Mary Ruth Moore taught beginning and advanced photography in the Lamar Dodd School of Art. She has also taught in the University of Georgia Studies Abroad program numerous times since 1983.

Moore's photographic art typically involves a pinhole optic in color and black/white. This simple approach to photography is reflected in her teaching, for which she received a Sandy Beaver Excellence-in-Teaching Award in 1994. Moore's photographs are inspired in rural south Oconee County, GA, the Georgia islands, Tuscany, Renaissance paintings, and passages from the Bible. Her photographs have been utilized on several books covers published by the University of Georgia Press including:

• "Beach Wind," Rebecca McClanahan, Riddle Song.
• "April Storm," Phillip Lee Williams, Crossing Wildcat Ridge.
• "Northeast Room," Mary Hood, And Venus is Blue.
• "Erotic Frolic," Katayoon Zandvakili, Deer Table Legs.
• "Elegant Chair," Norman Finkelstein, Restless Messengers.