A Longitudinal Study: The Importance of Learning Historical Photographic Processes among University Photography Major Students

Abstract

Photography technology has been rapidly updated, and the mode of photography has also changed rapidly. Due to high study costs, sluggish imaging, and various uncertainties in the production process, historical photographic processes have faded from public view. In the sphere of contemporary photography, however, the works of historical photographic processes occupy a certain number and position, and the number of artists who prefer to produce using historical photographic processes is also rising gradually. In Chinese universities, an increasing number of comprehensive institutions have introduced photography programs. Newly established photography programs primarily focus on digital photography, with minimal emphasis on teaching historical photographic processes. However, historical photographic processes still have extremely high artistic, commercial, and technical value. Unfortunately, current research has not yet explored the potential impact on the professional abilities of photography students through learning historical photographic processes. Therefore, in this paper, the researchers conducted a two-year longitudinal study of 2016 photography students (n=120) enrolled at Wuhan University of Communication's Department of Photography. To explore whether in the current era of digital photography, photography students' learning of historical photographic processes will have a potential impact on their professional abilities. The examination of the results demonstrates that the study of historical photographic processes has a positive influence on students' professional and creative abilities.