Chevron Left
Back to Seeing Through Photographs

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Seeing Through Photographs by The Museum of Modern Art

4.8
stars
4,302 ratings

About the Course

Taking, sharing, and viewing photographs has become second nature for many of us. This course aims to address the gap between seeing and truly understanding photographs by introducing a diversity of ideas, approaches, and technologies that inform their making. You’ll explore the meaning of pictures and reconsider photography’s role in our visual culture. Look closely at 100 photographs from MoMA’s collection, going behind the scenes of the Museum and into artists’ studios through videos and audio interviews. Gain new perspectives on the ways photography has been used throughout the medium’s history: as a means of artistic expression, a tool for science and exploration, an instrument of documentation, a way to tell stories and record histories, and a mode of communication and critique....

Top reviews

AQ

Mar 8, 2016

Seeing Through Photographs has given me a whole new way of looking at my own and other peoples' work. So many aspects, details and points of view, the world of photography now seems even more amazing.

AD

Dec 25, 2019

This is a really great way to get a beginners academic insight into photography, really interesting video and written content. I learned a lot and enjoyed studying again, thank you MoMA and Coursera!

Filter by:

151 - 175 of 1,112 Reviews for Seeing Through Photographs

By Matilde B

Nov 18, 2017

Excelente curso. Un viaje ilustrativo y exacto a través de la fotografía, desde sus inicios hasta nuestros días. Transmite conocimientos que ayudan a comprender el sentido de hacer fotografía y que estimulan al crecimiento en la manera de capturar imágenes. Aprendí y lo disfruté.

By Ale R

May 31, 2016

So beautifully "curated", so intricate but simple in execution, such an amazing insight into American photography. Fully recommended to anybody remotely interested in photography and its history. Thank you MoMA, and Ms. Meister for carefully putting together this marvelous course!

By Vaibhavi

Sep 17, 2022

This course taught me how o understand the medium of photography better. I recommend this course to anyone who might be willing to learn. The innumberable videos and audios made it extremely convinent for me to learn without putting in much effort except keeping my ears open! :)

By Mauro

Jul 21, 2020

Very good course!

The platform is very organized, the course is interesting and the material is very rich.

The course helped me to improve my knowledge of photography and its narrative forms. It's a great course. I recommend

Congratulations to the creators for their excellent work.

By Pecherskikh A

May 10, 2020

Both insightful and inspiring story about the medium's history through the look at the outstanding American artists and their works. It was a real pleasure to take part. I especially enjoyed emails with additional materials and invites for online sessions of questions & answers.

By Βασιλική Κ

Apr 14, 2021

I am very satisfied of this course. It is really well structured and obtains a lot of material for anyone who wants to go deeper into any or all of its content. I liked the way videos and texts work together. I would actually like to see a second course by MOMA on photography .

By Alexandra C J

May 26, 2020

I recommend this class as a wonderful historical overview of photography. Take advantage of the extra readings and video presentations. Course is very comprehensive about the history of photography - it lightly touches on post modernism and artists of today. Wonderful teacher!

By Angela T

May 28, 2018

I m new to studying courses on art and I found this course really interesting and informative. The structure of the course is easy to follow and I partcularly enjoyed hearing the artists talk about their work. It has ins;pired me to sign up for another MOMA course on coursera.

By Julie H

Aug 19, 2018

I absolutely loved this course and have learnt so much from it. The resources, both videos and readings, were first class and very informative. It was challenging and really made me think more critically and deeply about photographs. Thank you MoMA for another great course.

By Luca R

Mar 27, 2016

Deep and well structured material, with a high level of interaction and diverse media (videos, extracts from books, links to websites). The final assignment is also very well thought, interactive and instructive. The community section is interesting and good for discussion.

By Donata L

Apr 22, 2020

I found the course very interesting and captivating, I discovered new modalities to look at photos and to understand them. I've learned new ways to be a photographer, looking at the process and above all looking at the society and at the meaning you want your work has.

By Deleted A

May 16, 2020

Useful techniques explained to understand what photographs are really showing, not just what you see on the surface. Plenty of good materials and additional materials if you're interested, I enjoyed this short course and recommend it to anybody interested in photography.

By Julie F

May 16, 2020

It is always a joy to learn more about photography! I loved looking at the work of talented photographers who have made such contribution to this discipline. The course was super well structured, tailored and run. I could not fault it and would recommend it to anyone.

By Erika A A R

May 11, 2020

I had a fun time perusing through the extensive reading material provided in the course. The videos and quizzes were a lot of help as well. I really appreciate that this course provided equal amounts of opportunity for fun, critical thinking, and contextual learning.

By Luz M L

Apr 24, 2019

Great video quality and storytelling which makes the whole course very engaging. It broadens my perspective about Photography through the lens of very unique photographers. I'm deeply thankful to live in this era and have the chance to access to this kind of content.

By Aleksandra K

May 3, 2017

Thank you very much. The course was saturated and I enjoyed the process of studying a lot. I like the sequence of materials, and interview with the photographers. Special thanks for the books, they are really awesome! Wish you all the best. Sincerely yours Alexandra.

By Lisa I M

Jul 19, 2020

There is a lot of material to review; however, well worth the time and effort.

This is one of those life-changing opportunities to see how the world reflects back to you and your response to it.

Will be drawing on the wisdom contained in these 6 weeks for some time.

By Joergen E A

Apr 28, 2020

I like "Seeing through Photographs". It gave me a lot of new inputs to topics and I liked the way we were learning about the old masters and there work. It was well organized between articles and videos with a very good explanation and overview of the photographers.

By Margarita I N

Mar 2, 2020

It's been a wonderful course. I've learned a lot and enjoyed it.

I'm a retired woman but I'm very eager to learn. I am not fluent in English but with a little effort and help from the translator I have managed to reach the end.

Thank you very much to the whole team.

By Roberto G

Jul 24, 2018

I loved this course immensely. I learned to challenge the way I view photography and how to see "things in things". I will take the lessons I've learned here and use them to shape my photography work from here on out. Thank you MoMA for making this course available.

By Nathalie F

Jun 18, 2016

Get a precious history culture with many reference about main photographers and evolution of technics , its limits and possibilities .

Learn to read and give sense of way to photograph the world . Critical view of world too .

Initiation of contemporary photography .

By Raquel O d

Jun 26, 2017

I definitely loved this course! I`ve learned so many things about photography and was introduced to so great professionals. There are also so many ideas and concepts to work out and to keep in mind. It was an enjoyable trip. The course exceeded my expectations.

By Sindhu R

Apr 25, 2016

This is by and far the most beautiful, well-laid out and organized Course I've ever taken. The case studies used are insightful, thought-provoking and a treat for your eye - especially the thought processes of the photographer who clicked that particular photo.

By Keshav V

Jun 20, 2020

The course is very helpful to explore the different ways of photography, the way to see photographs, making perspectives, knowing the photographers intention and how one type or category of photographs can be clicked in different ways and many more.

Thank You.