Photo courses

Ziggy

Ziggy

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Mike
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Hi all -

I have been on here for a fair while but have come and gone a fair bit.

I have often come back to photography - looking for a hobby to give me a place to get away from everyday work pressures. I have frequently bought a load of gear and then sold it due to lack of use.

I am back and and want to give it a real go this time. My other hobby was cars but to be honest I find myself feeling old at car shows now - will still go but not as interested as I once was. I now tend to buy a nice car as previously I would buy and modify it to be my own - no more.

What I am looking for is some professional courses I can go on; ones which will teach me how to take a "decent" picture. I want to make pictures that I can be proud of, as opposed to occasionally taking a good one. I want to learn how a good photographer thinks, what he/she looks for when taking a picture - and how he/she manages to make their pictures stand out from others.

I have previously tried both landscape, sports etc but never really settled on a favourite. I would like to learn and then I can decide what my main focus will be.

So - where should I go and what should I do to give it a decent shot?

Any advice or help greatly appreciated - I can travel and do spend a fair amount of time in London with work , so could fit this in around that if required.

I presently have a Nikon D40 with kit lens - will not be rushing into buying more gear until I get some training.

Thanks in advance :)
 
Most local colleges will do evening photography courses which will essentially cover the basics and intermediate levels.It is worth enquiring local colleges nearby, where you live.
 
I did city and guilds level 2 and level 3 at night school, really enjoyed the courses. You will no doubt get people on here saying use the tutorials on here and youtube, etc, which are perfectly valid ways to learn, if that's your preferred way of learning. But one of the great things about going to a class is the people you meet, bouncing ideas off them, and getting feedback from experienced lecturers.
 
Classes are great, they give you focus and there's a social side too.

But I don't think you'll find what you love to shoot by shooting lots of things. If you want to love shooting, you should shoot what you love IMO it's the only thing that'll give you the drive to improve.

Most of us don't love photography for its own sake but because it enhances something which we already enjoy.

If you don't love spending time outdoors, landscape photography isn't going to change that. If you hate sports, watching them through a camera will be boring. etc

So; what do you love?
 
Phil V said:
Classes are great, they give you focus and there's a social side too.

But I don't think you'll find what you love to shoot by shooting lots of things. If you want to love shooting, you should shoot what you love IMO it's the only thing that'll give you the drive to improve.

Most of us don't love photography for its own sake but because it enhances something which we already enjoy.

If you don't love spending time outdoors, landscape photography isn't going to change that. If you hate sports, watching them through a camera will be boring. etc

So; what do you love?
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That make sense - I feel happiest when I shoot landscapes and wildlife when I get the chance.

Sports I do not like - I did shoot some speedway on a couple of occasions; but soon lost interest and ended up just watching the racing - rather than trying to capture it.

I am luck enough to live where we have some of the best scenery in the world. The ideal day for me would be a nice drive in my car on some decent b roads and then stopping for a while to take some pictures of the scenery we have, not far from me, which is simply breathtaking.

What I want to avoid is getting home and the pictures do not do justice to what I saw on my journey; that is the part I need to work on - I need the pictures to truly capture the moment. Let others see and feel what I did.
 
Ziggy said:
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I am luck enough to live where we have some of the best scenery in the world. The ideal day for me would be a nice drive in my car on some decent b roads and then stopping for a while to take some pictures of the scenery we have, not far from me, which is simply breathtaking.

What I want to avoid is getting home and the pictures do not do justice to what I saw on my journey; that is the part I need to work on - I need the pictures to truly capture the moment. Let others see and feel what I did.
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This is where it gets tricky, when we're looking at landscapes, what we see is much more beautiful than what's in front of us. We have 3d vision and we fill in the blanks brilliantly.

When we take a photograph of it, we've created a 2d image with lots of missing info. So we need help from lighting to create the 3d form. So what our eyes see at 14.00 on a summers afternoon, might best be captured in the evening.
 
I've done a few evening courses and one expensive all day course, and I learned very little on any of them. One tutor even told someone on the first evening to go and and get a new camera because we would only be using full manual, the title of the course was "first steps with your digital camera" :thinking:

The all day course turned into a social event, nice but not what I paid £75 for, and I gained nothing whatsoever from it.

I find a good magazine, and spending time on this site much better. When you see something you like, just try to emulate it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Photography is not rocket science, and doesn't have to cost a fortune. Just take lots of photos, learn from the bad ones and frame the good ones. :)
 
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