AI Rate Professor

Orange Coast College · Photography

Rick Steadry

PHOTO120 · PHOTO120L · PHOTO188 · PHOTO120LAB · COMMPHOTO · LAB · 16 lifetime ratings

AI rating
88/100
RMP rating
4.4/5
Take again
—
Difficulty
3.3

The decision

commercial skills and can handle tough critiques.

Best fit · Hardcore LearnerPhotography legendTough but worth itEncyclopedic knowledgeHarsh critiquesCareer-defining mentor
  • Widely called the best commercial photography instructor for serious career-bound students.
  • Hard work and blunt critiques are the trade-off for deep knowledge and individual help.
  • Lecture/commercial classes are loved; a few lab .

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

HardWork

38/100

Students say he is by no means easy and , though seriousness can keep you from failing.

and lab reviews.

Is the course easy?

Challenging

32/100

Repeated notes of hard work, tough critiques, and non-easy commercial photo content.

.

Is attendance flexible?

Varies

50/100

.

No online reviews; in-person comments .

Is this professor recommended?

MustTake

90/100

Most students strongly urge serious photo students to take him before he retires for career-level learning.

; lab recs are mixed.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Fair

55/100

Tough blunt critiques, but he will not fail serious learners and some report As on projects.

Format shift

Based only on in-person reviews.

Workload

Heavy

28/100

Described as career skills.

Format shift

Based only on in-person reviews.

Teaching experience

Excellent

90/100

Encyclopedic knowledge, patient demos, and life-changing commercial photo instruction dominate reviews.

Format shift

Lecture praise is strong; a few lab reviews are negative.

Assessment method

FocusOnAssignments

30/100

Projects, critiques, and demos drive the class more than traditional written exams.

Format shift

Based only on in-person reviews.

Luni fit check

Weigh these signals against your actual schedule.

Get help balancing workload, grading, and timing when no option is an obvious fit.

Course format

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Classroom format

In person

16 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Hardcore Learner

and impact in commercial photo, while a minority of lab comments say he is harsh or leaves help to assistants.

Main concern

Heavy workload, blunt critiques, and weaker lab experience for some students.

What students said

“Rick was not only the , but as far as impact on my life goes,the !”
PHOTO188
“If you want a career in commercial .”
PHOTO188
“horrible teacher! hated asking questions b/c he was useless and only made you feel stupid for asking anything!”
PHOTO120L

Remote format

Online

0 reviews

Low confidence

No stored summary is available for this format.

Main concern

No main concern is stored for this format.

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Assessment is mainly projects and tough critiques rather than formal proctored exams.

Project critiquesPortfolio-style workNo proctoring details

Assessment risk

Standard

50/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

and critiques; exams are not clearly described.

Project critiquesHands-on demos
“He is tough on his critiques, but that only makes you work harder.”
PHOTO188
“I ended up getting As in .”
PHOTO120

Online

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice

“Rick was not only the , but as far as impact on my life goes,the !”

Voice snapshots generated from 16 in-person reviews, highlighting career impact, workload, and lab caveats. Credibility rating: High.

🌟 Teaching Excellence

90/100

“ . Truly cares about his students and knows what he is talking about.”

💪 Hard But

38/100

“Awesome teacher, hard work but . Learned a lot about photography and life!”

⚠️ Lab Mixed Bag

40/100

“horrible teacher! hated asking questions b/c he was useless and only made you feel stupid for asking anything!”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

  • Rick is an encyclopedia of knowledge
  • He truly cares about his students and takes the time to make sure your understand
  • always so

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

  • Rick is by no means easy. He is often blunt.
  • Very time consuming work
  • He wont fail you if he knows you are serious about learning.

Theme 3

📷 About Career Value

  • If you want a career in commercial .
  • I learned more about lighting in one of his demos then I did in any other class!
  • I learned more in his commercial class than I did in all other photo classes combined.

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

16

Recent reviews read by the AI

16

Lifetime ratings

78/100

Evidence confidence

Sixteen detailed reviews spanning 2005-2011 with consistent themes and mostly aligned praise for lecture courses.

Inside 16 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 512
4 out of 52
3 out of 51
2 out of 51
1 out of 50

Course coverage

PHOTO1889 reviews
PHOTO1202 reviews
PHOTO120L2 reviews
COMMPHOTO1 review
LAB1 review
Show 1 more courses
PHOTO120LAB1 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

1 reported outcomes

A range

1

A 1

B range

0

No reported values

C range

0

No reported values

D range

0

No reported values

F

0

No reported values

No letter grade reported

0

No reported values