Does this beginners course look any good?
Discussion
I'm looking to go on a beginner photography course so i can put my new Canon 550D to full use instead of just having it on auto at the moment.
I've got some Canon 550D books but never seem to have the opportunity to read them. So i figured if i can spend some time on a course, it will be better than constantly being interrupted at home.
I have found this one which will only take one day.
http://www.manchesterphotographic.com/school/begin...
In your expert opinions, does this course look ok, or does anyone have experience of this course or the company itself?
Thanks
I've got some Canon 550D books but never seem to have the opportunity to read them. So i figured if i can spend some time on a course, it will be better than constantly being interrupted at home.
I have found this one which will only take one day.
http://www.manchesterphotographic.com/school/begin...
In your expert opinions, does this course look ok, or does anyone have experience of this course or the company itself?
Thanks
Big Worm 1 said:
I'm looking to go on a beginner photography course so i can put my new Canon 550D to full use instead of just having it on auto at the moment.
I've got some Canon 550D books but never seem to have the opportunity to read them. So i figured if i can spend some time on a course, it will be better than constantly being interrupted at home.
I have found this one which will only take one day.
http://www.manchesterphotographic.com/school/begin...
In your expert opinions, does this course look ok, or does anyone have experience of this course or the company itself?
Thanks
I'd avoid it personally, others may not but here's my rational.I've got some Canon 550D books but never seem to have the opportunity to read them. So i figured if i can spend some time on a course, it will be better than constantly being interrupted at home.
I have found this one which will only take one day.
http://www.manchesterphotographic.com/school/begin...
In your expert opinions, does this course look ok, or does anyone have experience of this course or the company itself?
Thanks
What puts me off is the visit to Jessops. I wonder how much of a kick back the course operator gets for taking all the sudents there to 'talk' to staff. The staff are there for one thing, to sell you things.
Other than that most of it you can teach yourself for free. Go out and play with the camera to get used to aperture, ISO, etc. Looking at other peoples photos for composition can be done anywhere, on this forum, talk photography, flickr etc. As for location shooting I think you pick that up as you're going along.
I wouldn't pay £90 for that. There's only 90 minutes of instruction in the thing you want to learn about, then you look at some pictures (which you've presumably done before) and go shopping.
If I were you, I'd turn the computer off, go and sit in the bath for 90 minutes reading one of those books, then go out for a walk with your camera before the light has gone. You could send me the £90, but I'd only spend it on drink
If I were you, I'd turn the computer off, go and sit in the bath for 90 minutes reading one of those books, then go out for a walk with your camera before the light has gone. You could send me the £90, but I'd only spend it on drink
14-7 said:
What puts me off is the visit to Jessops. I wonder how much of a kick back the course operator gets for taking all the sudents there to 'talk' to staff. The staff are there for one thing, to sell you things.
That is exactly the thing that was putting me off too! If i'm going on a course like this, i want to learn what i am there to learn, not be dragged off to the nearest Jessops for them to try and flog me stuff! Looking on the website, this company is sponsored by Jessops so that will have something to do with it! 
I would pass on the course personally. Just buy a book on photography (kodak did I nice book years ago - it's film based, but it doesn't really matter), have a read and then head out with your camera and a notepad. Take the same shot with a variety of settings and see what differences the settings make. The notepad is handy for noting what you used for each shot.
Worked for me!
Have fun,
Ross
Worked for me!
Have fun,
Ross
You should try something like this, http://www.hotcourses.com/uk-courses/Digital-Photo...
or http://www.hotcourses.com/uk-courses/Digital-Photo...
Usually done at a collage somewhere, works out a few quid an hour usually in 2 hour sessions with a bit of learning then a task to carry out for the next week, i did similar in Leeds at the grammar school years ago, it can depend on the teacher and the level of others but you stand to learn something and you are out of the house somewhere for 2 hours to learn so you may find it more productive than trying it at home.
Try chatting to the instructor to get an idea of what s/he will cover, the short courses are often run 3 times in the academic year but remember that the last one may be shorter if the weeks are not available for the full course.
or http://www.hotcourses.com/uk-courses/Digital-Photo...
Usually done at a collage somewhere, works out a few quid an hour usually in 2 hour sessions with a bit of learning then a task to carry out for the next week, i did similar in Leeds at the grammar school years ago, it can depend on the teacher and the level of others but you stand to learn something and you are out of the house somewhere for 2 hours to learn so you may find it more productive than trying it at home.
Try chatting to the instructor to get an idea of what s/he will cover, the short courses are often run 3 times in the academic year but remember that the last one may be shorter if the weeks are not available for the full course.
I did a one day Jessops course and there was no 'sell' involved at all!
I was concerned it would be too basic but the teacher managed to jam an awful lot of information in one lessson and we even got to go outside and take pictures and get feedback.
Other than being a little pricey but what you will learn is enoigh to really move you to the next step so I would say go for it.
I was concerned it would be too basic but the teacher managed to jam an awful lot of information in one lessson and we even got to go outside and take pictures and get feedback.
Other than being a little pricey but what you will learn is enoigh to really move you to the next step so I would say go for it.
I would go and buy a few books (search for recommendations) nd then just get out and play around.
Use Av mode, fix the ISO to (say) 200. Now take the same shot at different apertures and look at the relation to aperture and shutter speed.
You could even put it in M, fix yourself to an aperture (say f8) now press the shutter half down, look at the exposure meter.. adjust shutter speed up and down - when this hits zero (middle of the scale) the camera thinks you've got the correct exposure.
Now do the same thing at say f11.. you need a slower shutter to get the exposure meter back to 0.
Now do the same thing at f5.6.. you need a faster shutter to get the exposure meter back to 0.
Note: Just because the camera thinks thats the correct exposure it doesn't mean it got it right ! The idea here is purely to learn shutter vs aperture. You'll learn to out-think the camera later on.
Once you're happy with aperture and shutter start moving ISO about too.
After getting the relationship between aperture, shutter and ISO its all about composition - getting the depth of field you want (books will explain this better than I can) and framing the shot.
Use Av mode, fix the ISO to (say) 200. Now take the same shot at different apertures and look at the relation to aperture and shutter speed.
You could even put it in M, fix yourself to an aperture (say f8) now press the shutter half down, look at the exposure meter.. adjust shutter speed up and down - when this hits zero (middle of the scale) the camera thinks you've got the correct exposure.
Now do the same thing at say f11.. you need a slower shutter to get the exposure meter back to 0.
Now do the same thing at f5.6.. you need a faster shutter to get the exposure meter back to 0.
Note: Just because the camera thinks thats the correct exposure it doesn't mean it got it right ! The idea here is purely to learn shutter vs aperture. You'll learn to out-think the camera later on.
Once you're happy with aperture and shutter start moving ISO about too.
After getting the relationship between aperture, shutter and ISO its all about composition - getting the depth of field you want (books will explain this better than I can) and framing the shot.
I understand the OPs point about getting interrupted at home. It's easier to spend the time when you've a time that is defined to study.
I found it easier to dedicate time to learning when I attended an evening course.
I did a C&G evening course at my local college. I found it useful because it was over several weeks so we could discuss things in class then try them out over the week and then get feedback on the results. It was also good as the course set projects which pushed me to try things and made me think about the images i wanted.
You could try a local camera club which meets regularly or see what's on at your local college
I found it easier to dedicate time to learning when I attended an evening course.
I did a C&G evening course at my local college. I found it useful because it was over several weeks so we could discuss things in class then try them out over the week and then get feedback on the results. It was also good as the course set projects which pushed me to try things and made me think about the images i wanted.
You could try a local camera club which meets regularly or see what's on at your local college
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