Photography classes

wizzard · 08-31-2012, 03:47 PM

I wonder what are the opinions of the value of photography classes. I am interested in one currently being offered by LivingSocial. Anyone have any experience with this type of classes?Could you please share your opinion.

A little background:
I am not exactly a beginner and am familiar with manual controls and I prefer them over the "Auto" setting. Previously used the K10D and recently got a K30 from Costco. I am primarily interested in improving my photography, and it needs a lot of improvement.

Mods please move to appropriate forum i this is not the correct place to post this.
Thanks
S

Gareth.Ig · 08-31-2012, 04:01 PM

I have a similar background as you. A general handle on exposure but limited ability in terms of composition. I have taken a couple "101" classes for photography basics as well as "advanced ameteur" type class. I enjoyed both, but I didn't get as far into composition as I would have liked.

I guess what I am saying is, if you want to have a really firm grasp on the basics and you are only self taught, you will find an introductory course quite useful, but if you are looking for a course that focuses on composition and technique, that is much more advanced and it'll be much harder to find a course that addresses those needs (at least it has been for me).

DSims · 08-31-2012, 08:05 PM

I think classes are very useful, even when you've got some experience.

If the instructor is good, there's always something you learn, and he'll bring up other important things you'd forgotten about or have been failing to emphasize lately.

sqjaw · 08-31-2012, 08:50 PM

check your local community college or regular colleges , also check for high school night class'es, that's the best I can suggest

wizzard · 08-31-2012, 11:43 PM

Thanks for the replies. Any opinion on the particular LivingSocial deal? Its from Digital Photo Academy, any idea how good they are?

Kaufeetime · 09-04-2012, 02:56 PM

In addition to Photography 101 I believe you should take a variety of art classes. Art is more than famous painting found in the museum, Art is all around you it is the building you live in, the chairs you sit in, the car you drive, and the shape of your new K30. Do a little soul searching and decide what you would enjoy. Your first class should be a fun class that will keep your attention; sculpture, Jewelry, ceramics, or pottery. Enroll in classes are classified as “Foundation” classes "Beginning Drawing", "Elements and Principles of Design", "2D Design", and "Color Theory". Keep in mind what you want to develop will take more than a couple art classes. This will help you develop the ‘photographers eye’ and understand photography as an art. You will not find your talent in “Photoshop”, learn to draw then take that class.

magkelly · 09-05-2012, 12:04 AM - **2 Likes**

Originally posted by Kaufeetime

In addition to Photography 101 I believe you should take a variety of art classes. Art is more than famous painting found in the museum, Art is all around you it is the building you live in, the chairs you sit in, the car you drive, and the shape of your new K30. Do a little soul searching and decide what you would enjoy. Your first class should be a fun class that will keep your attention; sculpture, Jewelry, ceramics, or pottery. Enroll in classes are classified as “Foundation” classes "Beginning Drawing", "Elements and Principles of Design", "2D Design", and "Color Theory". Keep in mind what you want to develop will take more than a couple art classes. This will help you develop the ‘photographers eye’ and understand photography as an art. You will not find your talent in “Photoshop”, learn to draw then take that class.

Not everyone can draw, nor is it a prerequisite for photography. You sound like my favorite design teacher, laugh. You do need to understand about art and design, form, line and light, yes, but if being able to draw well was a necessary thing before learning to be a photographer I'd have never picked up a camera. I can draw in Illustrator or Photoshop but don't ask me to pick up a pencil and go there. I'm just plain lousy at drawing that way.

I nearly flunked out of my first semester of design courses in college because of the initial drawing and painting requirements of the certificate. They would not even let us touch a computer for 2/3 of Design I. It was awful. First assignment I was actually allowed to use it my project grades went from C to A and I totally stunned my teacher who clearly thought I'd NEVER be be a designer or photographer. I can still remember the absolutely flabbergasted look on her face when she turned around from the pin board and realized the assignment she'd been praising to the skies was mine. I couldn't have shocked her more if I'd tried.

Some of us are a bit challenged when it comes to things like drawing, but not being able to draw or paint doesn't mean you can't have the eye for photography. Personally I believe we should be allowed to draw as we wish, on a computer if that helps. Ask me to draw and paint it in traditional materials and I'll show you an absolute mess when I am done. Give me a computer and Illustrator and I'll show you 100% the design concept you're trying to illustrate. Whatever works. Having a computer and the proper programs totally frees me from frustration and enables me to be creative. I will never be a proper painter. But I still have a painter's eye for light, thank goodness.

Study art, yes. But don't make yourself a slave to it and don't let a lack of traditional art skills dictate whether or not you ever become a photographer. If you can do it, sure it will help you, but if you can't? Just try to understand it. It will translate into your work with film and digital eventually...

