Fully utilize the functionality of your camera and expand your creative potential
Photography is a wonderful form of expression and communication. Whether you want to tell a story, sell a product or just show how beautiful a certain place you visited is, photography plays an essential role in fulfilling your creative vision. Photography is a magnificent art form allowing the avid student to draw with light in the most imaginative of forms. Photographers have quite literally brought light to the world and opened our eyes to the imagery from the furthest corners of our planet. The course offers you the opportunity to develop your skills and knowledge and capture those images you have always dreamed of.
Your purchase now also includes a Free Starter Pack tailored to your course when you register and attend the first Live Webinar
Every minute of the day we are exposed to photography and visual imagery in some shape or form, whether it’s an advertising campaign in your local department store or simply looking at pictures of friends and family on a social networking site. This lesson explores photographic styles and how they are used as a form of communication. Photography enables you to convey a message or a story, sell a product, or to simply illustrate how beautiful a certain place you visited is. Therefore the way you shoot and what you capture determines what your photography communicates. Understanding the different styles will help you identify the subjects you like to shoot and enhance your own style.
Camera Types: We will also dig into the various types of cameras currently available on the market and why you would use one over the other. This will help you with purchasing a camera best tailored for your needs, making shooting in various conditions and situations easier and more enjoyable.
Most cameras come with a huge range of menus and functions which can be quite daunting for the user to comprehend. In lessons 2, we will look at the common functions that appear on most cameras and demystify their use. Understanding these functions will expand your creative control and open up new possibilities for your pictures.
Lenses Types: The camera’s lens determines the quality and sharpness of your pictures and allows you to get closer or further away from the subject. We will explore the most frequently used lenses and when and where they are used. Picking the right lens for the scene you are capturing will ensure you get the best shot.
As technology grows, cameras seem to become more complex by the day with user manuals getting bigger and bigger with each new model. In actual fact cameras are an extremely simple device. The process of capturing and recording light is a reasonably simple process and understanding this process will change the way you think about the complexity of the camera.
Exposure: Understanding the concept of exposure is essential to developing your knowledge of light and will improve your ability to capture the scene the way you see it. We will also discuss different types of light and with the aid of some examples we will analysis various lighting conditions you might find yourself shooting in.
Motion and Depth are essential to expanding the creative potential of your photography. Controlling and manipulating motion and depth in your images will allow you to add drama and sophistication to your images. Whether you want to freeze an athlete in action or blur the flow of a waterfall, controlling motion will expand your capabilities and allow you to explore new subjects. Lesson 4 explores the camera’s shutter and aperture and examines the role they play in harnessing this creative potential.
Composition is one of the most fundamental elements in a photograph. Composition refers to the placement and relationship of elements within a picture. The arrangement of elements in a scene, the angle they are shot at, and the distance the photo is taken from, can completely change the final outcome of the photograph. They can ultimately determine the difference between a good and a bad picture. Understanding how to explore all of the compositional possibilities of the scene will greatly improve your ability to capture the best photographs.
In this lesson we will delve deeper in to the subject of composition and look at techniques to guide the viewer’s eye into or around your image. Mastering advanced composition techniques will allow you take pictures that engage the viewer and hold their attention. We will also discuss visual consistency when creating a series of pictures.
The ability to capture the light the way you see or would like to see it, is essential to making great photographs that have drama, vivid colours and depth. To fully understand how much light you need to capture for a scene, you need a way of measuring how much light is there. Most cameras have a light meter to indicate whether you have too much, too little or just the right amount of light to capture the scene. Lesson 7 looks at the light meter and discusses how it can be used to understand your exposure even before you have taken the picture. Grasping how to read the light meter will help you avoid taking those pictures that are too bright or too dark.
This is one of the most fundamental topics in photography. The marriage of shutter and aperture in manual mode gives you the most creative control offered to you by the camera. Having an understanding of the relationship between the two, will allow you to expand the potential of your photography and make creative decisions that were not available to you before.
In this lesson we will look at the different colours of various light sources and how they can change the atmosphere and mood of your photographs. We will also discuss how to avoid and resolve colour issues within your pictures.
Focusing: Focus is key for taking high quality photographs that are sharp and capture your vision. Lesson 9 discusses different various techniques and focusing modes available on most cameras. An understanding of focusing will help you keep the viewer engaged with the key subjects in your images.
What is a digital picture? Lesson 10 explores file format and how digital images are constructed. This gives you an insight into the file formats available on your camera which equips you with the knowledge to select the highest quality file format and image size that best suits your purpose. We will also look at some image editing software and the key differences between the most popular ones on the market. Imaging software can take your photography to the next level, transforming your pictures into works of art.
*On demand lessons will be pre-recorded and will be made available at a later date.
You can participate using your own computer via the internet, both Windows and Mac devices will surfice.
You can access recordings via your student log in area found in menu tab.
Live lessons are not essential in order to pass diploma courses. You can view the recordings in your own time.
What is the duration of one webinar?
It lasts approximately 1 hour, not including questions and answers at the end of the live sessions.
What if I miss the lecture? Will I be able to catch up?
That's no problem. We also record each lecture as we broadcast them. We make these videos available to you within 24 hours of each lecture concluding and you will have unlimited access to the videos for up to 12 days after the entire course has been completed.
Are there any assignments?
We provide you with weekly quizzes in order to self-assess your progress. These are completely voluntary and a fantastic revision tool. Only live courses have weekly quizzes.
Upon course completion a final assignment will be made available. There is a €5 administration charge for non-members to complete the final assignment and receive the certificate. All certificates are free for members.
