Teaching classes, publishing books and recently earning his doctorate. Jerod Foster, professor of practice in the College of Media & Communication, is doing all three.

Foster, in 2013, published his third photography book, titled “Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Directing the Eye, Creating Visual Depth, and Conveying Emotion.”

Foster has published all three books through Peachpit Press. When Foster began thinking of ideas for a third book, he remembered a section from his first book that he wanted to cover in-depth. The emphasis in his latest book is the storytelling of color. He also wanted to make the book accessible to beginners since hobbyists are a large part of Foster’s audience.

“My third book is stemmed off of a section in my first book over color,” Foster said. “In ‘Color,’ I wanted to provide a photographer’s perspective on color. In this book, I covered color from a layman’s perspective, as opposed to a color theorist’s perspective, which might be a little more dense and complicated.”

His first book was published in 2011 and is titled “Storytellers: A Photographer’s Guide to Developing Themes and Creating Stories with Pictures.”

“My first book was all about the ‘why’ behind operating a camera and being a photographer,” Foster said. “It covers the storytelling aspect of photography instead of a traditional how-to book.”

Foster earned his doctorate in mass communication from Texas Tech in 2013 and currently teaches photography classes at Texas Tech. One of his favorite classes to teach is a photography intersession course each May in Junction, Texas.

“It is a 15-day class where students are in the field operating as photographers,” Foster said. “We travel every day and everyone comes away from that class with a great experience. I start a sign-up sheet after we get back and the class is filled by November.”

Foster took this specific class as an undergraduate student. It was during this class that he was inspired to take up photography as a career.

“I took the Junction class as an undergrad,” Foster said. “It was taught by Wyman Meinzer, official state photographer of Texas. I walked away thinking ‘I’m going to try this photography thing out.’ It changed my life.”

Jacob Copple, the CoMC’s photo and video coordinator from Lubbock, Texas, took three classes from Foster, including the class Foster taught at the Junction campus. Copple thought it was a great opportunity to get some valuable experience outside of the classroom.

“You just can’t get those types of photos anywhere else,” Copple said. “I was taking pictures of rattlesnakes. The natural lighting was incredible. It was a great experience.”

Copple said he enjoys the outside experience that Foster brings to the classroom.

“He has tons of real-world examples that he uses to teach in the classroom,” Copple said. “Anything we learn about in class, he can show us an example photo that he took.”

Copple said Foster has inspired him to continue studying photography. He also appreciates how Foster has helped his photography career.

“Jerod has definitely influenced me to get involved in the photography field,” Copple said. “He also acts like a mentor for me. I can show him any work I have before I present it and get some of his advice.”

Foster said he enjoys taking photos in the West Texas landscape. He said he appreciates the fact that these types of landscapes and photos cannot be found elsewhere.

“I love shooting this part of Americana,” Foster said. “This is a pretty unique microcosm of Texas. I have recently started shooting a lot more of the oil industry. I have been shooting a lot for the Texas Tribune and The New York Times. It is fun being there as an objective journalist and learning about the industry.”

Foster said practice makes perfect when it comes to beginning photography. He also recommended some magazines for beginners to look at.

“I recommend that beginners just get out and shoot as much as they can,” Foster said. “I also recommend checking out great works. National Geographic and W Magazine are often good places to start.”

Todd Chambers, associate dean for undergraduate affairs, said he has known Foster since Foster was an undergraduate student at Texas Tech, and also served as Foster’s dissertation chair. Chambers said Foster is a popular professor and students enjoy taking classes from him.

“We went to lunch one day and Jerod was stopped by two former students and a neighbor,” Chambers said. “It just shows how thankful students are to have a professor like Jerod.”

One of Chambers’ favorite things about Foster’s most recent book is the fact that Foster chose to concentrate on color photography. Chambers said black-and-white photography has become very common and appreciates that Foster used color as the basis for a book.

“Every popular photo lately is black and white,” Chambers said. “I like that Jerod wrote his most recent book about color and how color can still be used effectively.”

Chambers said Foster is great at making his books accessible to photographers of all levels. Chambers said Foster is good at simplifying complicated concepts for readers.

“Jerod represents what it means to be an integrated scholar,” Chambers said. “Jerod can write in a way that no matter the audience, they can understand it. He also has the unique ability to capture what people want to think about.”

As for what is next for Foster, he said he is already thinking about working on another book. This book would be similar to a book that Foster previously wrote about the Sony NEX-6 camera as part of Peachpit Press’s “From Snapshots to Great Shots” series. He also taught a class called Visual Storytelling based on his first book.

“It is all about finding a balance of time,” Foster said. “But, I love working with Peachpit and I think that books are a great way to learn.”

(Preston Redden graduated in 2015 with a Master of Arts degree in Mass Communications and in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism. David Vaughn graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in University Studies.)