Amateur Photography Course

As this does not look like it has a recognised qualification i would suggest contacting a local school or college and seeing if you can do a GCSE or A' Level as an evening class.

I did an A' level in 1993 as an evening and/or Saturday class at my local Art College, and although it was a lot less expensive than this then, I would suspect it would be a similar price today. You also have to budget for a film camera body as there is a requirement to shoot film.

This would give you a qualification recognised worldwide.
 
I also looked into this course as the content looked promising (as well as the Photoshop discount) but decide to look around some more as I was concerned that the instructor engagement was not substantial enough as my preferred method of learning is a hands on practical course. If you go ahead with it, let me know how you find it.
 
mmmmm .. .think I would need to know more about what is covered, who the tutors are in terms of their qualifications and experience and consider how much I knew already compared to the course content.

Think that if I shelled out for the course fee, I would also need to purchase the software in order to feel that I had gained full advantage out of the deal - in other words, be prepared to spend £520 and see it as getting a course for a cheap copy of Photoshop .... maybe!

Alan
 
Hi I am currently doing the foundation in photography course. I am finding it a really good course and would recomend it. This is from another reply to a post i done a few weeks back.

On the spi course you have 9 modules.
The first 5 are compulsory
1- Picture shapes - composition
2- exposure
3- perspectives
4- focus and sharpness
5- shutter speeds and movement

Modules 6 - 11 you choose 3
6- Action
7- Buildings and structures
8- Macro and close up
9- Landscape,cityscape and seascape
10- People and storytelling
11- Wildlife and nature

Module 12 is a personal project, up to you what you do...

You have 3 years to complete the course. The tutor feed back is very good, lets you know where you are going wrong or right. If you want any more info pm me.
 
Thanks for the comments guys, looking at the course info it would seem that the foundation course deals with the "taking" of pictures and the diploma more about tarting about with it once you've taken it - is that about right? :shrug:
 
jc101 said:
Hi In the one i am doing (foundation in photography) There is no mention of having to shoot in film.
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I suspect that's because what you are doing is not a recognised qualification.

Just because a magazine (and that's what it is) sees a marketing opportunity in offering a diploma course in some aspect of photography to their readers does not mean that it complies with what is required for a formal qualification. This is not to say that it will not be a worthwhile experience for you to complete although I doubt there will be queues of employers waiting to take you on when you have completed the course and received your diploma.

If the qualication is verified by a recognised examination board (NVQ, C&G, ISEB, OCR, JEB etc) then it is viable and would be recognised by an employer.
 
EdBray said:
As this does not look like it has a recognised qualification i would suggest contacting a local school or college and seeing if you can do a GCSE or A' Level as an evening class.
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Why would anyone want a 'recognised qualification' in photography below degree level unless they specifically needed it for a photographic job e.g. forensic photographer?

As for the OP, why don't you go onto the AP forum and ask people actually doing the courses?
 
NorthernNikon said:
Why would anyone want a 'recognised qualification' in photography below degree level unless they specifically needed it for a photographic job e.g. forensic photographer?

As for the OP, why don't you go onto the AP forum and ask people actually doing the courses?
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Well primarily because it will be based around an actual structured learning syllabus, not something just cobbled together to make money, secondly no formal qualification is a bad thing, many employers still ask for GSCEs, A'Levels and vocational qualifications.

Still each to their own, have you seen the thread about someone looking for their money back from a home learning course?
 
Hi I am doing the AP course to learn about photography, not for a qualification. I looked at other courses with a qualification, some very expensive, some seemed mostly theory based. The ap one is about taking photos and understanding your camera, exposure, composition etc.
 
EdBray said:
Well primarily because it will be based around an actual structured learning syllabus, not something just cobbled together to make money, secondly no formal qualification is a bad thing, many employers still ask for GSCEs, A'Levels and vocational qualifications.

Still each to their own, have you seen the thread about someone looking for their money back from a home learning course?
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What a ridiculous statement. So you're making the assumption that any course with a 'recognised qualifictaion' will actually be worth doing and those without are just 'cobbled together'. A formal qualification is no guarentee of the course content, the tuition nor of the integrity of the institution offering the course. In a subject such as photography the course content and quality of tuition is far and away the most important aspects.
 
