MPS Fashion Photography Curriculum

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.

General Requirements

• Successful completion of 30 credits, including all required courses and thesis project. Documentation of all thesis projects must be on file in the Fashion Photography Department to be eligible for degree conferral. 
• Two semesters of residency (fall, spring). Students must complete their degree within two years, unless given an official extension by the provost. 
• Students are required to maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (B) in order to remain in good academic standing. 

Note: Departmental requirements are subject to change by the department chair if the chair deems that such change is warranted.

Course Requirements

Fall Semester

PFG-5140 Fashion Photography Critique I

PFG-5170 Symposium I

PFG-5330 History of Fashion Photography

PFG-5570 Ideation

PFG-5630 Fashion Film I

Spring Semester

PFG-5145 Fashion Photography Critique II

PFG-5175 Symposium II

PFG-5510 Image and Industry

PFG-5530 Collaborative Process

PFG-5635 Fashion Film II

General Course Listing

The following reflects the 2025-2026 course offerings. For further details on individual courses, such as meeting days and times, please refer to the Graduate Course Listing.

PFG-5140 / PFG-5145

Fashion Photography Critique I and II

3 credits per semester

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.

PFG-5170 / PFG-5175

Symposium I and II

3 credits per semester

Throughout the year of study, Symposium acts as a weekly gathering of program participants for an array of activities: guest lectures and critiques, and field trips to museums and gallery exhibitions. The emphasis will be on bringing a broad range of cultural ideas to the conversation, and to partake in the resources that New York City has to offer.

PFG-5330

History of Fashion Photography

3 credits

Serving as a chronological examination of fashion photography, this course will begin with its inception as society reportage and its early flowering alongside pictorialism, surrealism and modernism in the 1920s and ’30s. We will then follow the creative developments of the genre both during the Second World War and the postwar era, when the American fashion industry emerged, and through the great social and stylistic changes of the 1960s and ’70s. Finally, the course will consider the influence of social liberalization on fashion imagery; the growth and globalization of the fashion image; and the impact of digital photography, the Internet and Photoshop from the 1990s to the present.

PFG-5510

Image and Industry

3 credits

Today’s fast-changing commercial world and our increased consumption of images pose new challenges for emerging photographers. The democratization of photography and its craft is changing how we answer commercial briefs. Through discussion, practice and assignments, students will learn how to navigate this fast-paced and changing business, and will be better equipped to produce images that answer the briefs they face and fulfill client demands.

PFG-5530

Collaborative Process

3 credits

Similar to cinema, fashion photography is a collaborative medium and its success lies in a 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 will emphasize the importance of creative collaboration. Each student, based on their sensibility and aesthetic, will form a creative team from the ranks of the professional photographic community.

PFG-5570

Ideation

3 credits

This course centers on developing ideas. Leading students through different spaces, places and conversations, it will encourage them to see the world in their own way and, in turn, influence the ideas that underpin their photographic practice. Beginning with dismantling preconceived notions of fashion photography, it will outline the ideas and references behind some of the most iconic fashion images. Lectures and field trips will focus on places of inspiration, and we will journey through contemporary dance, film, architecture and other artists’ work to give students a foundation in creative thinking and how to incorporate this into their work.

PFG-5630 / PFG-5635

Fashion Film I and II

3 credits per semester

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