Western Kentucky University / S / Chad Stevens

I learned a lot about teaching in this class, but I hated my instructer. He was sarcastic, and boring. He had all sorts of assignments that only counted for one or two points, but they were really hard to complete. His tests were hard and very tricky. Like I said, I learned a lot from this class, and I don't believe I deserved the grade I got. He wouldn't round my final grade up just a few tenths of a point. I wouldn't take him if I were you. Not unless you want to be miserable for the whole semester.

I'm not gonna lie.. this class was difficult!!! I do not recommend taking it as an elective! I am a major and I almost killed myself. It is definitely not a course where you can frolic around fields of flowers... snap a few shots and print one on the day of class.. it is intense. He picks the assignments.. so you REALLY have to be creative. He is a hard grader.. however.. I loved him. He is a very talented photographer and he is really nice. He is opinionated.. but even when some people came in with really crappy pictures.. he had something nice to say about them. Like I said... if you aren't a major and are looking for an elective... I would suggest aerobic dancing or something else!! Unless you are hardcore about photography.. then go for it if you really love it... GOOD LUCK!!!!! If you try hard and put a lot of time and effort in.. I am living proof you can get an A! He does give A's.. promise!

mr. stevens was the best professor i've ever had. he is one of those born teachers--good at explaining things and very patient. of course he expected us to work hard in his class, but when we did, he met us halfway. he has always been willing to help students outside of class time with their projects. the projects he assigned were interesting and creative. i loved having mr. stevens as a teacher: the semester i had his class was probably the best semester of my college experience.

Stevens is a very nice person, but as a professor, he is not very understanding. He expects everyone to know everything about cameras as soon as you walk in on the first day for Basic, so be prepared....and ASK QUESTIONS if you don't understand, otherwise he will not help you out. He's very hard and rarely gives As on assignments. Expect to spend several hours a week in the darkroom to finish assignments and work hard on them, otherwise you will wind up with a C on your assignments, like most of the people in my class did. Also, you do not take a final in his class, your photo story is your final project and he requires 5-7 pictures for it. It may not seem like anything once you are starting the class, but later on in the semester it becomes overbearing.... I would also recommend starting on your photo story for his class at the beginning to mid November and spend A LOT of time on it, the more rolls of film, the better brownie points you are going to score with Stevens. He also likes "sharp and clear" pictures and not as he calls it "soft" pictures. Also, be prepared to spend at least $400 on this class, not including your camera....film alone will cost over $200. He allows 2 reshoots, but do them way in advance of the due date, which is the week before the semester ends. He rarely gives pop quizzes, so make sure to work hard on your prints....I think he personally expects WAY too much out of beginners and I wouldn't recommend taking him if you think this is going to be a cake course...you will be badly mistaken.

This class is fairly simple as he has his learning objectives laid out, and it's basically laid out so you know what you will be tested on. The quizes are helpful if you have a book b/c they are open book/notes. A graduate student grades your two CPs and I believe that the grading is fair and consistent. Some out of class hw is required, but not difficult. This class may seem boring at times, but he tries to mix it up w/group work and critical thinking.

chad was a very difficult teacher, i am not going to lie. he finds something wrong with everyone's pictures immediately after they are shown, and then struggles to find something good. however, chad is a very talented photographer and he knows exactly what he is doing. i learned more from him in this class than i have throughout my photo career. pay attention to his comments, his own work, be specific in your photos and you will be able to appreciate him.

First--prepare to shell out money for this class. BUT....most are one time purchases you'll use for a long time afterward, so don't worry.

Second--no tests, only a midterm and final, both photo assigments.

Third--constructive criticism is one thing, but this was a little much for me. I did get a good grade in this class, but it doesn't see it was worth all the effort I put into it.

Lighting takes a while and practice to learn, but I felt he wanted us to know it right away. We didn't come from Nat Geo like he did, we came from Basic Photo. I think taking off points because there is a distracting car in the background (that you can't move and would be cropped out anyway) is a little much. And maybe this was just my class, but I think i felt a *hint* of favoritism toward some people....

Overall, I just think his expectations of his students were way beyond our level. And his criticisms can be harsh at times.