YPM Studios work with students from across the University on many projects ranging from specific research questions that require imaging, to exploratory art projects utilizing the Peabody’s collections, to audio/video production on a variety of topics, and everything in between. A core tenant of YPM Studios is Yale students and their ideas drive what is created and how the spaces are used. Students are given the opportunity to develop technical imaging and recording skills that enable them to produce what they want, but of equal importance, they are encouraged to use the studios as a place for experimentation and play. With an interest and excitement about working with the Peabody and its collections as the only prerequisite for utilizing YPM Studios, we foster interdisciplinary and collaborative work connected through a passion for looking closely and thinking deeply. 

Because of the variety of work being produced within YPM Studios, the equipment and layout of the spaces are necessarily dynamic. Within the course of a day students may be photographing an object on a seamless backdrop with a high-resolution digital camera and studio strobes, focus stacking a tiny specimen on the motorized copy stand, editing and printing a large format image for display, using microscopy to capture miniscule details beyond our ability to see, or recording video content for use on social media. Given this variety, what technology is present and how it is being used is always changing from day to day. This allows the studios to be flexible based on the needs of the students, rather than students needing to fit a specific mode of working. 

YPM Studios not only provides resources for Yale students and classes but collaborates with Yale faculty to create new courses, initiatives, and projects. Through this collaborative structure we can embed the studios and their use within the structure of a course for a fully integrated learning experience.