Docrwm · 09-05-2012, 09:33 AM

Originally posted by magkelly

Not everyone can draw, nor is it a prerequisite for photography. You sound like my favorite design teacher, laugh. You do need to understand about art and design, form, line and light, yes, but if being able to draw well was a necessary thing before learning to be a photographer I'd have never picked up a camera. I can draw in Illustrator or Photoshop but don't ask me to pick up a pencil and go there. I'm just plain lousy at drawing that way.

I nearly flunked out of my first semester of design courses in college because of the initial drawing and painting requirements of the certificate. They would not even let us touch a computer for 2/3 of Design I. It was awful. First assignment I was actually allowed to use it my project grades went from C to A and I totally stunned my teacher who clearly thought I'd NEVER be be a designer or photographer. I can still remember the absolutely flabbergasted look on her face when she turned around from the pin board and realized the assignment she'd been praising to the skies was mine. I couldn't have shocked her more if I'd tried.

Some of us are a bit challenged when it comes to things like drawing, but not being able to draw or paint doesn't mean you can't have the eye for photography. Personally I believe we should be allowed to draw as we wish, on a computer if that helps. Ask me to draw and paint it in traditional materials and I'll show you an absolute mess when I am done. Give me a computer and Illustrator and I'll show you 100% the design concept you're trying to illustrate. Whatever works. Having a computer and the proper programs totally frees me from frustration and enables me to be creative. I will never be a proper painter. But I still have a painter's eye for light, thank goodness.

Study art, yes. But don't make yourself a slave to it and don't let a lack of traditional art skills dictate whether or not you ever become a photographer. If you can do it, sure it will help you, but if you can't? Just try to understand it. It will translate into your work with film and digital eventually...

Ditto. Many tell others that to be a great X they have to follow Y path. The genuine Greats all took their own path. Drawing is a wonderful skill, if you have the ability, but is in no way necessary to being good at much of anything else - particularly photography.

Kaufeetime · 09-05-2012, 11:58 AM

Magkelly

WOW you really zero-in on a word and I’m not sure what I said to make you so upset and to use the word “slave”. My advice was “take a variety of art classes” “What you would enjoy” “Your first class should be fun…” I enjoyed my art classes and the classes helped my photography that is the reason I suggested them. I posted what I learned from my past experience and felt it could be helpful. My posting is only a suggestion and no person should take it as a definite standard for advice.

Each of your paragraphs was critical and negativistic. I believe most people would prefer reading positive forum responses. Negative posting have a tendency to accumulate and will give this forum a bad reputation.

magkelly · 09-06-2012, 08:43 AM

"Each of your paragraphs was critical and negativistic. I believe most people would prefer reading positive forum responses. Negative posting have a tendency to accumulate and will give this forum a bad reputation."

Oh please you're taking what I said way too personally!!!

It was just my opinion of the whole design school process. I don't believe in that major art skills are strictly necessary to do design and photographic work and yes, I'm speaking from my own experience. I'm 48K in the hole because I went that route and in the end it got me absolutely nowhere. I could have taught myself everything I learned in those classes in 3 years in about 6 weeks at home with a few good books and it was useless in the real world. It truly was. What I really learned, what was truly useful, I got via my 2 apprenticeships, the videos I watched, the books I read. What came after the college classes was 100% more valuable than what I learned in. Seriously.

I just don't want to see someone who may be a great photographer get too discouraged by people who insist upon that being the "only" way that's all. My teachers had no idea of what I was capable of because they had their own preconceptions of what I could do based on their strictly traditional criteria and they all but forced me away from doing it in a way that I could have done easily. They were so "negative" that I nearly quit the course. All that I wrote above it was just me trying to say don't do what I did. Trying to maybe keep someone else from maybe making the same very expensive mistake....

As for my saying what I mean. I'm not apologizing for that. By now I think people on here know I don't pussyfoot around. I say what I mean and admit what I feel. I do try to be polite and helpful whenever possible too, but I'm not freakin Pollyanna spewing sunshine with every word I type. I won't pretend to be either. :P (laugh)

wizzard · 09-06-2012, 09:07 AM

@magkelly,
Thanks for your insight, it is very helpful. I can't draw at all and thats what attracted me to photography. This is just a hobby and I have no plans to make it my career so I don't think that I should invest in a design course. With a full time job it'll be very hard to find the time for a regular course anyway. I just want to elevate my snapshots to a little higher level, to something that I can frame and hang in the living room without feeling ashamed.

magkelly · 09-06-2012, 07:26 PM

You are welcome.

There are far less expensive alternatives to traditional classes in colleges and design schools. Most places have places like community centers and art centers where you can take a class or two in a more relaxed fashion if you like. But there are also several online video makers that offer really decent online courses. Like Scott Kelby and Lynda.com, to name two I've really liked and found useful.

