Photo- & Lens- Based Design BFA
Program Purpose
The Photo- & Lens- Based Design program at BYU caters to a wide variety of interests across a broad spectrum of careers. Students are engaged through hands-on activities (in class, in studio, and on location), instructor/peer critiques, and portfolio-focused assignments as a means of bridging the gap between being a student and functioning within a professional industry. Through their studies, students mature in technical, aesthetic, and conceptual aspects of imagemaking in a variety of technologies-ranging from analog to digital. Assignments, critiques, and experiences are designed to aid individuals in further developing their creative practice, personal vision, fluency in the language and craft of photo and lens-based media, and how their work functions in a wider cultural context.
Learning Outcomes
Creative Practice and Visual Communication
Students will develop and communicate innovative ideas through still and moving imagery using strong visual, conceptual, and narrative strategies. They will demonstrate the ability to create meaningful work that engages audiences within artistic, cultural, and professional contexts.
Students will demonstrate technical proficiency across contemporary photographic and lens-based media practices, including lighting, capture, editing, production, and presentation in both analog and digital workflows. Students will apply industry standard practices in preparation for professional careers and graduate study.
Students will analyze and evaluate historical and contemporary photography, cinematography, and lens-based media within broader artistic, social, ethical, and cultural contexts. Students will employ critical thinking, research methodologies, and visual literacy to inform their own creative practice.
Students will demonstrate professionalism through effective communication, collaboration, project management, and ethical decision making. Students will understand the responsibilities of creators working within diverse communities and industries and will apply principles of integrity, respect, and service in their professional and creative work.
Students will cultivate habits of curiosity, self-reflection, adaptability, and lifelong learning that support continued artistic and professional growth. Through their creative practice, students will develop personal vision while seeking to positively contribute to their communities, professions, and society.