I asked once before but I'm asking again

[bananaslugs]

The Art Institute is a for profit school. http://petapixel.com/2011/09/02/us-gov-sues-the-art-institutes-for-11-billion-fraud/

http://ai-is-a-scam.deviantart.com/

 

I wasn’t a fan of your photos. The lighting looks harsh in some of your photos and the over vignetting is not flattering. I kind of like the idea in this one but it doesn’t look quite focused enough.  http://dklemmphotography.deviantart.com/art/Kids-2-397007827

I’m not a professional though, just a long time Rebel shooter who is trying to learn myself, so I don’t have anything useful to say.  Sorry :\  Good luck to you.

[bananaslugs]

Wow thanks for that post trainwreck! I hadn’t even heard of most of the terms you mentioned in your post. Off to do some serious googling on keystoning, on-axis lighting,angle of incidence, and..

[Trainwreck]

You are quite welcome bananaslugs.

Happy hunting!

[Kathi]

Okay I let my fingers do the walking today. I talked to the PPA rep that I had a number for on the phone. The school you went to produces very few actual photographers. It is a diploma mill. I was told that the only ones that made it through and are successful after the school are those that knew what they were doing before they signed on. After the HUGE cost you paid, she suggested you start with the free education courses  on PPA that you can watch and do without joining at first to save some money in the beginning. There is a Class Action Suit going on against the school(s), but she did not have the details. A Google search should provide them.

YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO EDUCATE YOURSELF SINCE YOUR SCHOOL FAILED!

Go on the net, you will find a world of help there. She also recommend you go as a guest to the local PPA in your area and there is one close to you, go to PPA.com and look for your local PPA. She thinks you have a chance of someone offering to mentor you if you ask. After they hear what you have been through and what it cost you. She thinks some one will volunteer; if not more than one. They have a Student plan to join the PPA available that once they hear your story they may honor locally and/or nationally. If you have not yet graduated which I think you said, jump on it now. Register without having to deal with more headaches if you still have not graduated.

I am not a people photographer and you are not in the Chicagoland area or I would help you out. I do flora, macro, stills and landscapes. People only when forced, like when the photographer that had a flat on I-294 two weeks ago and did not make it to my son’s 8th grade banquet. Me and another parent, did what we could. I posted like 90 pic’s on a flickr account and gave them print copies when asked. Thank god I thought to bring a flash and was able to bounce it off the white walls and ceilings since the banquet hall had horrible lighting. I did my daughters prom pic’s for me and somehow got sucked into 10 couples that I did couple and individual shot of heads, 3/4’s and full shots of; in addition to the group shots. I also gave print copies to parents that asked as I posted 90 or so pic’s on flickr again. I prefer images of things that don’t talk back to me lol… I am not a great people person as my daughter reminded me. She told me I was too bossy when I told them how to stand where to put their hand, etc, etc. But I have the technical skills to man up if it’s needed. You need to get to that point also.

 

After all the time you have invested and money I really think you can do this. It will be work and a lot of your free time, but I feel you can do this if you put your mind and time into it.

Kathi

[IHF]

Thank you so much Kathi!

I have a very good friend that got sucked in, and continues to be played by an art institute.  I warned her and talked to her until I was blue before she signed up.  Begged her not to go through with it, and I continue to back her up and encourage her to stop every time she has any sort of problem with them (and yes there are problems), but … She continues to believe their sales pitch regardless of what I say or the links I share with her.  She just thinks I’m being  too critical or mean or I don’t know

I told her about the class action law suit and the federal law suit, and STILL she feels “It will be worth it”.  I have looked into the class action law suit and it’s my understanding that it only applies to students who attended before 2012.  They have since changed their contract or some sort of laws were put in place, and it protects them some how???

I wanted to be able to help her when it finally hits home how much she owes and how little she received.  I never thought of directing her to PPA.  Yes, they won’t be able to help her debt, or the fact that she got ripped off, but they really could help her a LOT in other ways.  I also found a support group of sorts for AI/EDMC victims, so OP if you are interested just say the word and I will post the link for you.

[VampireKetsuki]

Sorry I was away from this thread for a bit. Yes I’d like the info on the group, and thank you for your assistance (to both I hate Fauxtography and to Kathi)

[cameraclicker]

I have looked into the class action law suit and it’s my understanding that it only applies to students who attended before 2012.  They have since changed their contract or some sort of laws were put in place, and it protects them some how???

Different law suit, similar protection:  When GM was discovered to be putting Chevy engines in Buicks, a class action law suit was brought.  Later someone tried to sue for the same thing.  The suit was refused because they purchased the car after the class action suit was published.  The reasoning was that the later purchaser should have known a Buick engine might come from the Chevy line.  Caveat Emptor, or buyer beware.

