OCA The Art of Photography Course Discussion Including Assignments and Submissions

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dubcat

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Hi, in an effort to put some structure around my learning of photography I have just enrolled on the OCA Art of Photography course. Keen to be in touch with other students so get in touch if you are doing it too.

Can anyone who has done it offer any sage words of advice? This was a big investment for me so I want to get the most out of it that I can.

Dub

EDIT this thread now covers all things related to this course including submissions and assignments. Use it to ask questions if you are currently on the course and share experiences if you are on it or have done it.
 
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Im enroling on the course this evening dubcat and plan to start early Jan (well as soon as the course material lands on my doormat), maybe we could keep in touch with each other as we work through it?

Would also be interested to hear from any past/current students who can offer advice or feedbackj on the course.
 
Hey

These courses are something iv looked at, Id love to study photography more. Id be really interested to hear what you guys thing of the course etc...:D
 
missemanuel said:
Hey

These courses are something iv looked at, Id love to study photography more. Id be really interested to hear what you guys thing of the course etc...:D
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Ive looked at loads of courses to study over the past several months and i keep coming back to this course. It has many plus points with none better than being able to persue a BA (Hons) Photography degree through the OCA if you want to, The Art of Photography carried 40 credits.

I emailed one of the tutors not too long ago to find out first hand about the course content and structure and he was quite forthcoming with his answers. Basically i was told its not really a techincal course about shutter speeds and apertures etc but more a course to teach you how to compose and see a photograph.

His words were:
The Art of Photography course is written so that completer beginners should be able to cope OK. There are always some things that any one student might not be clear on and a quick e-mail to the tutor usually either clears this up or the tutor can recommend a book or web site that will answer the problem in some detail.

Shutter speed etc. is covered but technique and theory is always secondary to content and creativity so we want you to use the techniques you have explored in the projects to help you make meaningful and creative images, particularly in the assignments, not just to set you tasks where you have to make images to illustrate some technique or other.

The Art of Photography is the module that we think of as our starting point for the BA in Photography and I think you will find it is what you need as a first step.
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Hope the above helps a little, ill post more once i get my course docs through the post. (y)
 
Yes this is exactly why I went for this course. The mechanics of photography are something I feel I am reasonably comfortable with and can learn more about myself from the web and books. However it is the artistic side of things I struggle with and my hope is the course will give me a boost in that side of things. It's not cheap mind and I have been worried about whether it's a good use of £600 since I enrolled earlier today.
 
I've been thinking about starting an OCA course. The high cost is giving me second thoughts at the moment plus my spare time as at a real premium with family and work life balance. I'd be interested to hear from people who have or are doing the course too.
 
I started in October. I was going to do it last year but my wife did her degree (in 9 months so lots of work) so we decided only one of us at a time. I looked around at lots of courses but kept coming back to this one for a recognised qualification. You can get qualifications after every 'year' of modules.

so far, great course, good feedback from my tutor and there's plenty of blogs around for inspiration. The documentation/course notes are good.

Most people seem to take around a year for this course but I'm trying to devote 10 hours a week to it so I can finish it in about 6 months. Difficult at the moment with work pressures and poor light but it's coming along.

Hints and tips.
Write up the blog as soon as you've done the work. Read ahead in the course notes and if you haven't time to take the photo's, write down ideas of things to take. They suggest a notepad, but I tend to use the Notes on my iPhone. You'll be surprised how many photo's you take (or maybe that's me as I want to present my best work?)

I've pdf'd my course notes so I have them available on my iPad as well.

I've not published my blog too much, but if you want a look - it's here:
http://www.nineelmsphotography.com/blog/

Have fun. Hope this helps. If you think of anything else give me a shout.
 
Byker28i said:
I started in October. I was going to do it last year but my wife did her degree (in 9 months so lots of work) so we decided only one of us at a time. I looked around at lots of courses but kept coming back to this one for a recognised qualification. You can get qualifications after every 'year' of modules.

so far, great course, good feedback from my tutor and there's plenty of blogs around for inspiration. The documentation/course notes are good.

Most people seem to take around a year for this course but I'm trying to devote 10 hours a week to it so I can finish it in about 6 months. Difficult at the moment with work pressures and poor light but it's coming along.

Hints and tips.
Write up the blog as soon as you've done the work. Read ahead in the course notes and if you haven't time to take the photo's, write down ideas of things to take. They suggest a notepad, but I tend to use the Notes on my iPhone. You'll be surprised how many photo's you take (or maybe that's me as I want to present my best work?)

I've pdf'd my course notes so I have them available on my iPad as well.

I've not published my blog too much, but if you want a look - it's here:
http://www.nineelmsphotography.com/blog/

Have fun. Hope this helps. If you think of anything else give me a shout.
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Thanks for that, will take a look through your blog ;)
 
hewhoknows said:
Ive looked at loads of courses to study over the past several months and i keep coming back to this course. It has many plus points with none better than being able to persue a BA (Hons) Photography degree through the OCA if you want to, The Art of Photography carried 40 credits.

