Please note: RISD Photo+Book: From Digital Workflow to the Photographic Book is no longer accepting registrations for 2009. Details for the 2010 program will be posted as soon as information is finalized. In the meantime, we are leaving the 2009 information on this page for reference. Please note that schedules and fees may change for the 2010 program.

Photo+Book: From Digital Workflow to the Photographic Book takes an interdisciplinary approach to photography and graphic design. The intensive two-week course, led by notable RISD Photography and Graphic Design faculty members, is offered to photography students and professional photographers wishing to represent their creative vision in a finely crafted and rendered photographic book. Students participate in portfolio critiques with peers and professional photographers; receive hands-on instruction in high-level processing technology and digital workflow methods; explore the dynamic interplay of image and typography in layout design to achieve the artist’s narrative and production value objectives; and ultimately design a high-quality prototype photographic book of their own material. The course is complemented by lectures on the history of photographic books, guest lectures, and field trips to speak with publishing professionals, curators and photographers.

WHO SHOULD APPLY
This course is for serious and/or professional photographers, including photography students, who have an existing portfolio of work in digital format. Some experience with Photoshop and InDesign is helpful, but not required.

THE PROGRAM | CALENDAR | REQUIREMENTS | GRADES + CREDIT | TUITION + FEES | TO REGISTER | FOR MORE INFORMATION | FACULTY BIOS

THE PROGRAM

Week One
In the first week, students practice image production – exposure, white balance, RAW files – and receive instruction on digital workflow specifics, such as editing and sequencing using Adobe Bridge, color management, proofing, and preparation of digital files for press. Included in this week are portfolio reviews and critiques, and a series of field trips to visit photo curators, photographic book publishers, pre-press specialists, and a printing house.

Week Two
During the second week, students concentrate on all aspects of designing a comprehensive photographic book, in order to create their own prototype. Included is instruction in the use of type in layouts, editing images, and the principles of narrative, space, structure, scale and pacing in book design. Also covered are design production considerations, including the visual qualities of paper, printing, binding and color separation, as well as advanced techniques in reproduction, namely duotone and three-tone in black-and-white photography.

REQUIREMENTS
All participants must have a high school diploma or the equivalent. Knowledge of the English language is essential and is required of all students. International students not enrolled in the RISD degree program must score at least 580 on the TOEFL written exam (or a minimum score of 237 on the computer-based TOEFL test, or at least a score of 93 on the TOEFL iBT internet-based exam).

GRADES + CREDIT
The RISD Photo+Book Program is offered on an undergraduate credit or non-credit basis. For a full description of RISD’s policies on grades, acceptance and transfer of credits, and transcripts for summer programs, click here.

TUITION + FEES
Most Photo+Book students elect to live on-campus, but locally-based students may choose to commute. For those living on-campus, room and board are included in the overall tuition fee. Participants are provided a private bedroom in one of RISD’s recently renovated residence houses, conveniently located near RISD’s main dining center, “The Met.” Tuition and fees for the program are:

Participants living on campus (tuition includes housing and dining):
Undergraduate Tuition: $3,250
Non-credit Tuition: $2,250

Participants commuting to and from campus:
Undergraduate Tuition: $2,250
Non-credit Tuition: $1,250

A $250 nonrefundable deposit is due upon registration. If registering by the April 1 deposit deadline, you may submit a deposit and be billed for the balance. All accounts, however, must be paid in full before a student can attend any portion of the program. If registering after April 1, the entire program fee is due upon registration.

TO REGISTER
All participants must complete and submit the Photo+Book Registration Form. Note: this form may either be downloaded, filled out and printed or you may print it and fill it out by hand. Be sure to complete the form carefully (both pages!), as incomplete forms cannot be processed. Please note: In the unlikely event that this program will not run, registrants will be notified soon after May 15, 2009. Therefore, registrants may wish to wait until after this date to finalize their travel plans or to obtain traveler’s insurance to cover nonrefundable tickets.

All non-US citizens who are not already enrolled in the RISD degree program must fill out a Student Visa Information (SVI) Form. Note: this form may either be downloaded, filled out and printed or you may print it and fill it out by hand. In most cases, an I-20 Certificate of Eligibility for an F-1 student visa is required for study at RISD. If the I-20 is required, the SVI form must accompany complete program registration and materials, deposits and a $150 administrative fee, all of which must be received by March 16, 2009 (earlier submission is strongly recommended). Soon after receipt of the SVI form, a Declaration of Finances Form will be sent to students. It must be returned with information certifying that the student has adequate funds for tuition, living expenses and transportation back to his or her home country.