[IHF]

AHHH  That makes perfect sense CameraClicker.  Thank you for the explanation.

The support group is gone 🙁 but I did find one on deviant art (log’s of info and discussion.  Maybe they can help, or at the very least commiserate) and here are a few other links, so at least you are informed.

http://ai-is-a-scam.deviantart.com

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/aionlinescam

 

EDMC Professors and Students Speak: How Lobbyists & Goldman Sachs Ruined For-Profit Education

 

http://www.pdnonline.com/news/The-Art-Institutes–3531.shtml

 

US Gov Sues The Art Institutes for $11 Billion Fraud

[IHF]

oops I see bananaslugs already shared the deviant art group 🙁  I’m sorry Vamp.  I really truly am.  I hope that you are able to turn things around to a positive as quickly as possible.

[IHF]

I found this

http://www.schoolscamlawyer.com/art-institutes/

PLEASE I have no idea if this is legit or not, so tread lightly but I thought Maybe?  Maybe it might be of some help?

[alisamer]

I feel so bad for people suckered by this type of school. I don’t know about the local AI photography program, but I do know that when a graphic designer who just graduated from there leaves their resume for us (a printer) to keep on file, it almost always gets filed in the garbage! We’ve printed for many soon-to-be graduates, and a couple professors, and their files are never set up properly for print. Worse, with one or two exceptions, they are absolutely convinced that they are doing everything perfectly and we (who have been in this business for many years) don’t know what we’re doing! One guy recently was really nice, interested in getting his files set up correctly, and actually listened to what we told him (and got it right!), but most are not that way. We treat all the students well and try to help them learn what they need to know, but we gave him special treatment for being teachable and not rude or arrogant.

 

VampireKetsuki – it looks to me like you’ve got potential, but you’re going to have to work to teach yourself what the school left out. I wish you the best! (And now I’m off to look at your BJD pics… I have BJDs too! I need to take more photos of mine. They’re great subjects for playing around with new ideas.)

[Chrstyfrst08]

Thanks for the link to this thread. I am only participating in one of the certificate programs and I do participate in any photography classes that the local community college offers.  I have to say I am disappointed to see such negative things about the college, but it won’t stop me from finishing what I started.  I will also look into the Kelby training. After seeing the DKlemms posts I am concerned about the critiques I get, although right now the classes I have taken are more about adobe editing programs than it is about the actual photograph itself. I can say I feel I have learned more from these classes than I would have on my own. Like I said in the other thread I hope to find a local photographer that I can do an apprenticeship with.

 

[Chrstyfrst08]

This whole thread is disappointing. I want to finish, I never expect a college to find me a job or transfer credits for that matter. A lesson I learned a long time ago with another college. I don’t want to be a quitter.

[IHF]

“After seeing the DKlemms posts I am concerned about the critiques I get”Unfortunately, you should be. My friend that I discussed above gets fabulous critiques and grades, even when she completely misses the mark and her work doesn’t fit the assignment. Shes a 4.0. She’s been attending for almost a year now and I see very little to no improvement. She went in without a complete understanding of her equipment and the basics, and it looks as though she will be leaving without it as well. Her assignments are more like photography prompts like “use color to convey feeling” or “show us what the world will look like in 3000” or “give an example of realism” are fun and sometimes “difficult” but not technical at all in nature. She just finished a lighting class or studio class of sorts and… Well they were all lit. No Rembrandt, no broad/short, no butterfly, no low key/high key, no hair lights, no catch lights, no experimentation or “I learned high key today” etc just yep, they were lit. As if there were no instruction at all. She still is having happy accidents without understanding the why behind it. “Ohhhh I love the way this one turned out!”.She claims all the time that she is learning so much, but it’s not showing. In fact now that she has dived into more editing… I almost think she’s gotten worse. At least at first she was posting decent snapshots, now they are snapshots with effects and actions applied. I’m so worried because her confidence level has risen quite high and soon she’s going to start seriously “networking” and could easily be featured here.And before it gets brought up… She doesn’t ask me to critique anymore, and has left groups and forums that are “mean”. She’s bound and determined to believe the critiques given at school and on Facebook by her friends. This degree is supposed to “set her apart from all the fauxtographers” and instead I’m afraid it’s turning her into one.Credit transfers are only important when someone is going for a degree. Let’s say you are going for a BA or even an associates, and you move or change schools because you feel their program suits you…Not gonna happen unless you start completely over or continue at an AI school. Nothing like still paying for credits that don’t even exists while you try to start over at a school that’s actually accredited, and not just claiming to be.I have no idea what certification you are going for, but it may not be accepted out there in the real world for a job or towards any further schooling.

[IHF]

I used paragraphs and spaces I promise.  Don’t know why it all shows as a big run on blob of words lol sorry about that

[Author]

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