A Student’s Point of View: All Things Photo House!
As a non-member of Photo House and a photography student in RIT Photo, I have always been intrigued by this group since I arrived at RIT a few years ago.
Photo House is a residential community of students and alumni who share a common interest in photography. They are a special interest floor or residential community at RIT and they have an entire floor located in Nathaniel Rochester Hall. I had the opportunity to check out their facilities and visit with Ali Kayer, a second-year advertising photography major. Ali is a member of the executive board of Photo House, along with several other students who keep the organization running.
Ali graciously showed me around the floor and answered a few questions about the organization and floor. My burning questions had to do with the “perks” of being a member of Photo House and better understand why it is a great advantage to be a member of the organization. I have heard that students who are members of Photo House earn up to one letter grade higher in their classes than those students who are not members. I was told this happens because the floor holds study sessions for classes such as Photo Tech, required for all first-year photo students. On and off-floor members are encouraged to attend these sessions.
In addition, the floor also has a studio that has a north-facing window and is for members to use. They have tons of props as well as cool backgrounds and even strobes! Because many members are first-year students who do not have studio training yet, Photo House trains these members as they are permitted to use this space. They also have several computers and printers for students to use, so they can shoot, edit, and print in-house! How awesome is that!
The club also takes its members to Letchworth State Park and Ontario Beach Park. They host a picnic then members are free to walk around and take photos as they please.
Photo house consists of roughly 30-50 members of various majors and year levels. Many members are first and second years and become alumni after the second year. In addition, most members are photography majors, however, many members, including some of e-board, are not! This is really great because it provides everyone with an opportunity to be apart of such a great organization.
I hope you enjoyed learning more about Photo House! There are many other amazing things this organization does, so if you have any more questions or are interested in learning more, you can check out their Instagram (@photohouserit) or shoot them an email at ritphotohouse@gmail.com!
About the Author:
Mia Guariano is a third-year Imaging and Photographic Technology student from Syracuse, New York. In her free time, she enjoys painting, baking, and hanging out with her family, especially her grandparents.
