.
Students have the opportunity to explore different sectors of the field through their choice of internships at various art institutions, galleries, and studios such as the Whitney Museum of Art, Conveyor Arts, Distributed Art Publishers (D.A.P.), David LaChapelle Studio, and Diverse Works to name a few. An internship provides students with real-world work experience. During their course of study, students have the option to complete an internship for program credit. A Pratt faculty advisor guides each student until their learning objectives are met.
Study Abroad
Immersing yourself in another culture is an incredible experience that can extend the boundaries of creativity. Study abroad programs are an integral part of the college experience, and Pratt has deep connections with university partners around the world. In addition to partnering with universities abroad, Pratt Photography has abroad opportunities as part of Pratt Berlin, a semester-long program where students will take Pratt course offerings with Pratt faculty while living in Berlin, Germany. Similarly, the Photography Department has elective courses with short-term travel components embedded into the curriculum, which include opportunities to travel and study during spring break in Havana, Cuba, or San Juan, Puerto Rico. See where you can go.
Learning Resources
We develop disciplinary fluency in our program of study and we celebrate the interdisciplinary nature of design critical to address the plurality and complexity of the environments in which we operate. Learning resources.
Our Faculty
At Pratt, the Photography Department’s faculty members are distinguished artists and creative professionals who are committed to developing and nurturing the creative potential of each individual student. The faculty come from diverse professional and educational backgrounds representing the intersectional nature of the photographic arts. This plurality of experiences and approaches creates a singular education experience tailored to the unique needs of the student body. See the full list of faculty and administrative staff here.
Our Alumni
Pratt’s distinguished alumni are leading diverse and thriving careers, creating and expanding upon the visual culture of our present-day world.
Where They Work
Programs Manager, Baxter St. Camera Club of New York
Assistant Collections Manager, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Founder, Blue Hour Press
Editor-In-Chief, The Daring
Commissioned Photographer, The New York Times Magazine
Join us at Pratt. Learn more about admissions requirements, plan your visit, talk to a counselor, and start your application. Take the next step.
You’ll find yourself at home at Pratt. Learn more about our residence halls, student organizations, athletics, gallery exhibitions, events, the amazing City of New York and our Brooklyn neighborhood communities. Check us out.
Join us for our next virtual Pratt MFA in Photography Information Session:
🗓️ Wednesday, December 18th
🕙 10AM EST
📍Online - RSVP for Zoom Link: https://tinyurl.com/DEC18PPMFA (Link in bio)
The session will be led by Interim Director, Sara VanDerBeek, Liv Dawson (Class of 2025), and Kunwar Prithvi Singh Rathore (Class of 2024).
All those interested in the program are encouraged to attend—we hope to see you there!
@prattinstitute @soartpratt
✨ These are the LAST days to catch our final series of Open Call exhibitions, featuring:
Hope Creek: An Emergency Group Show by SOAP Magazine
This is what I love by Mia Giuliani
Glory Hole by Eve Beatrice Weiner
📍 Pratt Photography Gallery, LL ARC
🕚 Open 10AM - 5PM, today and tomorrow
@prattinstitute @soartpratt
It’s beginning to look a lot like the end of the semester! Stop by the Tech Office to add your photo ornaments to our tree! 🪵🔥📷🎄🌟❄️
@prattinstitute @soartpratt
TOMORROW: Photography Talk Series: JJJJJerome Ellis ✨
🗓️ Wednesday, December 4th
🕑 2PM
📍 E-2, LL ARC
This event is co-sponsored by the Writing Department’s “Writing Activisms” Series.
We hope to see you there!
@prattinstitute @soartpratt @prattwriting @jjjjjeromeellis
Our Lunchtime Talk Series continues tomorrow 12/2 with Tyler Coburn ✨
We are pleased to announce the next talk in this series, a chance for students and peers to hear from Photography Department faculty and staff, as they share their work.
Please feel free to bring your lunch—we hope you’ll join us! ☺️
🗓️ Tuesday, December 3rd
🕐 1:00PM
📍E-4, LL ARC
@prattinstitute @soartpratt
Opening TONIGHT: John Lehr’s The Last Things at Kate Werble Gallery ✨
🗓️ Open through January 11th
🕕 Opening Reception 6-8PM today
📍 Kate Werble Gallery, 474 Broadway
Congratulations, John! 👏
@prattinstitute @soartpratt @john_lehr
✨ Join us for our next round of Open Call shows, opening TODAY and FRIDAY, featuring:
This is what I love by Mia Giuliani
Opening reception today @ 6PM
Glory Hole by Eve Beatrice Weiner
Opening reception today @ 6PM
Hope Creek: An Emergency Group Show by SOAP Magazine
Opening reception Friday 11/22 @ 5PM
🗓️ Open through December 6th
🕔 Monday - Friday 11AM - 5PM
📍 Pratt Photography Gallery, LL ARC
Congratulations to all the artists! 👏
@prattinstitute @soartpratt @miagiuliani @evebweiner @_noor_shoresh @soapmagaz1ne
The Department of Photography is committed to the education of artists and professionals who have acquired a comprehensive understanding of the artistic and professional opportunities in the field. The curriculum provides an extensive photographic education through a series of core classes that promote students’ technical and conceptual development. Photography majors move from a highly structured program in their freshman and sophomore years to a more flexible program in their junior and senior years in which students choose from a variety of electives in photography, other studio disciplines, and in the humanities. This approach is intended to facilitate the transition from student to independent artist and professional. Completion of the curriculum culminates with an exhibition in the Pratt Photography Gallery, as well as a group show in a New York City gallery, and a collaborative photography publication. Small class sizes help to promote a strong sense of community in the intimate setting of Pratt’s Brooklyn campus. Students are given opportunities to meet artists and critics through the Pratt Photography Lectures, visiting critiques, and artist studio and museum visits. This access can help students build contacts and relationships with influential professionals in the field. Like a small town within a big city, we look to give students their own voice, so they can employ it in whichever direction they choose.
Undergraduates establish strong photographic practices and discourses through the study of analog and digital processes, the history and theory of photography, and the development of critical thinking and writing skills through required and elective courses in photography, other creative disciplines, and the liberal arts. Participating in this experience prepares students to actively contribute to culture and society as leaders in the photographic arts and applied industries, as well as to pursue graduate studies in related fields. Graduates are expected to demonstrate excellence in artistic vision, professional skills, innovation, and a contextual understanding of their work in contemporary culture.
Upon completion of the program:
• Students will demonstrate an understanding of the broad range of possibilities available in analog and digital photographic materials.
• Students will demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of the aesthetic principles of photography.
• Students will articulate a broad knowledge of photographic and relevant cultural histories and an in-depth understanding of contemporary issues in photography pertinent to their practices.
• Students will create a cohesive body of photographic work in which an artistic vision and contextual awareness of their work is evident.
• Students will apply the technical skills and professional practices necessary to pursue careers or graduate studies in the photographic arts and applied industries.
