Part of the MAC Group philosophy is “sales through education.” We believe that by demonstrating our products, teaching the benefits of them, having students shown advanced techniques and having the products endorsed by top professional photographers, the student will become better educated and at the same time develop an allegiance toward our products. As a result, we focus extensive educational efforts in the college or university setting through our MAC-on-Campus program. This educational support program has led the photo industry for the last 15 years in acknowledging and supporting the advancement of education in the field of photography. What started off as a simple student discount program has evolved into a partnership with a coordinated effort between MAC Group, corporate sponsors, and local dealers -- to help support educational initiatives in schools and with faculty and students.

We have learned that, despite digital technology, the basics remain the same. Exposure, composition, lighting, timing, photo storage and retrieval are necessary whether the capture is analog or digital. But the migration to digital imagery has given us the ability to do these things faster, easier and better. It’s also increased the photographer’s required scope of knowledge and abilities. Today’s photographer must not only know about color balance but understand why it is critical to calibrate the color accuracy of the entire workflow with X-Rite, view images on a superior quality monitor such as EIZO’s, or use a sophisticated color matching system such as Pantone’s. It’s a lot more than just hitting the auto white balance button and hoping for the best.

The photographer in today’s digital era has to wear many hats: picture editor, color specialist, lab technician, graphics designer, photo librarian and a host of other titles unimaginable ten years ago.

To that end MAC Group works around the clock and around the world on an ambitious education program to give students and educators the knowledge and tools to get the job done right. Over the past 20 years the company has spent millions of dollars educating photographers, dealers, students and its own people. We have said many times that if it weren’t for this commitment to education we would not be in business today.

MAC-on-Campus program utilizes equipment such as:

• EIZO graphics monitors
• Induro tripods, monopods and heads
• Mamiya cameras and lenses
• Multicart gear haulers
• Pantone color matching system
• PocketWizard wireless systems
• Profoto lighting
• Sekonic meters
• Tenba/Skooba camera bags and carry cases
• Toyo-View digital and film view cameras
• X-Rite color management systems

We also get a great deal of support from the above-mentioned manufacturers for our educational initiatives.  The MAC-On-Campus program, in addition, enjoys the corporate sponsorship of Adobe, Epson, Fujifilm, LiveBooks, and Marathon Press.

We hold a Digital Summer Camp in August for educators, providing an opportunity to stay ahead of the learning curve in the world of digital imagery course design. Professional photography educators gather with MAC Group leaders, along with digital imaging professionals from Adobe, Epson, Leaf, Nik Software, Profoto and Sekonic. For many, this is the ultimate hands-on experience. It gives the educators a chance to immerse themselves in a fully-functional, easy-to-follow professional workflow. The instructors are given access and instruction on the most recent state-of-the-art digital photographic tools and techniques. Guest speakers/instructors include commercial photographers, Photoshop experts, color management specialists, and software instructors. While much of the event is about learning from industry experts, there are also social events and roundtable discussions where the educators get to share and learn from one another.