Beginners Course with Going Digital

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Tinkie

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Tracey
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Hi, I am interested in attending a beginners course in DSLR photography. I really like the content of those offered by Park Cameras but they are held on a Friday in Sussex which isn't ideal for me.

I have seen courses which are being held within East Anglia with a company called Going Digital; has anyone been on their course please?

Alternatively, if anyone has attended any other beginners course within East Anglia i would be interested to hear your feedback please.

To give an idea of what level of course i am interested in, I have just bought a Canon EOS 450D and have only used it in manual mode so i really am on a steep learning curve!

Many thanks,

Tracey
 
Hi Tracey
I did the beginners course in the peak district,I found that because of reading mags/books and these forums I new most of what was in the syllabus.Having said that it was a good day,informative and simplified by the tutour. I would advise any newbie to do it so you start with the correct basics. Plus you get to go to a location to put into practice what you have just learned and then review your photos back in the class room
Mick
 
Hi Mick,

Thanks for your feedback. Did you do part one only or part one and two?

I like the idea of taking some photos on the day as part of the course and then reviewing them. I tend to learn better by "doing", rather than reading first, and find that what i read subsequently makes more sense once i have a little practical knowledge.

Cheers,

Tracey
 
I only did the first Tracey, it gives you all the basics to give you confidence to take lots of shots with a better chance of getting what you set out to shoot. Although I still work on the theory of the more you take the better your odds are:lol:
Mick
 
Thanks again Mick, i'll try the first course and see where i end up.

I suspect at the moment my knowledge is so non-existant that the more i take the more frustrated i will become!
 
Tracey - I'm just up the road from you. The big question I have when reading your post is - what sort of photography do you want to learn? People, landscapes, wildlife, macro etc? Or do you just want to learn how to use your camera?
 
SimonTALM said:
Have you thought about going on a couple of TP meets? They are free and everyone on them is more than happy to share information.
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Hi Simon,

Thanks for the suggestion which i think is a very valid one.

In time i would very much like to do this but my statement about being a complete beginner is in no way exagerated! I would like to understand how to use the camera first of all and then go from there.

I could not subject my fellow locals to my ignorance at this stage!

Best wishes

Tracey
 
ryanyboy said:
Tracey - I'm just up the road from you. The big question I have when reading your post is - what sort of photography do you want to learn? People, landscapes, wildlife, macro etc? Or do you just want to learn how to use your camera?
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Hi Ryan,

Just had a look at your website and can see that you are in the city compared to me in the depths of the fens! Very nice photographs you have taken and i wish you well with your new career.

You have hit it on the head; i have just bought a Canon 450D, and the Dummies guide to go with it, but i would like to learn in a practical way. I also have a colleague who bought a Nikon last year and feels she does not get the most from it as she doesn't understand the basic principles of photography either.

Once i have a better understanding of these i think i will be interested in landscapes and wildlife as they have been common topics on holiday with my Powershot.

Best wishes,

Tracey
 
Tinkie said:
Hi Ryan,

Just had a look at your website and can see that you are in the city compared to me in the depths of the fens! Very nice photographs you have taken and i wish you well with your new career.

You have hit it on the head; i have just bought a Canon 450D, and the Dummies guide to go with it, but i would like to learn in a practical way. I also have a colleague who bought a Nikon last year and feels she does not get the most from it as she doesn't understand the basic principles of photography either.

Once i have a better understanding of these i think i will be interested in landscapes and wildlife as they have been common topics on holiday with my Powershot.

Best wishes,

Tracey
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Thanks Tracey for the kind compliments. :$

I'm thinking of doing beginners lessons in using a digital SLR as an extra to my bread and butter business. I wonder if you and you're friend would be interested in doing some two-on-one training with me? I use Nikon myself but shot Canon for quite some time before swapping to Nikon 12 months ago. So I'm sure I could teach you some basics with regards camera controls and getting the types of images you want. I won't charge much as you can be my guinea pigs. ;) I've done lots of on-the-job training in various guises over the years as well as teaching the basics of using a DSLR to various people (including my dentist!!). So I'm sure we'll get on just fine.

Give it some thought and let me know if you're interested. Just don't get too good and start competing with me :D

All the best

Ryan
 
ryanyboy said:
Thanks Tracey for the kind compliments. :$

I'm thinking of doing beginners lessons in using a digital SLR as an extra to my bread and butter business. I wonder if you and you're friend would be interested in doing some two-on-one training with me? I use Nikon myself but shot Canon for quite some time before swapping to Nikon 12 months ago. So I'm sure I could teach you some basics with regards camera controls and getting the types of images you want. I won't charge much as you can be my guinea pigs. ;) I've done lots of on-the-job training in various guises over the years as well as teaching the basics of using a DSLR to various people (including my dentist!!). So I'm sure we'll get on just fine.

Give it some thought and let me know if you're interested. Just don't get too good and start competing with me :D

All the best

Ryan
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Hi Ryan, thanks very much for the offer; i won't see my friend until work on Monday but i will discuss it with her then. Just to give you a fuller picture; we were looking at the courses i have already mentioned as they are held at weekends and there are actually three of us as my partner wants to do it as well and we only have the one camera (at present!). My friend from work is a Nikon girl. I also can't emphasise too much how little i know; i can turn it on and use auto mode but that's it so far.

