Beginner Beginner digital photography course

J

jack whieldon

Suspended / Banned
Messages
80
Name
Jack
Edit My Images
Yes
Thinking about taking an evening course at my local college for beginner photography.

Before I pay the fee has anyone else been on these are they worth doing?
 
I have not taken any of the short courses. I did do an evening course at the local college - A level Photography. It was over two years and had a lot of hands on, including dark room techniques. Really enjoyed it.
 
Last edited:
jack whieldon said:
Thinking about taking an evening course at my local college for beginner photography.

Before I pay the fee has anyone else been on these are they worth doing?
Click to expand...

First off, what do you want to learn?

- the more specific your learning objectives the easier it is to identify a useful course. Is there a certain genre you want to explore more about? Is there a technique you've seen you want to learn?

Secondly, what level do you consider yourself to be at now?

- what are your best three shots? What would you like to improve about them?
 
I'm a total beginner. I mainly want to start learning how to manually set my camera for example when ever I'm in a low light situation like in the woods and want a fast shutter speed to take pictures of my dog, they always come out really dark and I can't seem to compensate for that.

So I though I'd start with a beginner evening course at my local college and work from the bottom up to a more advanced course, this is the course
 
Last edited:
Hi Jack

Going to do the course at the local college myself. My wife did it a few years ago and she said she came away knowing more than when she started the course plus met like minded people and enjoyed herself as well.
 
I've been thinking about this too and can't make my mind up !
 
well i have found out that the course i applied for was on the wrong side of the country lol... stupid me

non of the colleges around me do a beginner course... :'(

can someone reccomend where i could go to do an evening course?
 
I did "O" and "A" level at my local college some years ago, pre-digital pre-internet!
You could probably get all the information from Youtube and sites like this, but nothing beats being around people with similar interests, being able to ask questions and getting loads of hands on tuition.
I had a wonderful tutor, you may be just as lucky.
What have you got to lose?
 
I struggle to learn off YouTube - that's just how my brain works. I prefer being taught by people face to face and / or in a classroom or studio and got a lot out of the classes I did at night school. I did city and guilds level 2 and 3 and got a lot out of them. It's not just the mere one way imparting of knowledge that is useful, it's the ability to use college facilities and equipment, speak to other like minded people and be able to tap into the lecturers knowledge that I found beneficial. Plus having specific projects and assignments, with deadlines was good for staying focused.
All that being said, the prospect of formal tuition may fill you with horror, but everyone learns differently.
 
I start my evening course this coming Thursday. Looking forward to it too. There's only so much you can watch on YouTube and pretend you have memorized it. As mentioned above by Andy, the old school method of hands on approach in a classroom cannot be bettered.

Will I learn something new? Who knows, but at the end of the day it's real people/environment/interaction.
 
A lot of our colleges and "Institutes" locally have dropped all night courses, due to funding budgets. has anyone else noticed that in other areas? I am in South Wales.
 
The evening courses have been stopped near me or moved to daytime.

The course I am doing is now 3 o'clock but being a gardener the work is quieter in the winter so starting in January, its only one term.

No good for people who work normal hours. Might be with it being an afternoon course attendance might be low so that will be the excuse to scrap the course altogether.
 
saul01 said:
I start my evening course this coming Thursday. Looking forward to it too. There's only so much you can watch on YouTube and pretend you have memorized it. As mentioned above by Andy, the old school method of hands on approach in a classroom cannot be bettered.

Will I learn something new? Who knows, but at the end of the day it's real people/environment/interaction.
Click to expand...

I learned a lot when I took a 10 week evening course but found that the main benifit was the ability to understand why things sometimes do not come out as you might expect and gives you the confidence to go and do it again with different settings. Yes sometimes I still use Auto, but prefer "P" setting, but now I do try to use "M" if I can and to make Adjustments to get it right.

Enjoy your Course and ask questions if you do not understand anything, remember someone else might also be unsure as well and too shy to ask.

I loved the 2 Studio Sessions.
 
I have started a city & guilds photo imaging Level 1 course at my local college only started a few weeks back but It is interesting and I am learning a lot.
I have met a few people who are also enjoying it. I kept putting off taking this course but have no regrets.
And it starts from the basic.
hope this helps.
 
These are a source of good beginner info, and how I learned.

Understanding ISO, Shutter Speed and Aperture - A Beginner's Guide

Understanding ISO - A Beginner's Guide

Understanding Aperture - A Beginner's Guide

Understanding Shutter Speed - A Beginner's Guide

Understanding Metering and Metering Modes



Cambridge in Colour - Photography Tutorials & Learning Community


Understanding Digital Camera Histograms: Tones and Contrast

Understanding Digital Camera Histograms: Luminosity and Color

Understanding Camera Metering and Exposure

Making the Most of Natural Light in Photography



Also, this book is good. Goes over a lot of the stuff from the links above, but nice to have as reference. I got it for a tenner off amazon so worth looking to see if it comes up on offer.

Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera: Amazon.co.uk: Bryan Peterson: Books
 
Thatchapthere said:
I've found the internet/Youtube tutorials incredible! A member on here kindly pointed me in the direction of Mike Browne:
https://www.youtube.com/user/photoexposed/playlists

Such a great teacher!
Click to expand...

Mike is very good at teaching you in layman's terms. I think he is brilliant and love his stuff. He is all about taking great pictures and getting the effect that you want. Seems a genuinely nice guy too, I imagine he'd be fun to have as a wedding photographer!

Although, a lot of people don't like him for the reason that they want more technical detail, rather than layman's terms.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top