Registration may be completed by mail, fax, or in person, as follows:

Registering by Mail
Mail completed forms and fees to:
Photo+Book Program
RISD/CE
Two College Street
Providence, RI 02903-2787 USA
Payments may be made by check, money order, VISA or MasterCard credit cards. Debit cards are not accepted. Checks returned for insufficient funds incur a $25 fee.

Registering by Fax
Fax completed registrations to 401 454-6218. Debit cards are not accepted. Payments must be made by VISA or MasterCard credit cards.

Registering In Person
Bring all forms to the RISD Continuing Education office, 20 Washington Place, Providence, during regular office business hours: Monday - Thursday, 8:30am to 7:30pm; Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm; some Saturdays (call to confirm), 8:30am to 12:30pm.

Late Registrations
Registrations received after April 1 must include tuition and fees in full. As long as space is available in the program, students may continue to register up to the program start date.

Confirmation of Registration
A confirmation letter is sent to each student who registers by Friday, May 15. This letter includes instructions for locating and downloading confirmation materials from the Internet. Confirmation materials contain check-in details, all necessary forms, policy statements and other information that is needed prior to the student’s arrival on campus. Detailed instructions will be provided with each form.

Withdrawals + Refunds
To officially withdraw, submit written notification to the CE Associate Director for Student Services in the RISD|CE office, in person or by mail or fax. Failure to properly withdraw from a course results in a permanent grade of F on the student’s record. Important: Simply notifying the instructor or failing to complete a course does not constitute official withdrawal.

RISD refunds tuition and fee payments in full for registrations that are not accepted, or if registration is closed. No tuition is refunded to students who are asked to leave a program for a violation of school policies or regulations. Tuition deposits, housing and dining deposits, and lab and registration fees are nonrefundable. The percentage of the tuition and housing/dining fees refunded, minus deposits and lab and registration fees, depends on the date the written request is received in the CE office, as follows:

By one week prior to start of class: 100%
During the week propr to start of class: 50%
Beginning the first day of class: no refund

Please note: Refunds take six weeks to process. Refunds for payments made by MasterCard or VISA are credited to the account that was charged.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
If you still have questions after reading the appropriate form, call 401 454-6209 Monday-Thursday, 10am-5pm and Friday, 10am-3pm, or 401 454-6215 during regular business hours. You may also send us your questions on the Catalog Request Form. Be sure to include your phone number and/or email address and a program advisor will contact you.

FACULTY BIOS

Ernesto Aparicio
BA, Escuela de Bellas Artes, Universidad de la Plata, Buenos Aires; Ecole des Arts Décoratifs, Paris. Aparicio has been a graphic designer in the publishing and corporate identity fields for more than twenty-five years. He was Art Director for Editions du Seuil in Paris for ten years, and is currently director of Aparicio Design Inc. USA and Europe. Selected examples of his work include: design for "Carte Premier" for Visa and MasterCard, France; corporate identities and publications for prominent companies in France and Japan; photographic monographs for Centre Pompidou in Paris, the International Center of Photography in New York and the MFA in Boston; design of comprehensive photo books for established photographers Brassai, Weegee, Man Ray, Weston and Charles Sheeler; collaborations with publishing houses Phaidon, TF Editores and Bullfinch; and design of monographs for contemporary photographers Nicholas Nixon, Graciela Iturbide and Abelardo Morell. Aparicio has received awards from and/or been published by Graphis, Communication Arts, the Type Directors Club, Robundo and Novum.

Steven B. Smith
BFA, Utah State University; MFA, Photography, Yale School of Art. Smith has been the recipient of a Guggenheim and an Aaron Siskind Fellowship, and was awarded the Honickman First Book Prize for Photography by the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. His monograph The Weather and a Place to Live: Photographs of the Suburban West was published by Duke University Press. Smith’s photography can be found in many public and private collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Yale Gallery of Art. He has been a photography instructor at Yale University and Brown University, and is currently a professor and digital specialist in the RISD Photography Department.