Going back to college.

Jungli

Jungli

Messages
272
Name
Satz
Edit My Images
No
Anyone taken up evening classes?

I've signed myself up for a 10 week evening class... learning by trial and error is taking too long so I thought I'd jump in and attend the recreational classes at my local college. Somethings I understand, but having a source of information to access is my primary goal.

Anyone else considered this or even attended night classes?

Thoughts and comments appreciated,

Satz
 
I went to evening classes some years ago to learn basic photography and editing, I found it very useful unfortunately there are no photography related courses running locally anymore
 
I ran night classes for a few years. It'll depend entirely on the tutor. Hopefully they will be qualified teachers as well as photographers rather than just one or the other.

In my experience, people got out what they put in, so throw yourself into it, get involved in any assignments, and get as much feedback as you can - both from the tutor and fellow students. Remember that there are no stupid questions. As a learner, it's the tutors job to explain things in a way you understand, so if you don't understand it, that's on them. Stop them and ask - they will be happy to rephrase it until you get it. I once had to explain to someone why 1/4 second was faster than 1/2 second - they just didn't get fractions and I assumed everyone got them.

Don't get hung up on the technical stuff. Make notes that you understand, preferably in a notebook that you can keep for reference. It can be overwhelming - especially for a beginner, so having something you can refer back to is invaluable. If there's something you don't understand - ask!

Take your camera manual (or at least take it out of the box). Tutors can tell you what to change, but not how to change it for every model of camera. Having the manual will make it much easier if you have in-class assignments.

Above all - enjoy yourself, and enjoy meeting new people with the same interest as you. Good luck!
 
I was recently approached by a local college to run one over 10 weeks, one class per week at 2hours. I was open to it, and started to put together a plan of what it could look like - but I was struggling to mix the usual technical stuff that most people think they need and the stuff that people don't think they need but they do in order to make interesting photos in the time provided. So made my excuse and pulled out. If I had more time I am sure I could have worked through it.

I guess take a look at the course outline / objective and see how that matches up with our short or long term goals and what you expect from the course
 
Whether you’re a beginner or have some knowledge, shoot digital or film, our professional and experienced tutors will guide you with friendly, practical advice to help you develop your skills as a photographer.

  • Explore different photographic techniques and equipment, in the studio or on location.
  • Cover topics such as composition, genres, image manipulation and studio practice.
  • Access the latest resources, studio lighting and specialist equipment, including film editing for DSLR.
  • Have guidance on building a portfolio and participate in focussed workshops.
  • Take up the exciting opportunity to print and exhibit your work within the College.


Recreational Photography Term 1:

Term 1 covers fundamental techniques to improve your camera skills and post-production, both digitally and in the darkroom. You will create a portfolio of work and cover topics such as:

• Manual exposure and understanding the exposure triangle

• Focus and depth of field

• Night time and low light photography

• Portraiture

• Landscapes

• Macro

• Basic studio

• Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom



Recreational Photography Term 2:

Having mastered the basics of the camera, term 2 will develop your studio photography skills, covering techniques to improve your photography, studio lighting and digital post production skills. You will create a portfolio of work and cover topics such as:

• Lighting set ups and metering

• Portraiture

• Still life

• Product

• Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom

• Retouching



Recreational Photography Term 3:

Term 3 will cover more advanced techniques to improve your camera skills and post-production. You will create a portfolio of work and cover topics such as:

• Use of different metering modes such as spot, matrix and centre weighted

• The difference between jpeg and raw, and why to choose one over the other

• Shooting at high ISO

• Advanced composition

• Exposure compensation

• Bracketing

• Understanding histograms

• How to deal with different lighting conditions

• Use and impact of different lenses
 
Many years ago I took a basic digital photography course at my local photography club ... and then joined the club :)

I think I learned quite a bit from the course as it was run by experienced club members with weekly "homework" to practice the technique or theme of the week and a competition at the end.
 
Apologies for the dump of info... it's the syllabus for the 10 weeks.
 
No doubt you will get people telling you that you can learn everything on YouTube and that’s probably true. However, some people just find it easier to learn in a classroom setting where you can ask questions and speak to other people who are learning as well. I certainly got a lot out of nightschool classes, it was a good starting point and introduced me to areas of photography I wouldn’t otherwise have done, for example studio photography using lights etc. Did the classes teach me to ‘see’? No, that comes purely from experience but it helped get me going in the right direction.

I’m sure others will say join a camera club. Most camera clubs won’t teach you photography, but once you know the basics joining one is a useful way of improving, but they aren’t for everyone.
 
I took evening classes for a year about 6 years ago and learn much faster than I had before by watching youtube videos or reading books. There was a lot to do, in addition to the evening classes one weekend a month for workshops and then assignments to complete for each module too. If this suits your learning style and you have the time to put in on the homework, then go for it.
 
