Photo III: Portfolio
ART-40632
Photo III: Portfolio
9 Weeks | Prerequisites: Completion of all required courses and 10 of 14 elective units.
Are you looking to develop a distinctive photography style and set yourself apart in a competitive industry? Photo III: Portfolio is designed to help you bring your work together, reinforcing the skills you’ve built in earlier courses while sharpening your creative and professional focus. Through purposeful research, photography, and branding assignments, you’ll learn to analyze images from a technical, creative, and marketable perspective, and craft a statement that communicates your personal purpose as an artist.
In this advanced course, you’ll explore the steps to becoming a working photographer, including essentials in business practices and branding within your chosen market. You’ll revisit and refine your images based on instructor and peer feedback, investigate copyright issues, and compile a polished digital and print portfolio. By the end, you’ll have a cohesive body of work that speaks to your vision and value as a photographer.
Define Your Vision, Refine Your Work, and Present Your Artistry.
What You'll Learn
- Further develop a personal, recognizable artistic style.
- Enhance your ability to analyze photographs both technically and creatively.
- Create a compelling artist or brand statement that defines your photographic purpose.
- Gain an introduction to effective branding strategies in the photography market.
- Understand contemporary copyright issues and how they affect your work.
- Develop awareness of various business practices in multiple photography markets.
- Revisit and refine existing images with guidance from peers and instructors.
- Produce a complete, polished portfolio of images suitable for presentation.
- Identify next steps for becoming a professional, working photographer.
- Apply research-driven insights to position and promote your photographic identity.
Course Information
Equipment/Software: Fully adjustable DSLR camera or prosumer camera. Creative Cloud Photography Plan required (or full Adobe Creative Cloud plan). Lightroom Classic needed (not Lightroom Creative Cloud).
Flexible Enrollment: This course is a requirement for the Photography: Images and Techniques Professional Certificate but is open to all students, who meet the prerequisites, even if you're not enrolled in the Certificate program.
Academic Calendar: The Academic Calendar shows the open enrollment dates and term start dates for each quarter. Courses do not necessarily start on the first day of the term.
Course sessions
Section ID:
Class type:
This course is entirely web-based and to be completed asynchronously between the published course start and end dates. Synchronous attendance is NOT required.
You will have access to your online course on the published start date OR 1 business day after your enrollment is confirmed if you enroll on or after the published start date.
Textbooks:
All course materials are included unless otherwise stated.
Policies:
- No refunds after: 1/16/2026
- Early enrollment advised
- No UCSD parking permit required
- No visitors permitted
- Prerequisite required
Note:
Schedule:
Instructor:
Elizabeth Norris, M.A.
A photo educator and fine art/freelance commercial photographer for the past 25 years and teaches photography in person for the Art Institute in San Diego
Ellyn holds a Master’s in Art Education and Photography from the prestigious Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, where she deepened her understanding of both the technical and conceptual aspects of the medium. As a Core Instructor in the Photography: Images and Techniques Certificate Program at UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies, she shares her wealth of knowledge with aspiring photographers. She teaches numerous workshops and courses, focusing on both the artistic and technical facets of photography. Her teaching approach emphasizes hands-on learning and encourages students to develop their unique visual styles. Ellyn's commitment to education and mentorship has inspired many to pursue photography with confidence and creativity, making her a highly respected figure in the photography community.