Courses for Photography

HopefulM

HopefulM

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Maria
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Hi All

I'm just starting to look into next years 'project', and wanted to hear from anyone that's already done a City & Guilds level 3 in photography...

Did you think it improved your photography or was it just reinforcing what you had already learned (and were you a beginner or keen amateur etc at the time)?

Did you get a new perspective on photography and did it make you rethink how you dealt with image capture, processing, set-up etc?

how many hours (classroom & study) did you do per week?

How much did it cost, and were there any additional 'must haves' that you had to invest in to complete the course

thanks :thumbs:
 
I completed the lvl 2 City and Guilds in January, and started the level 3 in February.

I'm a keen amateur, so a lot of it was information I already knew. However, it has definitely improved my photography by both re-affirming the basics and studying the work of classic photographers.

It also gives me access to the college's studio and darkroom. A big part of the course has been film and darkroom related which I love.

Cost is £300 at the college in Manchester I attend. It is an evening class every week for 3 hours. You have to prepare a sketchbook of all that you learn, and complete two projects in your own time....time taken for this varies enormously from student to student. I estimate I maybe spent about 3-5 hours a week outside college...but this really hasn't been a burden as I've really enjoyed what I've been doing.

Another positive is meeting fellow students who all want to learn..no egos...no snobbery...just people with a genuine passion and interest. Every single one of us who completed lvl 2 signed up for lvl 3.

It is possible to do the course with nothing at all, as the college can provide everything needed. In practice you really need your own DSLR imo. We also do a lot of film. I'm the only one on the course with a film camera (okay several film cameras :) )....all the others borrow the college's film cameras.

Having made all of these positive comments, I have looked at your work on flickr and it is of a very high standard...so I'm a little uncertain as to whether you would benefit from it as much as I have.
 
Courses can be positive for some and negative for others as you don't go on a course to study just one thing, it has to include info for others that maybe at a lower point in the beginning than you are. But there's no harm in trying :)
I would also suggest trawling through Amazon for literature, there's some EXCELLENT books on there that I never would have bought but thought I would give it a go! Reading and practice I would say is key for the moment for new inspiration as your Flickr shows that you've got a good eye :)
 
Very interesting topic,

I was just thinking the same, as I want to improve my skills as I would class myself as a beginner.
 
Flightphoto said:
Courses can be positive for some and negative for others as you don't go on a course to study just one thing, it has to include info for others that maybe at a lower point in the beginning than you are. But there's no harm in trying :)
I would also suggest trawling through Amazon for literature, there's some EXCELLENT books on there that I never would have bought but thought I would give it a go! Reading and practice I would say is key for the moment for new inspiration as your Flickr shows that you've got a good eye :)
Click to expand...

Could you list some of the books? And good ones for beginners ? :)
 
Thanks for the replies :)

I've already done a few college courses so don't class myself as a beginner anymore (though some might argue that ;) :lol: ) I just like a bit of a challenge and wondered whether c&g would actually stretch me. I'm already counting the weeks down to LRPS assessment and wanted a new challenge when the winter comes ;)

anyone else got any suggestions?
 
There are too many books to recommend to be honest, but as a whole, I would suggest a book for each concern, composition, lighting, modelling, landscape etc as there's some pointers that I took note of. I'll have a look in my office and put a list on here of some must have books to make it easier :)
 
Flightphoto said:
There are too many books to recommend to be honest, but as a whole, I would suggest a book for each concern, composition, lighting, modelling, landscape etc as there's some pointers that I took note of. I'll have a look in my office and put a list on here of some must have books to make it easier :)
Click to expand...

Thank you, that would be great :)
 
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