I emailed one of the tutors not too long ago to find out first hand about the course content and structure and he was quite forthcoming with his answers. Basically i was told its not really a techincal course about shutter speeds and apertures etc but more a course to teach you how to compose and see a photograph.

His words were: Hope the above helps a little, ill post more once i get my course docs through the post. (y)
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Sounds good, thanks Matt (y)
 
Byker28i said:
I started in October. I was going to do it last year but my wife did her degree (in 9 months so lots of work) so we decided only one of us at a time. I looked around at lots of courses but kept coming back to this one for a recognised qualification. You can get qualifications after every 'year' of modules.

so far, great course, good feedback from my tutor and there's plenty of blogs around for inspiration. The documentation/course notes are good.

Most people seem to take around a year for this course but I'm trying to devote 10 hours a week to it so I can finish it in about 6 months. Difficult at the moment with work pressures and poor light but it's coming along.

Hints and tips.
Write up the blog as soon as you've done the work. Read ahead in the course notes and if you haven't time to take the photo's, write down ideas of things to take. They suggest a notepad, but I tend to use the Notes on my iPhone. You'll be surprised how many photo's you take (or maybe that's me as I want to present my best work?)

I've pdf'd my course notes so I have them available on my iPad as well.

I've not published my blog too much, but if you want a look - it's here:
http://www.nineelmsphotography.com/blog/

Have fun. Hope this helps. If you think of anything else give me a shout.
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Thanks, will take a look, the whole blog is the one thing im unsure about, it seems time consuming!
 
This all looks interesting stuff.

Been looking at this and the Photography Institute one.

Which is best?

Thanks

Rosie
 
I also looked at the Photography Institute course, the only thing that stopped me from enrolling was the lack of any form of qualification at the end of it all apart from their own certificate.

Personally, if im going to spend £550 or £595 on a course then i would like something concrete to show for it afterwards. Dont get me wrong, a qualification isnt the be-all and end-all of it as experience and production of quality images is what counts, but its a nice thing to look back on as recognition of all your hard work. Plus with the OCA you can continue to add courses on until you reach the magic 360 credits and gain a degree in photography :)

If you are seriously considering the PI course have a look at this link where 2 ephotozine reporters studied the course. Its got a module by module report:
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/ePHOTOzine-goes-on-the-Photography-Institute-course-13819

HTH ;)
 
missemanuel said:
Thanks, will take a look, the whole blog is the one thing im unsure about, it seems time consuming!
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Two new entries today.

It's kinda like writing up your coursework as you have to prove you've done the exercises. Actually I see it as part of the learning process as it really helps to formulate into words what you are trying to do
 
Byker28i said:
I started in October. I was going to do it last year but my wife did her degree (in 9 months so lots of work) so we decided only one of us at a time. I looked around at lots of courses but kept coming back to this one for a recognised qualification. You can get qualifications after every 'year' of modules.

so far, great course, good feedback from my tutor and there's plenty of blogs around for inspiration. The documentation/course notes are good.

Most people seem to take around a year for this course but I'm trying to devote 10 hours a week to it so I can finish it in about 6 months. Difficult at the moment with work pressures and poor light but it's coming along.

Hints and tips.
Write up the blog as soon as you've done the work. Read ahead in the course notes and if you haven't time to take the photo's, write down ideas of things to take. They suggest a notepad, but I tend to use the Notes on my iPhone. You'll be surprised how many photo's you take (or maybe that's me as I want to present my best work?)

I've pdf'd my course notes so I have them available on my iPad as well.

I've not published my blog too much, but if you want a look - it's here:
http://www.nineelmsphotography.com/blog/

Have fun. Hope this helps. If you think of anything else give me a shout.
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Great post! Thanks :)
 
It looks good to me. Especially if you can do the photography as part of the Creative Arts degree.

I've started a few distance learning things in the past and lost interest but I don't know whether it was because I'd picked things that had a more commercial element and finding something with a creative emphasis would be more freeing rather than restricting.
 
Well ive just enrolled and paid my fees after talking with them today. Should get my course work in 48 hours and plan to kick the studying off this weekend. :D

Ill let all interested people know what the course materials are like as and when they arrive.
 
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I got a call from them today. They reckon I won't get my notes/material until Friday which sucks for me as I fly to the US for a week on Friday. If it makes it here in time I will have some good reading material. If not I will have to wait until my return. I AM starting to get nervous about the whole studying thing again :)
 
dubcat said:
I got a call from them today. They reckon I won't get my notes/material until Friday which sucks for me as I fly to the US for a week on Friday. If it makes it here in time I will have some good reading material. If not I will have to wait until my return. I AM starting to get nervous about the whole studying thing again :)
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Yeah so am I, havent done much studying for a few years so amd nervous but excited at the same time. Cant wait to get stuck into it
 
dubcat said:
I got a call from them today. They reckon I won't get my notes/material until Friday which sucks for me as I fly to the US for a week on Friday. If it makes it here in time I will have some good reading material. If not I will have to wait until my return. I AM starting to get nervous about the whole studying thing again :)
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Yeah, but...
We have that sorted ;)

You'll like the packaging though.

