A Year at Hallmark

Every week brings something new in Hallmark's intensive 10-month program. Retrace the journey of our most recent graduates, the Class of 2008, from orientation to graduation. As you step through this timeline, realize that a given week in 2009 or 2010 will likely be diffferent from the "same" week in 2007 or 2008 — unlike multi-year programs, Hallmark is unfettered in its ability to rapidly adapt to industry changes. We take advantage of that freedom to give every class the most current and relevant instruction possible. (You can follow the Class of 2009 on our Week by Week page.)

Week Thirteen — Students hit the ground running this week, as they dive into more advanced challenges in the portrait and commercial studios. Having learned to solve tricky lighting problems when shooting glassware and reflective metal, students apply this knowledge to different types of product photography in the commercial studio. In the portrait studio, they learn the subtleties of lighting backgrounds and adding depth to their photographs through the use of accent lights. Meanwhile, in the business curriculum, students are interviewing a range of working photographic professionals -- fashion photographers, commercial photographers, studio managers, photographic assistants -- and will be giving ten-minute speeches reporting on what they learned. Pictured: Current student Jess takes meter readings while Instructor Tony Downer checks the composition of Floyd's glassware shot.