No i'm basing my opinion on the fact that i have done both a GCSE and A' level in photography and know what both the courses entail, I have also done both a City & Guilds and NVQ in other subjects and am aware of how they are structured to ensure you learn the correct things in the correct order. I did have a short trial of the NYI of photography home course a good few years ago (probably 20) and the tutor admitted to me in a telephone call that he had had no formal training and was just an amateur photographer who appraised the photographs sent to him.

Still, what's the point of having a qualification recognised by an authorised examination board? Seems anybody can set themselves up to sell a course on any subject.

Anyone interested in EdBray's diploma course on brain surgery for the masses!

A diploma (from Greek δίπλωµα diploma, meaning "folded paper") is a certificate or deed issued by an educational institution, such as a university, that testifies that the recipient has successfully completed a particular course of study, or confers an academic degree. In countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, the word diploma refers to a level of academic award.
 
EdBray said:
No i'm basing my opinion on the fact that i have done both a GCSE and A' level in photography and know what both the courses entail, I have also done both a City & Guilds and NVQ in other subjects and am aware of how they are structured to ensure you learn the correct things in the correct order. I did have a short trial of the NYI of photography home course a good few years ago (probably 20) and the tutor admitted to me in a telephone call that he had had no formal training and was just an amateur photographer who appraised the photographs sent to him.

Still, what's the point of having a qualification recognised by an authorised examination board? Seems anybody can set themselves up to sell a course on any subject.

Anyone interested in EdBray's diploma course on brain surgery for the masses!
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well said! :clap::clap::clap::clap:

I can speak very highly of the Open College of Arts courses - especially the main introduction one "The Art of Photography" - it concentrates on the the creative aspects of photography but gives a good grounding in the technical stuff like depth of field etc. It also can count in part towards a diploma or even a degree - and as such is accredited through higher education institutions - so there is quality control and they can't just give everyone an 'A' grade if they felt like it.

Link here

There are also courses covering photoshop and post processing of digital images - and with the course fee you get a free copy of photoshop elements. Or, as I did, use your student discount to buy full photoshop for £120 rather than £600 - and at £490 course cost (using their various discounts) it pretty much paid for itself!
 
i'm doing a fantastic course at the moment, learn at my own pace, masses of technical information and advice, friendly tutors, no need for costly software or anything, in fact, i'd advise anyone to sign up.......just join the TP forums :D:D the best course you will find :thumbs:
 
EdBray said:
No i'm basing my opinion on the fact that i have done both a GCSE and A' level in photography and know what both the courses entail, I have also done both a City & Guilds and NVQ in other subjects and am aware of how they are structured to ensure you learn the correct things in the correct order. I did have a short trial of the NYI of photography home course a good few years ago (probably 20) and the tutor admitted to me in a telephone call that he had had no formal training and was just an amateur photographer who appraised the photographs sent to him.

Still, what's the point of having a qualification recognised by an authorised examination board? Seems anybody can set themselves up to sell a course on any subject.
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This debate has started from your ascertion that the OP should only consider course that offer a 'recognised qualification' with no consideration of the OP's requirements. For you to rule out any training that does not offer these 'recognised qualifications' is naive at best. I am not saying that courses such as GCSE and A-levels are not worth doing, but they are only worth doing for the right reason. Doing a course simply to get a piece of paper at the end is a means to an end, and as such the content of the course is irrelevent so long as you can pass to achieve your aim.

My own experiences of part-time evening classes are underwhelming and by far the best courses I've been on have been bespoke or non-qualification. That doesn't mean that all evening clases are poor, but you seem to take the pov that all courses that do not carry a qualification by that very fact must be inferior. This is quite clearly wrong, for the same reaons as I listed in my previous post.

As with anything, proper research before purchasing will ensure a better chance of satisfaction, and seeing as the OP was doing just that and asking about a specifc course, dismissing the course when you have no direct experience of it yourself and when the OP's requirements haven't been stated is unhelpful at best.
 
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