About Our Facilities

The City College of San Francisco Photography Department's facilities are the core of our diverse program serving career seekers, working photography professionals, fine artists, photography enthusiasts and students studying in the Interdisciplinary Design Collaborative.

We maintain darkroom, computer, gallery and photographic studio facilities structured to encourage education, creativity, exploration and community. We supply a majority of the equipment needed to succeed in a dynamic program ranging from traditional black & white to digital photography; available light to multi-source studio lighting; pinhole to portraiture.

Our darkrooms, studios and digital labs are staffed by certified instructors whenever the facilities are open. Students always have trained assistance available when working during or outside of class times.

Digital Computer Lab

Locations: Ocean Campus Visual Arts V165 and Mission Campus Room 206

The Photography Department computer lab is open to all Phogotgraphy students and features Macintosh workstations, media card readers, printers, film and flatbed scanners.

Additionally, CCSF offers access to both Macintosh and PC computer throughout their several computer labs.

Digital Printing

Digital Printing Procedure

Digital Printing is available at the Photography Department's Computer labs (Ocean Campus Visual Arts V165)

  1. Photo Lab Card Requirement
    Have a current Photography Department Lab Card that is initialed by your instructor. Instructor initials indicate that you have received a printing demonstration.
     
  2. Make Payment
    Prepay for printing at: CCSF BURSAR’S OFFICE – MUB 360
    Cash or checks made out to: “CCSF Photo Departmental Account #141820”
     
  3. Digital Print Card
    Bring the receipt to the Issue Room. A lab supervisor will create a Digital Print Card with printing credit for future use. There are no refunds for digital print credits left at the end of the semester. The credit will stay on file and can be used in future semesters.
     
  4. Printing Station
    Fill out a Computer Lab checkout card to access a printing station. If all printing stations are in use, there is a 1.5-hour limit on usage. It is recommended to complete all photo editing before requesting a print station. Group printing or sharing of print stations is
    not allowed.
     
  5. Purchase Photo Paper
    Purchase photo paper with the credits on your Digital Print Card. If you are bringing in your own paper, you will be charged ink-only pricing. Confirm you have enough credit before printing. Note: Paper cannot be returned once it is handed out. If you are unable to use all the paper you purchased, please inform the Issue Room before leaving to avoid being charged again when you return.

PLEASE NOTE: Minor print errors are a normal part of using a low-cost, high-volume, student facility. The department cannot reimburse students for user errors or minor issues (such as marks on borders, small dents, etc.). Please report problems to faculty and staff and ask for help improving your output. Students requiring consistently high-quality prints should consider a professional service bureau.

Size Epson Luster (PK) Epson Hot Press Bright (MK)
Epson Exhibition Fine Art (PK)		 Ink only
Student brings paper
8.5x11” $2.00 $3.50 $1.50
11x17” or 13x19” $5.00 $6.50 $3.50
17x22” $7.00 $8.50 $5.00
Canon 24” $0.25 per linear inch  Not available Not available
Canon 44" $0.50 per linear inch Not available Not available

Darkroom Facility

Our darkrooms are equipped with 4x5 condenser and cold light enlargers, some with the enhanced capacity to mural print. In addition, there is one film loading room and Seven film processing rooms. Film and print processing equipment including film forced-air dryers, archival screens, dry mount presses and print mounting accessories are available for student use.

Studio Facility

Four spacious shooting bays are equipped to handle projects ranging from tabletop to portraiture. Each bay is equipped with a movable camera stand, light boom, and dedicated lighting equipment and accessories. Additionally, electronic studio flash units, medium and large format cameras, light meters, and related studio accessories are available for check-out from the department's Issue Room.

Gallery Obscura

Gallery Obscura is an exhibition space committed to showcasing outstanding student artwork. Situated in the heart of the photography facility, it is intended to directly connect the presentation of finished art with a production environment. Exhibitions rotate throughout the semester, and the gallery frequently features work by the recipients of the various awards and scholarships that are available to CCSF photography students.

View the Current Shows in the Gallery