Mrs WW has done quite a few courses since coming to the UK. She did some free English classes and also some free Maths classes too not because she really needed to but because she thought it'd be good practice for her English. She's also done some payed for English and translation classes and is now a qualified Thai / English translator. She's currently doing an on line English class which includes receiving and sending audio clips and feedback from the tutor, she's also now attending Yoga classes.

There do seem to be a lot of free or cost very little courses out there.

The place she did the free English and Maths classes also did a class on computers for older people, which I thought was a nice idea. I have to say that she/we have had problems with both Redcar and Middlesbrough colleges which both seem to be a shambles.

I've done... Nothing :D
 
I did a C&G evening class about 30 years ago (nearer 35), it was a great experience.
 
I have been on a local course that was 10 weeks x 3 (beginner, intermediate, advanced) and found it very useful. We have now started a follow on session where we are exploring second curtain flash and things like that. Each 10 sessions was £100 (so £300 in total). For me, this has been great as I wouldn't have learned what I have without the classes.

I also just completed the IOP certificate in photography (passed with highly commended) which I found a useful top up.

I like to learn (if the subject is interesting) and I am considering the next step which could be something like this:

www.futurelearn.com

Digital Photography – Photography Course - FutureLearn

Take the next steps in your photography journey by exploring different genres and finding your photographic style with this course from The Open University
www.futurelearn.com www.futurelearn.com

Open University and RPS accredited (so cant be too bad).

Just waiting for work to calm down as my camera hasn't seen much use in the last few weeks.
 
I did it, quite a while back now, I found some elements of it useful, but there was a lot of emphasis on film photography when I had already switched to a DSLR. However the course you posted above looks to avoid that. Is that the syllabus for 3x 10 week terms? As it seems a lot to cram in to 10 weeks.
 
I did a HNC over two years about 15years ago. Great fun, lots of Studio and darkroom practice.

But more importantly enjoyed the experience with like minded people with the same common interest.
 
Craikeybaby said:
I did it, quite a while back now, I found some elements of it useful, but there was a lot of emphasis on film photography when I had already switched to a DSLR. However the course you posted above looks to avoid that. Is that the syllabus for 3x 10 week terms? As it seems a lot to cram in to 10 weeks.
Click to expand...
I think so, the course is 10 weeks, all I'm by the looks of it.

But I have been known to be wrong... frequently.
 
I did a C&G course in TV production many moons, but that's a different kettle of fish, compared to stills.

Learning within a classroom, theory and practical work is how I learn best.

Totally agree with you that learning from YouTube is doable but speed of learning is 5 fold faster for me personally in a tutored environment.
 
Last edited:
I think, if you think you'll learn more and quicker in a classroom, then go for it. People learn in different ways and at different speeds. There's no real right or wrong way, just a a way that's right for you.
 
Nostromo said:
I think, if you think you'll learn more and quicker in a classroom, then go for it. People learn in different ways and at different speeds. There's no real right or wrong way, just a a way that's right for you.
Click to expand...
Agreed... how you learn is unfortunately the last lesson you learn... usually after you have finished studying and start work.
 
I went to an evening class on photography (with my wife) around 1979. The tutor was VERY interested in fungi, and every lesson somehow came back to mycology. So, it will depend. Every year for the last few years, I've looked through the local evening class brochures for local classes, and each time I've failed to find any classes that taught what I think is photography as opposed to how to handle a digital camera and use Photoshop.

I can appreciate that the course you've outlined covers a lot of genres of photography, but personally (and I'm speaking as an old fossil who's been using a camera for almost 70 years and is pretty set in their ways and inflexible) I'd prefer to be taught about the psychology of seeing, why some things look better than others and how to construct an image that works than how to use a camera. I freely admit that digital cameras are harder to use than the film cameras I prefer (although I do use a Sony a7r2 regularly) and so probably need more instruction than a basic film camera where everything can be covered in an hour. So more would be needed. It's just not where I'd put in the effort.

So that's my thoughts. I'm in favour in principle, but simply haven't found an evening class that would be worth it for me.
 
StephenM said:
I'd prefer to be taught about the psychology of seeing, why some things look better than others and how to construct an image that works than how to use a camera.
Click to expand...
Do you think learning about the skills artists who paint may give you the 'seeing'. Perspective, composition etc
 
Jungli said:
Do you think learning about the skills artists who paint may give you the 'seeing'. Perspective, composition etc
Click to expand...
A valid point, but I think that a better way is studying skilfully made photographs since all attributes of the medium may be present - including focus, which is a vital compositional tool along with the others that you mentioned.
 
Personally, I learned more about photography from Gombrich's "Story of art" and Zakia's "Perception and Imaging" than any other books. Yes, there is a lot of technical information that you need, but not all at once. You can make technically almost perfect photos 95% of the time with a modern camera set to auto everything. Making an artistic image, or one that gets a point across - that's where Gombrich et al come in.

There are others I'd add, particularly Rudolf Arnheim, but this isn't a reading list, more a statement of what I been helped by.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top