Steve Rhyner is a current teacher for the photography program at Madison College. Rhyner was 19 years old when he first picked up his father’s camera, curious as to how photographers were made.

Photography ended up changing the way he views the world around him.

Before teaching Rhyner went to art school but had no commercial training. He was hired by a man who had experience in the Peace Corp who taught him that “…unskilled laborers could be trained to do skilled work.”

Rhyner ended up working the job while learning the skills as he went along.

After a few weeks working the camera, he knew that this was what he wanted to do the rest of his life. What he didn’t know was that he would end up teaching photography at Madison College.

“My first class, the first day, I looked at the students and I don’t know how or why but suddenly I saw myself in them, when I was their age, in their shoes and my heart immediately opened to the them, and (most of) my fear vanished,” he said.

The photography program is a commercial program, whose function is to prepare students for the real work world of photography.

Rhyner hopes students develop skills to create “…exciting, visually interesting photographs of almost anything they are hired to photograph through the use of light and composition.”

With this, by the time graduation comes he hopes that students are able to do work with their own businesses photographing weddings, families, children, infants, seniors, etc. or work for companies such as Shop Bop, Trek, Miles Kimble, Kohls, American Girl, etc. At these jobs students will assist local professionals in commercial studios, or on location.