Beki Tomasello

Bio: My name is Beki Tomasello and I am from East Otto New York, a town just outside Buffalo New York. I graduated high school from the Springville Griffith Institute in 2013  and started my studies at Daemen College as a graphic design major. After one semester, I knew that that school (and major) wasn’t for me and that’s when I transferred to RIT. I selected to major in advertising photography.  You can visit my website: reibekahjane.com

Why did you choose RIT?
I transferred to RIT in my freshman year from a school that had a “zero sense” of community. I hated it there. As soon as I stepped foot onto the RIT campus, I knew it was different here. Everyone was so close to one another and encouraging of each other’s success. That’s what I loved about the school immediately. I also had a great experience with a photo professor, who was kind enough to  talk to me for a couple hours about the photo program after his class was cancelled. Just having the courtesy to do that for a student he didn’t even know made me realize what a great school this was.

Can you share a reason why the photo program at RIT attracted you?
When looking at RIT, what really set it apart from other photo schools was the student work I saw on the walls and the photo cage. The work that is produced by other students here is amazing. I was amazed when I first looked at the school, and I’m still amazed each day by the talent I see. None of the other schools I visited even exhibited student work. It was nice change to see how much RIT supports their own students. I also never saw a photo cage quite like the one here. It’s definitely the biggest one I saw, and I knew I would get access to equipment here that I could never get anywhere else.

What has been your most challenging assignment as a photography student?
The third year ad group project was by far the most challenging assignment I have ever worked on. It taught me a lot about compromise and how to work well within a group of people that I barely knew. It was definitely good preparation for the real world and I’m so happy with the work that my group produced.

What are you plans after School?
I am graduating December 2017 and I am moving to Seattle in January with my two bunnies. I hope to start assisting and work my way up to shooting in the near future. I also plan on getting a French bulldog named Tuna.

Have you won any awards?
I was part of the Editorial Photo class last fall, and we created this wonderful magazine, Ellipse, which won a Local and National gold and silver ADDY award. Also, this past spring semester I was honored to receive the Kodak Professional Imaging Scholarship for some of the work I’ve created this past year.

A favorite class or teacher story
My favorite class that I’ve taken at RITphoto was the Fashion Photography class taught by Susan Lakin. Although it was an 8am class on Friday mornings, Susan’s jokes definitely made it fun and worth getting up for. I learned a lot in that class about the fashion world, and portraiture in general, that no other ad class had really taught me. I noticed my work improve after taking it.