[oldestswinger]

Hi all - another new entrant to the DSLR world.

Am currently thinking about improving my skills and thinking about some form of study and have a few "questions" for the worldly wise (I'm full time employed in my 40's BTW)

1) Online or local college (night school) - any comments as to which is better?

2) Do you need loads of equipment in addition to the camera and kit lens - ie are you expected to have loads of lenses and so on?

3) Any recommendations as to which courses are better than others and which to avoid?

Thanks in advance for your help and guidance.

[NuttyTart]

Hi There

I'm also new here... and to the 'proper' photography world too

I knew I wanted to do a course in photography for ages but struggled to fit it in with My son and full time job. I ended up going for the online diploma course with The Photography Institute and I am so far finding it great!

Challenging me a bit though!

Good luck and I hope you get something sorted out

Ellen x

[Von Ryan]

I did an evening course at the local collage, you get to meet like minded people and you have a pro photographer teaching you.

Or you could try this and pay with Tesco club card vouchers.

[Punjabi Geezer]

I'd suggest getting the "Understanding Exposure" book too. I didn't really want to commit to a course but I'm gaining a wealth of knowledge from this book.

[oldestswinger]

Originally Posted by Punjabi Geezer

I'd suggest getting the "Understanding Exposure" book too. I didn't really want to commit to a course but I'm gaining a wealth of knowledge from this book.

Yes that's a good shout - already got that book as it has been suggested elsewhere as well as one of Ken Rockwell's key recommendations. Great book.

[chrism_scotland]

I'm interested in doing a photography course, its always something I've fancied but never had the time to do, now I'm finished university and can't get a "proper" job due to fantastic financial crisis that we're in I think I might take a look at doing something.

[ryanyboy]

Originally Posted by oldestswinger

Hi all - another new entrant to the DSLR world.

Am currently thinking about improving my skills and thinking about some form of study and have a few "questions" for the worldly wise (I'm full time employed in my 40's BTW)

1) Online or local college (night school) - any comments as to which is better?

2) Do you need loads of equipment in addition to the camera and kit lens - ie are you expected to have loads of lenses and so on?

3) Any recommendations as to which courses are better than others and which to avoid?

Thanks in advance for your help and guidance.

Hi Mr Swinger,

I just posted this thread and thought it might be of interest:-

http://www.avforums.com/forums/digit...ve-passed.html


The course I studied was superb and I'd recommend it in a heartbeat.

Hope this helps

Ryan

[drb5]

I presume you done it in your spare time Ryan?

What does the course entail?



Oh and congratulations btw.

[ryanyboy]

Originally Posted by drb5

I presume you done it in your spare time Ryan?

What does the course entail?



Oh and congratulations btw.

Yes, I did it in my spare time. Due to illness I've had lots of that in the past 18 months but all's good now.

The course consists of a number of assignments which cover the various photographic disciplines. For instance:-

1) Portraits
2) Fashion
3) Advertising
4) In-House company magazine
5) Weddings
6) Sports
7) Journalism
8) Wildlife

etc

The course covers the nature of wedding photography (for instance) and then asks you to submit a minimum of 5 images of a wedding (it can be a mock wedding if you like).

For the advertising assignment I chose to "advertise" my girlfriends yellow Ford Ka!!

For the in-house company magazine I shot some images of my friends recruitment consultancy.

The course DOES NOT tell you how to use a camera. So if you are looking for a course that talks about apertures, shutter speeds, lighting etc this is not the course for you.

The course says that you don't need any special equipment for the course and that a standard kit will do. But I found a long lens (for sport) and a flash gun to be pretty essential. I also found myself using off-camera flash for a number of the images but again this is not essential. You can do without but the images you submit might not be as good as they can be.

I hope this info helps but just ask if you want to know more.

Ryan

[ranjit]

I just got this through to my email today It's £150 off the course at The Photography Institute (hope it's ok it post, apologies if not):
http://www.thephotographyinstitute.c..._year_2009.htm

I would love to do it myself, just time and money are in both short supply.

Ranj