Video, and its increasing importance in fashion, will be central to the program, and as a new genre, what constitutes fashion video will be developed and defined and shaped. The influence of the Internet, social networking and transformations in media and publishing will be part of the conversation, and each student will be expected to complete a fully realized video piece.

One-semester courses will be held on fashion photography topics such as history, logistics, career development, digital practice, narrative and cinema. The goal of the program is the cultivation of an individual sensibility that will withstand the pressure for aesthetic and market compromise, and will profoundly influence the future of the medium.

Degree candidates must successfully complete 30 credits, including all required courses, earn a cumulative GPA of higher than 3.0 and create an original, challenging and provocative portfolio of images.

Digital Photography For Fashion Photographers
As the genre of fashion photography becomes increasingly stylized and fictional, working skills and a rigorous knowledge of digital retouching are essential. This hands-on studio course will review the key Adobe Photoshop tools for fashion and tethering equipment for a seamless digitized environment. Work from the professional community that highlights creative retouching and digital manipulation will be discussed. Under consideration will also be the ethical dimensions of retouching and its impact on culture.

Fashion Photography Critique I
At the conceptual core of the program is the weekly discussion of each participant's images, followed by a rigorous and thorough analysis of those works. As an intimacy with one another's work and objectives develops, the work becomes refined through being challenged. A vigorous participation in the conversation about each person's work, and a balance of generosity and useful criticism is expected.

Fashion Photography, Narrative and Cinema
A crucial aspect of contemporary fashion photography is the telling of a story. Central to the topic is an examination of cinema's influence on fashion photography and how, as a visual medium, it condenses narrative to image. The objective of this course is to forge an ability to employ narrative that is driven by light, place, gesture, object, or character, with the resulting image having depth and complexity.

Light
It is an enduring cliché that light is a fundamental aspect of the photographic vocabulary, and an understanding of light is an especially essential facet of fashion photography as a genre in which light (as well as dark) is controlled for creative effect. This course will pursue an in-depth examination of the importance of light, its ability to suggest place, psychology and emotion, and to enhance texture and detail, as among the many possibilities of an informed use of light. 

Symposium I
Throughout the year of study, Symposium acts as a weekly gathering of program participants for an array of activities: guest lectures and guest critiques, trips to museum and gallery exhibitions and visits to designers' studios and couture shows. The emphasis will be on bringing a broad range of cultural ideas to the conversation, and to take advantage of all the resources that New York offers. 

Fashion Photography Critique II
At the conceptual core of the program is the weekly discussion of each participant's images, followed by a rigorous and thorough analysis of those works. As an intimacy with one another's work and objectives develops, the work becomes refined through being challenged. A vigorous participation in the conversation about each person's work, and a balance of generosity and useful criticism is expected.

History of Fashion Photography
This course will provide a historical survey of fashion photography with an emphasis on contemporary work of the last thirty years, when the conceptual framework of fashion became more experimental and creative, as well as a cultural matrix. Active participation in discussions is required, and each student will give a presentation on an aspect of recent history that has particular relevance to the individual. 

Logistics, Collaboration, Support
Similar to cinema, fashion photography is a collaborative medium, and its success lies in the photographer's ability to work with a crew of individuals to produce the desired image. This course will address the logistics of that effort, and emphasize the importance of creative collaboration. Each student, based on his or her sensibility and aesthetic, will form a creative team from the ranks of the professional photographic community.

Symposium II
Throughout the year of study, Symposium acts as a weekly gathering of program participants for an array of activities: guest lectures and guest critiques, trips to museum and gallery exhibitions, and visits to designers' studios and couture shows. The emphasis will be on bringing a broad range of cultural ideas to the conversation, and taking advantage of all the resources that New York offers.

Video and Fashion Photography
Partly as a result of the rapid transformations in media and publishing, and the influence of the Internet, fashion video has become increasingly important and the subject of much speculation. As a fashion venue, it increases narrative and contributes sound, music and motion. This course will focus on the production of a video short. Sessions will include digital lab time with instruction in editing of the video.