Major in Photography
Learn different mediums • Use the latest gear • Become a pro photographer
John Brown University
2000 W. University St.,
Siloam Springs, AR 72761
479-524-9500
jbuinfo@jbu.edu
What are you looking for?
Learn different mediums • Use the latest gear • Become a pro photographer
Anyone can be a "photographer," but studying photography at JBU will allow you to become visually literate, train your eye for good photos, find ways to make concepts into photographs and give you an array of education from darkroom and film to lighting well in the studio.
Start your applicationThe program prepares students to work with digital as well as conventional tools, starting with teaching all students how to use the manual setting on their camera well. Courses include introduction to photography, lighting for photography and traditional darkroom.
Whether it's lighting consumer products, taking high fashion photos, telling someone's story through photos, shooting film or developing photos in the darkroom - JBU will equip you and familiarize you with the skills and tools used in the vast realm of photography.
JBU photography alumni are fully prepared to work in marketing, editing, fashion and many other photography avenues.
Photography students learn a variety of mediums from professors who care about them as artists as well as people. There is an integration of faith and fine art techniques throughout the classes. Whether students want to study studio photography, fine art photography, film or social documentary - the JBU photography major will prepare students to achieve their dreams in any of these realms.
Our photo gear, photography studio and darkrooms are like none other in Arkansas, Oklahoma or Texas. Learn in our three art buildings that include two three-story facilities featuring classrooms, two galleries, a photo studio, MAC labs and a printmaking workshop.
Every year, seniors display their best work for potential employers, like Hallmark, Walmart, Saatchi and Saatchi X and Acumen Brands at the JBU Portfolio Show. They also have a chance to display work in the student gallery for the local community to come and see.
Summer Studies trips provide opportunities for students to visit world-famous art collections in Europe, take photo classes in places like Berlin or New Zealand and more.
Go farther, faster! At JBU, our Accelerated Master's Program lets you finish your undergraduate photography degree and your master's degree in just five years — saving you money and setting you up for even more success.
This my fourth semester as a photography major. So far the classes have focused on using camera settings to create appealing images and helping students get to know their cameras. The professors are incredible. They take the time to learn about each student and to give one-on-one advice or critique. We photography majors spend evenings and weekends completing projects together and encouraging one another, so we’re all really close.
Anna Palacio '26
Students graduate from the photography program equipped to tackle any profession they want to pursue.
Fashion photographers are called upon to conceptualize and direct photoshoots. Often these photographs are intended for publication and advertisement for specific designers and product lines.
Photographers illustrate a story or an idea within the context of a publication, particularly that of a magazine, newspaper or online publication.
This type of photography captures a myriad of events (weddings, birthdays, baby showers, bar mitzvahs, wedding anniversaries, parties) and simple family or child photos for sentimental records.
Food photographers must be masters of light and technique in order to create appealing images of food for advertisements, brochures and menus.
Still life photographers focus on capturing inanimate objects such as scenery and architecture.
Photographers in this field are required to know how to use an infrared camera for the sake of evidence documentation.
Mr. Kyle Agee is the resident jack-of-all-trades. He began teaching at JBU in the Fall of 2011. While his main medium is photography, he has worked as a graphic designer, photojournalist, television editor, and offset printer to name a few.
Mr. Agee’s work has centered on exploring and documenting architectural decay. This exploration has encompassed traditional black and white photography, wet plate collodion, digital photography, and alternative process printing techniques. His latest project, DrFrankenfilm.com, is a free photographic educational resource that aims to provide comprehensive instruction for anyone wishing to explore traditional analogue photographic mediums.
Mr. Agee’s commercial clients have included the United States Air Force, the United States Navy Blue Angel Squadron, the United States Marine Corps, the Arkansas State Police, and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and the Outdoor Channel, among others.
Mr. Agee enjoys spending his free time building guitar amplifiers and effect pedals, and working in his woodshop.
Associate Professor of Visual Arts
Mr. S. Neal Holland began his career at John Brown University in 1998 as the first full-time instructor in Digital Media Art.
Mr. Holland received his B.A. in Telecommunication from Ouachita Baptist University. Soon after graduating, he moved to the Dallas metro area to pursue educational opportunities from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. While studying there, he earned an M.A. in Communication and taught courses in video and photography as the SWBTS Presidential Teaching Fellow recipient. Soon after earning his masters degree, Mr. Holland returned to Southwestern to teach as an adjunct instructor until leaving the Dallas area.
An amazing opportunity helped to propel Mr. Holland into digital media in 1993. He was offered a job by a ground level digital boutique (RISE International) servicing the Dallas area. This small boutique grew from a start-up business to a major digital media provider for national and international fortune 500 clients like Coca-Cola, Reebok, Nike, and General Motors.
Mr. Holland left RISE International for JBU in 1998 - That first year welcomed him with six returning students (returning from the inaugural year of the degree program) and six new freshmen. The program grew from there to be the largest major in the university, before eventually dividing resources and combining with what is now the Art Department. Mr. Holland has served department head for both the communication and art departments. He completed an M. F. A. in digital cinema with National University in 2006.
Mr. Holland has been a champion of non-traditional programs and study-abroad partnerships, and he continues to head a series of programs to promote off-campus study. His work with the start-up Fields and Frames promotes that desire and helps photography students get international experience while encouraging the responsibility for Christians to engage with social justice issues.
The Holland’s (Neal and Shannon) have one son, Taylor. Mr. Holland spends his free-time fly fishing, firing handguns, printing in the darkroom or print lab, and attempting to capture illusive images that might change the world.
Professor of Visual Arts: Department Chair and Peer Endowed Chair, Visual Arts
Equip yourself for a successful career and a life of purpose.
John Brown University
2000 W. University St., Siloam Springs, AR 72761
479-524-9500 jbuinfo@jbu.edu
JBU does not unlawfully discriminate based on race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, military status, or age in the administration of its educational policies, admissions, financial aid, employment, educational programs, or activities.
John Brown University is a leading private Christian university, training students to honor God and serve others since 1919. Arkansas’ top-ranked university (The Wall Street Journal) and top-ranked regional university (U.S. News), JBU enrolls more than 2,200 students from 37 states and 42 countries in its traditional undergraduate, graduate, online and concurrent education programs. JBU offers more than 50 undergraduate majors, with top programs including nursing, psychology, construction management, graphic design, family and human services, and engineering. Eighteen graduate degrees are available in business, counseling, cybersecurity, and education.