Enjoy. Oh and don't try to fit an assignment around a trip/holiday like I did. Some shots worked but others didn't and I ended up scrabbling around for other shots

Edit: P.s. It's been about 10 years since I've done anything, but I'm really enjoying the challenge
 
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Byker you are a fountain of knowledge! :) Thanks man. Really appreciate you giving us newbies this info :)
 
Matt - have you seen this?

http://www.davebeveridge-ocalearninglog.net/

It's a really well laid out blog and very easy to follow. I have gone through about half of the exercises. I feel much more confident now about what is involved and suggest you take a look. It gives you an idea of what we are going to have to do.

Are you registered on the OCA student forums now? I am. I have also registered on the flickr group - it seems really active and i got lots of replies to my introductory post. You can find it at:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/ocarts/

Well worth joining that too. If you find out useful info can you keep posting it on this thread too?

Cheers,
Dub
 
Yes mate have seen that leraning log, its pretty informative isnt it. Ive also been onto the OCA Flickr group and joined, think ive actually replied to your post in the discussion section too lol!! It seems a great place to talk to people and get feedback and advice.

I havent joined the OCA students site yet, im guessing i have to wait till my course stuff turns up so i know my username and password??

EDIT: Just added you as a friend on facebook too mate ;)
 
hewhoknows said:
Yes mate have seen that leraning log, its pretty informative isnt it. Ive also been onto the OCA Flickr group and joined, think ive actually replied to your post in the discussion section too lol!! It seems a great place to talk to people and get feedback and advice.

I havent joined the OCA students site yet, im guessing i have to wait till my course stuff turns up so i know my username and password??

EDIT: Just added you as a friend on facebook too mate ;)
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Nah my course stuff has not arrived. I got it via email. It came from auto_emails@oca-uk.com.
 
Not much goes on on the OCA students site. I've logged on a couple of times but its' not used much.

Blogs - there's quite a few. One thread on the OCA students site has an intro and show us your blog thing, but I found googling OCA project x then the title helps to get inspiration or understanding.

Oh and number each exercise as you go through. It's slightly changed numbers this year, but it seems to be how everyone's done it.

Another good blog: http://www.drudru.co.uk/oca/?cat=11

Your tutor will write to you, ask you to say a bit about yourself. My tutor marks/works on sundays as he's a full time photographer during the week, so don't expect a rapid turnaround. However the feedback and help I've had is excellent.

Have fun.
 
Cheers Byker, all points noted.

Am thinking about starting a new thread dedicated to the TAoP course where any TP forum members who are studying the course can post stuff like questions, quiries, photos and advice. Kind of like a back up to the flickr group but just for TP members, what do you think?
 
Why not just continue it in this thread? Already some useful info above... I can edit the first post to say whatever you want.
 
Yeah im cool with using this one, seems the logical thing to do. Suppose we could ewdit the title so students know its all about course assigment and assesment discuission too??
 
hewhoknows said:
Yeah im cool with using this one, seems the logical thing to do. Suppose we could ewdit the title so students know its all about course assigment and assesment discuission too??
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Done - is it ok or do I need to change it more?
 
Byker28i - What level would you have said your photography was at before you started the course? I'm just trying to get an idea if it would be the right thing for me or not.
I did A-level photography about 10 years ago but that's the only formal photography training I've had. Other than that I would consider myself about advanced amateur or slightly below that (not trying to sound like I'm blowing my own trumpet!) I am at the point of trying to find work from my photography. I'm not sure if the degree is worth it but would certainly be better than just doing a course for the sake of it. I have looked into university photography degrees but it would cost me about £40,000 with having to live away!

Andy S
 
What level was my photography...

hum, difficult. Probably about proficient to competent amateur. I've had some stuff published in magazines last year, sell the odd sports photo to parents, shoot product stuff for work and shoot studio based portraits for staff and families (which I started so I could try something new out of my comfort zone).

TP's POTY comp got me really going in 2009 and I was looking at something to push me further. This seemed the perfect thing as it's something I can aim for, with easily broken down stages along the way and a recognisable qualification at the end. Not sure what's that's worth to me as I hope my portfolio would do the talking, but it's an added bonus. So far I'm really enjoying it and learning stuff as well.

Cheers
 
Does anybody know if I was to do the full degree (360 points worth of modules) and enroll for all of them straight away which would give me six years to complete them, would this class me as a full time student and entitle me to student loans?

I've read about the grants that I'd be entitled to if I stopped working but I'm just curious about a student loan rather than a grant. I don't mind paying it back.
 
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