Photography
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
Associate Professor
Tarrah Krajnak
Associate Professor
Rodrigo Valenzuela
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Lecturer
Jenny Calivas
Lecturer
Siri Kaur
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Lecturer
Matt Lipps
Lecturer
Harold Mendez
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Location & Contact
Location
The Photography Area is located on the 1st floor of the Broad Art Center, Suite 1101
Photography Classroom – 1145
Photography Studio – 1135
Lab hours & contact
Photography Lab Hours and Info
Lab Supervisor Office Hours
Mon - Fri, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Photography Lab Supervisor
Photography Undergraduate & Graduate Courses
Undergraduate Photography Courses
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.
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.
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.
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.
Graduate Photography Courses
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.
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.
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.
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.
Photography M.F.A. Candidates
- Alina van Ryzin 2027