Steven Smith

Professor
Image
a photo portrait of RISD faculty member Steven Smith
BFA, Utah State University
MFA, Yale University

Steven B. Smith is a photographer whose work chronicles the transition of the Western landscape into suburbia. For this work he was awarded the First Book Prize for Photography by the Honickman Foundation and the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. His book The Weather and a Place to Live: Photographs of the Suburban West was published by Duke University Press (2005). He has received Guggenheim and Aaron Siskind Fellowships. His work has been widely exhibited and can be found in many public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Smith received his BFA from Utah State University and his MFA from the Yale School of Art. He has taught photography at Yale and Brown University and currently lives in Barrington, RI and teaches in the Photography department at RISD.

Courses

Fall 2024 Courses

PHOTO 5311-01 - ADVANCED DIGITAL IMAGING
Level Undergraduate
Unit Photography
Subject Photography
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

PHOTO 5311-01

ADVANCED DIGITAL IMAGING

Level Undergraduate
Unit Photography
Subject Photography
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: W | 11:20 AM - 4:20 PM Instructor(s): Steven Smith Location(s): Design Center, Room 203; Design Center, Room 315 Enrolled / Capacity: 14 Status: Open

SECTION DESCRIPTION

This course is designed to give junior majors a thorough and deep understanding of the intermediate-level workflow for film capture and scanning and digital camera RAW file capture. Both workflows allow students to produce the highest quality inkjet prints on large-format printers. This course will touch on many topics, including advanced tonal and color correction techniques, image sharpening, digital camera exposure and Raw file processing, inkjet and Lightjet printing and automated batch file processing. While this course is primarily technical, students are expected to pursue their ongoing personal work to fulfill assignments, culminating in a final portfolio of 10 finished digital prints that demonstrate mastery of the techniques learned in the course. Students entering the course should be proficient in the use of the Macintosh platform and basic Photoshop operations and have a good understanding of processing and printing in black and white photography. Transfer majors must demonstrate these proficiencies to the satisfaction of the department before being permitted to enroll in this course.

Prerequisite: PHOTO-5308 for undergraduates.


Major Requirement | BFA Photography

Spring 2025 Courses

PHOTO 5235-01 - BOOKMAKING FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHER: THE SEQUENCE AND BINDING METHODS
Level Undergraduate
Unit Photography
Subject Photography
Period Spring 2025
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

PHOTO 5235-01

BOOKMAKING FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHER: THE SEQUENCE AND BINDING METHODS

Level Undergraduate
Unit Photography
Subject Photography
Period Spring 2025
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2025-02-13 to 2025-05-23
Times: TH | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM Instructor(s): Steven Smith Location(s): Design Center, Room 308 Enrolled / Capacity: 12 Status: Open

SECTION DESCRIPTION

Over the past decade, photography books have seen a resurgence within the art world, this time transcending their original use as survey or catalog to become ideal spaces and platforms to experience and disseminate work. Today image-based printed matter functions in a multitude of ways, all of which at their core are driven by the mechanics of sequence and editing. Through class discussions, using RISD's Fleet Library and Special Collections, and individual research - students will form a personal vision of what images mean in the book form. Our focus will be equally on content, concept, production & technique. The semester will culminate in each student having devised, sequenced, edited and produced a fully resolved and realized photography book.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $125.00

Elective

PHOTO 5334-01 - ADVANCED DARKROOM
Level Undergraduate
Unit Photography
Subject Photography
Period Spring 2025
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

PHOTO 5334-01

ADVANCED DARKROOM

Level Undergraduate
Unit Photography
Subject Photography
Period Spring 2025
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2025-02-13 to 2025-05-23
Times: F | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM Instructor(s): Steven Smith Location(s): Design Center, Room 308 Enrolled / Capacity: 12 Status: Open

SECTION DESCRIPTION

Advanced Darkroom Printing:  Artists who long for more hands on time with their materials are turning to the B&W darkroom. The advanced darkroom printing course is for students who have previous darkroom experience and who want to take their BW printing skills to the next level. In this course students participate in group printing labs where they will learn advanced darkroom printing techniques. Material also covered in include;  film exposure and film development, Pyro film developers, custom print developers, print flashing, bleaching, and toning.  Students will also learn un - sharp negative masking, print retouching and enlarged digital negatives for contact printing. Grading will be base 60% on weekly assignments and 40% on the final portfolio and presentation of 10 perfect prints.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $250.00

Elective

Image
a photo portrait of RISD faculty member Steven Smith
BFA, Utah State University
MFA, Yale University