Thomas Roma

I took Thomas Roma's Photography I class over five years ago. I am, in this very moment, listening to Richie Havens cover of Jerry Merrick's "Follow" (something only those of you who have already taken Roma's class would understand). You might be wondering why, after such a long time, I am now writing a review. To be fair, I have always wanted to write a review for his class. Probably since the first day I met him, which was when he was selecting his upcoming class roster, which he did while concurrently complaining that he was being forced to accept virtually all seniors (I was a senior at the time). I left Columbia for four years during my junior and senior year to pursue a life in another art form. When I returned to Columbia, I had quite a bit more experience than most Columbia undergrads. Upon my return, I had heard that Thomas Roma was an artist (a term I do not take lightly), and I was immediately drawn to him. For those of you who are wondering if the mentioning of Photo I on your resume will be hard to explain to your future bullshit employers or to your parents, please, just please, don't sign up for this class. This class is not for cowards. If you intend to live a cookie-cutter life, good luck. I am instead speaking to you young people who are drawn to the idea of Thomas Roma because you seek meaning beyond your dumbass GPA or your intro base salary. You may not un…

Professor Roma is without a doubt the single most influential professor I have had during my four years here at Columbia. He is a kind and wonderful human being. He is dedicated to his students, his craft, art, family, music. Everything he does he does for a reason and with dignity. The stakes of this class are high. Professor Roma treats his students with respect but he expects you to fully commit to his classes. He believes that everyone who walks into the first class of Photo 1 is an artist and he treats them as such. That means students are expected to be able and willing to be intimate and vulnerable with their photography. If you are unable to do that, or unwilling to do that, do not take this class.

The previous reviewer basically articulated all of my thoughts about Roma word for word. I must give him more credit though. Taking both of the classes that he offers to his undergraduates, I can assure you that Roma certainly embodies the term "cult of personality" more than any other professor I have encountered throughout my time year (I have another year left, but I doubt I'll meet any professor that matches up to Roma's charisma). However, while I must say that, yes--my photography has improved after taking both of his courses, I do wonder how much I (and others who listen to his every word with the assumption that they are words of wisdom) could have improved even more if such a large part of my time in those classes was not spent on listening to his musings like a disciple. Especially with his Photo 3 seminar--which is handled much more leniently than Photo 1--where much of the class is spent on chatting with Roma and there is much less pressure to produce work consistently. As a result, I found myself scrambling at the last minute to put together the final project for that class. If you really want to improve your photography, definitely reach out to Roma with specific questions and he will answer them, as well as the TA's. The TA's provide the helpful/technical counterpart to Roma's philosophical take on the classes. But of course, Roma is not a world-class photograph…

This class should not be called Photo-I, it should be called Thomas Roma-I. If you want to immerse yourself in a semester of Thomas Roma, take this class. Incidentally, if you're lucky, you might learn some photography as well. Thomas Roma embodies the phrase "cult of personality." He is quite the personality: funny, witty, mean, kind of like the extremely self-assured bully. But I do believe that having high standards and expecting people to live upto them is a good thing, and definitely developed me in some way. Having been the recipient of a number of brutal critiques, that often left me questioning my entire personality, I was definitely inspired to really think about why I was putting up the works that I was putting up and what they meant and in this sense the class was better than other workshops I have been in where professors are nice to your work whether they suck or are good. So as opposed to other people who didnt like him, I really was grateful that he was honest with his critique and called out things that sucked for what they were. Did my abilities as a photographer improve in this class. Yes. However, the price one pays to obtain this in terms of feeding his enormous ego is almost not worth it. In a 2.5 hour lecture he spends about an hour or 45 minutes actually talking about why your photograph is good or why it sucks and spends most of the time relating random…

If you're not sure about taking this class: There are only two kinds of people at Columbia. Those who have spent a semester with Roma and those who haven't. If you don't have a serious case of FOMO yet, develop one (no pun intended). Fast. Before it's too late. It's not about being a great photographer or knowing anything about cameras. It's about recognizing your own inhibitions and then violently murdering them. If you do it right, you'll never be the same. Don't be afraid! Go towards the light. Practical advice : - If you've never studied photography or looked at a photograph before that's more than fine, that might even be better, but learn the name of at least one photographer before the first day. - If you don't get into the class, keep showing up, he'll probably let you in eventually. - The TAs do 100% of the grading, get to know them. - Don't throw anything away. You're going to need your contact sheets and workprints for the end of the semester. This class is not for: - People who need to know what grade they are getting before grades are released after the semester - Anyone who doesn't have a sense of humor - Anyone who hates music and/or poetry

Take this class if you want to do something meaningful with your life. Thomas Roma is extremely intimidating at first, but secretly is one of the most sincere, well-meaning and yes...even kindest people you will ever meet. Yes, he tears apart your work (sometimes literally) but somehow does it in a way that's so helpful you end up wanting the criticism. And it's not a weird masochistic thing. Because he's not attacking you, he's attacking the parts of you that you don't need, the aspects of your personality that are preventing you from communicating honestly with your photographs. It's basically a class on how to be a better human being. As he said in the last classes, it's Photo I but it's also "Stop and Think About It I". Just do it.

You are doing yourself a severe disservice if you leave Columbia University without taking a class with Professor Roma. This is not in any way to say that Photo I will be an enjoyable experience. You will leave this class at least once crying, if not from Roma's unrelenting criticism, than from the intimate, if brief, glimpses of truth that this man shares with his students. True, he doesn't give a shit about your feelings and he's always quick to remind you of your inherent immaturity as undergraduate students, but in the end it doesn't even matter. Take this class if you are creative in any capacity. What he demands from you is basically to put the most secret and sacred page in your journal up on the wall for everyone to see. He knows when you mean it, and you will too. As long as you're at least partly comfortable with this idea, please, please take this class.

Taking a class with Roma is like a theatrical experience. He screams, sings, plays great music, recites poetry, and is undeniably funny, even if it is at your own expense. He is immensely honest with his students about the details of his life - he ends critiques by allowing each student to ask him a question about literally anything but photography - and his stories will really make you think. Taking a class with Roma was without doubt the best decision I have made at Columbia so far, as other reviews have said, and I recommend it to anyone with a backbone. Go into critiques expecting criticism (EVERYONE is criticized), and when (*if*) he says something positive, it actually means something. Another note: he does not grade on the inflated Columbia scale. Some people do the work and still do badly.

Mixed feelings. I agree with all of the positives and all of the negatives that have been stated. It's all true. If you're serious about your creative work, you may find this the single most useful class you take at Columbia. If you can't handle burning criticism, you may find yourself hurt - damaged, injured, disabled - by this class. If you can, you may find yourself incredibly inspired one week, bored the next. I would add three damning criticisms, in terms of Roma's pedagogy, to those levied in other reviews: 1, in the end, it's very difficult to control your grade in this class, because the criteria are never clear, and they won't even discuss your midterm with you, let alone tell you how you're doing. 2, you have to make the TA's work for you or you're not going to learn much about the mechanics of photography - and yet, you'll be judged on those mechanics to some degree. 3, don't EVER argue with him during your critique. Just nod and look like you understand, or you will be sorry at the end of the semester. I'd say those three criticisms add up to a pretty negative picture. And yet, I'm very glad I took the class, and I think most people are.

Everyone at Columbia should take Roma's class. He doesn't really teach you anything directly, but somehow you end up with a better understanding of the world in general and definitey yourself. And your photos will get way better, if you're into that.