If this hasn't put you off (and i reckon a guy who is brave enough to teach his dentist must be fairly resiliant :lol:) then i will chat with the others about it. If, on the other hand, you think it is all too much then i quite understand.

As for the competition i think we can confidently say you are on safe ground for a while yet ;)

Kind regards,

Tracey
 
simonkit said:
Have you looked at your local FE College - good value for money & they usually cover some processing too

Simon
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Hi Simon,

Thanks for your suggestion. I had considered this briefly but i thought these courses were likely to be for a couple of hours on a specific night each week and my work would mean that i wouldn't always be able to attend as i travel quite a bit.

Cheers,

Tracey
 
:D

No you haven't put me off. Let me know what you're friends think and we'll see where we go from there.

Teaching my Dentist was great - I swapped my teaching for a free filling!! Saved me over £70 too.
 
Hi John,

Thanks very much for posting details of the website and it is a great tip of yours to print off the ones you want to use.

Kind regards,

Tracey
 
ryanyboy said:
:D

No you haven't put me off. Let me know what you're friends think and we'll see where we go from there.

Teaching my Dentist was great - I swapped my teaching for a free filling!! Saved me over £70 too.
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Excellent, thanks Ryan.

That was a good result with your dentist; let's hope your business goes from strength to strength and that your tax man needs a wedding shoot!:naughty:

I'll be in touch once i have caught up with my friend at work.

Thanks again,

Tracey
 
Hi Tracey,

I'm booked on the Going Digital Using Your DSLR part 1 next Saturday in Central London. So not your area but it looks like a franchise operation and so would expect the framework of each workshop around the regions to be similar.

I'm not sure what to expect. I've experimented a bit myself and done a lot of reading but I'm hoping that the practice and immediate feedback will be useful.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Gary
 
It is a franchise. Digital one is more or less aperture priority, with a bit of composition and camera familiarisation as well.
 
Ah, another TP member from Cambridgeshire, hello and welcome :)

I live between Ely and Newmarket. Best of luck with your course.
 
gazzag said:
Hi Tracey,

I'm booked on the Going Digital Using Your DSLR part 1 next Saturday in Central London. So not your area but it looks like a franchise operation and so would expect the framework of each workshop around the regions to be similar.

I'm not sure what to expect. I've experimented a bit myself and done a lot of reading but I'm hoping that the practice and immediate feedback will be useful.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Gary
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Hi Gary,

I hope that you enjoy the course and find it beneficial.

Thanks for the offer of feedback; that will be much appreciated.

Kind regards,

Tracey
 
swanseamale47 said:
It is a franchise. Digital one is more or less aperture priority, with a bit of composition and camera familiarisation as well.
Click to expand...

Hi,

Thanks for confirming that it is a franchise. As Gary mentioned in his post, i would also imagine the content is much the same regardless of region.

Best wishes,

Tracey
 
toonamp said:
Ah, another TP member from Cambridgeshire, hello and welcome :)

I live between Ely and Newmarket. Best of luck with your course.
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Hi Toonamp,

Thanks for the warm welcome and the good wishes.

Perhaps once i have a better understanding of my new toy we might meet at a locally held TP gathering.

Having now spent a few weeks browsing the forums it would seem that our region has quite a few members and, given the size of Cambridgeshire, we can't be too far from each other!

Best wishes,

Tracey
 
Tinkie said:
Hi,

Thanks for confirming that it is a franchise. As Gary mentioned in his post, i would also imagine the content is much the same regardless of region.

Best wishes,

Tracey
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Yes the courses should be standardised pretty much, they supply all the course material for the tutors.
 
Hi Tracey,

I promised to let you know how my Going Digital Using Your DSLR part 1 course went. Looking back on the thread, it looks as though Mick has it nailed. A very comfortable, stress free day with people pretty much in the same boat as you.

Day started with a quick tour around the camera's key features and concentrated on aperture mode and depth of field. Classroom was about two and a half hours, followed by about one and a half hours practical in the Tate Modern, Millenium Bridge, St Pauls area then a short break for lunch and finishing with some review and critique for the last hour.

Like Mick, I thought that I had the theory covered but putting it into practice and getting some immediate feedback was great. My problem is that my camera and I are not getting enough quality time together so six hours or so without non-photography interruptions was great.

I'm pretty sure that I'll follow this up with further sessions in the new year. The format suits my needs. I'm sure that you won't be disappointed if you try it.

Gary
 
Hi Gary,

Thanks for the update. I am pleased that you enjoyed the day and it certainly sounds like just what i wanted to do.

Luckly for me, Ryan, who has posted within this article, is very local to me and has kindly offered to teach my friends and i so we are going to do that instead.

Good luck with putting into practice what you have learned today and i hope you enjoy any subsequent course you decide to take.

Thanks again and best wishes,

Tracey
 
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