Photography at UCLA
The Photography Area defines photography broadly as a lens-based medium, and has a rich history of alumni who practice in both traditional and experimental modes. The area concentrates on issues of contemporary photography, encompassing print, installation, and video. The medium of photography’s history is discussed through a unique understanding of the historical/material relationship in fine-art photography. The program emphasizes the student’s perspective within the medium through critique and technical expertise in the courses offered.
Photography Faculty
Professor, Lynda and Stewart Resnick Endowed Chair in Art
Catherine Opie
Associate Professor and Photography Area Head
Rodrigo Valenzuela
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Visiting Assistant Professor
Widline Cadet
Lecturer
Siri Sahaj Kaur
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Lecturer
Matt Lipps
Lecturer
Sean Sprague
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Photography Lab Supervisor
Valerie Green
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Location & Contact Information
Photography Area Location
The Photography Area is located on the 1st floor of the Broad Art Center, Suite 1101
Photography Classroom – 1145
Photography Studio – 1135
Photography Lab Hours and Info
Photography Lab Supervisor
Valerie Green
E: valerie.green@arts.ucla.edu
T: (310) 825-9859
Office: Broad Art Center 1101C
Lab Supervisor Office Hours
Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Faculty Office Hours
Email faculty directly to arrange virtual office hours
Photography Faculty
Catherine Opie, Professor
T: (310) 206-6750
Office: 1139 Broad Art Center
Rodrigo Valenzuela, Associate Professor and Photography Area Head
T: (310) 825-3281
Office: 1149 Broad Art Center
Widline Cadet, Visiting Assistant Professor
Siri Sahaj Kaur, Lecturer
Matt Lipps, Lecturer
Sean Sprague, Lecturer
Facilities & Equipment
Photography Area facilities include a black-and-white group darkroom; film and digital cameras, ranging from 35 mm to medium and large formats; a computer lab; and large-scale Epson printers.
Instructional Materials Fee
All students must pay an Instructional Materials fee each quarter in which they are enrolled in photography classes. This quarterly fee supports area resources, including the Photography Lab and Studio, black-and-white chemistry, digital printing facilities, and other photography tools and equipment available for student use. The fee is based on coursework, as follows: Beginning Photography (ART 11B), $75; Advanced Photography (ART 147), $100; Independent Projects (ART197/198), $100.
Photography Studio
The Photography Studio is located in Room 1135. It is an empty white space designated for the production of photographs, video, and film. Photo shoots must be scheduled during regular Photography Lab hours. Reservations and arrangements must be discussed prior to your shoot dates with the lab supervisor; please see the lab supervisor in 1101C to make reservations. The room includes a hot-light kit, umbrellas, C-stands, a sweep tabletop, clamps, etc. Students are responsible for all equipment in the room and the room must not be altered in any way. Dimensions: 17′2″ × 25′8″ × 15′5″
Darkroom
The Black & White communal darkroom has 15 brand new Beseler enlargers for 35mm, medium format and 4x5 film and a Durst mural enlarger for 8x10 film. There is a slot vented walk-around sink and a large laminar flow print washer, drying racks, film processing room with film dryer. There are also 2 private black & white darkrooms.
Copy Stand & Slide Library
The copy stand and Slide Library are located in room 1101B and are open during regular Photography Lab hours. The copy stand is equipped with a daylight-balanced strobe kit and is suitable for photographing flat artworks up to 20 × 24″. It does not include a camera, but cameras are available for check out. The Slide Library contains over ten thousand slides organized by photographer’s name. Slides are not available for check out, but students may view them on a light table or projector.
Digital Photography Lab
The Digital Photography Lab is equipped with seven 27″ iMac computer stations with Photoshop CC 2017; five Epson scanners (two V750-M, one V850 Pro, and two 10000XL); and three Epson inkjet printers (P800, 4880, and 7900). All computers are connected to the Student File Server network in coordination with the Department of Art's Digital Studio.
Equipment Check Out
With payment of the Instructional Materials fee, students can borrow equipment for one to two days or longer depending on project proposal and need. All equipment loans must be arranged with the lab supervisor between the hours of 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Loans are made by contract only. Students are responsible for the safe return of all equipment. Available equipment includes small-, medium-, and large-format cameras; hot-light kits; strobe-light kits; tripods; cable releases; light meters; Polaroid cameras and backs; umbrellas and gels; and more.
Photography Undergraduate & Graduate Courses
Undergraduate Photography Courses
ART 11B. Photography
Units: 4
Studio, eight hours; five hours arranged. Fundamentals in technique, with emphasis on individual projects. Varied approaches, processes, and applications of photographic medium within the context of art, supported by studies in theory, aesthetics, and the history of photography. P/NP or letter grading. Instructional Materials fee: $75.
ART 21A. Production: Photographic Print
Units: 2
Studio, four hours. Limited to art majors. Not open for credit to students with credit for course 20. Techniques and processes, including basics of shooting, editing, and output for still images and photographs. Professional setups and standard practices as well as alternatives. Review of tools, software, workflow, storage, and output modalities. Instruction in postproduction skills and tools for editing and altering images and producing high-quality printed images. Letter grading.
Art 147. Advanced Photography
Units: 5
Studio, eight hours; seven hours arranged. Requisite: course 11B. Selected projects in photography and related media, concentrating on development of individual students’ artwork. Studio emphasis with special topics in theory and critical analysis. May be repeated for maximum of 20 units. Letter grading. Instructional Materials fee: $100.
Art 147A. Advanced Photography: Topics in Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Units: 5
Studio, eight hours; seven hours arranged. Requisite: course 11B. Varied approaches to photography's history, media, and content to develop students' technical, expressive, and conceptual tools to understand and explore anti-racism, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Combination of courses 147 and 147A may be repeated for maximum of 20 units. Letter grading. Instructional Materials fee: $100.
Photography Graduate Studies
Photography is one of six areas of study offered in the M.F.A. art program. Graduate students in this area are encouraged to experiment and strengthen their individual practices of making works of art using photographs. Faculty, visiting artists, and a strong cohort of peers expose students to diverse approaches to art making and encourage critical examination of the historical and contemporary role of photographic imagery and objects in society.
Photography faculty Catherine Opie and Rodrigo Valenzuela serve as the primary advisors to students admitted to this area of study. Students also may work with faculty from other areas within the Department of Art or other departments across the university.
All M.F.A. students are offered the use of off-campus individual studios in the UCLA Margo Leavin Graduate Art Studios, located in Culver City. In addition to individual studio spaces, the studio building houses photography, sculpture, ceramics, and computer labs, as well as open spaces for exhibitions, lectures, and group critiques. Although the Department of Art does not offer graduate-level courses in the summer, the graduate studios are open year round.
Graduate Photography Courses
Art 274. Graduate Photography
Units: 2 to 8
Studio, eight hours. Studies concentrating on development of individual students’ artwork. Studio emphasis with adjacent studies in theoretical and critical analysis. Specific attention to original, expressive, social, and humanistic values of art. May be repeated for credit with consent of adviser. Letter grading.
Art 276. Graduate Group Critique
Units: 4
Discussion, four hours; tutorial, to be arranged. Group critique/discussion of students' research. Additional tutorial meetings by arrangement with instructor. May be repeated for credit. Letter grading.
Art C280. Graduate Seminar
Units: 4
Seminar, three hours. Advanced topics in critical theory and study of contemporary art, with emphasis on individuals, issues, and methodologies. Possible areas of study include structuralism, deconstruction, feminist and psychoanalytic theory, commodification, and censorship. May be repeated for credit. Concurrently scheduled with course C180. Letter grading.