There are free lessons on You Tube and elsewhere and there's always the public library too. I'm going to para-quote my favorite TV detective here (Robert Goren, LOCI) and say that my most important tool is my library card because for me it definitely is. You can learn almost anything via the library and it's resources. It is important that anyone who wants to be a good photographer learn the basics of the craft and of design, but there are many, many ways to do that.

Honestly? I wish I'd been a lot smarter about my educational choices. Photography, writing, occasionally performing, those are my real avocations and I really should have pursued them rather than wasting half my life just working to make the rent.

All I am saying is do what you love and don't let a lack of a formal education stop you. If photography is a hobby then learn it however you can and enjoy it. If it's more than that then go for it. Follow that muse. Use whatever tools and resources you can. Whatever works....

bigted · 09-06-2012, 08:29 PM

I am sorry I can't help you with the particular course you asked about, but I did finish a 6 week course on photography last month and it was worth every penny I paid. I used to shoot film years ago and managed quite well even though no one had actually taught me. With my K-r I felt I needed help to get out of auto mode that I was almost always using. The course was great at showing how to feel comfortable out of auto and why each mode (including auto) was good and where you would use them. Before I took the course I asked questions about what was being taught, how it was being taught and what was expected of us as students. The place I took it answered all of those questions and let me know I could drop out and be refunded if I wasn't happy. No one dropped out we all graduated very happy students.

wizzard · 09-07-2012, 08:38 AM

@magkelly
Great suggestions as usual. I agree about the library. Its a great resource.

@bigted
What kind of course was it? Is it location specific?

bigted · 09-07-2012, 09:16 AM

It was the Photo 101 course offered by Henry's Camera a Canadian chain of camera shops. They offer it across Canada. It was $275 for the 6 week 12+ hours of course work. We did 2 field trips (one part of the course and one in addition so we actually got closer to 14 hours of instruction) and used Flickr to post and comment on homework assignments. Definitely well worth the money. We had an excellent instructor who knew all the cameras and though I was the lone Pentax user I never felt left out.

08-31-2012, 03:47 PM	#1
wizzard Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 47	Photography classes I wonder what are the opinions of the value of photography classes. I am interested in one currently being offered by LivingSocial. Anyone have any experience with this type of classes?Could you please share your opinion. A little background: I am not exactly a beginner and am familiar with manual controls and I prefer them over the "Auto" setting. Previously used the K10D and recently got a K30 from Costco. I am primarily interested in improving my photography, and it needs a lot of improvement. Mods please move to appropriate forum i this is not the correct place to post this. Thanks S

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
The loss of High School Photography Classes	VaughnA	General Talk	37	02-25-2024 05:27 PM
Recommendations for Online Photography Classes	Gchumway	Troubleshooting and Beginner Help	2	09-13-2010 07:25 AM
Photography classes	Naturenut	Photographic Technique	18	05-28-2010 12:34 PM
Online Photography Classes?	poochie99	General Talk	4	12-10-2008 02:30 PM
photography leisure classes	ronald_durst	General Talk	4	02-24-2008 06:15 PM

08-31-2012, 04:01 PM	#2
Gareth.Ig Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Cochrane, AB Photos: Gallery Posts: 508	I have a similar background as you. A general handle on exposure but limited ability in terms of composition. I have taken a couple "101" classes for photography basics as well as "advanced ameteur" type class. I enjoyed both, but I didn't get as far into composition as I would have liked. I guess what I am saying is, if you want to have a really firm grasp on the basics and you are only self taught, you will find an introductory course quite useful, but if you are looking for a course that focuses on composition and technique, that is much more advanced and it'll be much harder to find a course that addresses those needs (at least it has been for me).

08-31-2012, 08:05 PM	#3
DSims Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Southern California Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,236	I think classes are very useful, even when you've got some experience. If the instructor is good, there's always something you learn, and he'll bring up other important things you'd forgotten about or have been failing to emphasize lately.

08-31-2012, 08:50 PM	#4
sqjaw Inactive Account Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Quincy,Ma. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 224	check your local community college or regular colleges , also check for high school night class'es, that's the best I can suggest

08-31-2012, 11:43 PM	#5
wizzard Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 47 Original Poster	Thanks for the replies. Any opinion on the particular LivingSocial deal? Its from Digital Photo Academy, any idea how good they are?

09-04-2012, 02:56 PM	#6
Kaufeetime Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Kansas City,Mo. Photos: Albums Posts: 206	In addition to Photography 101 I believe you should take a variety of art classes. Art is more than famous painting found in the museum, Art is all around you it is the building you live in, the chairs you sit in, the car you drive, and the shape of your new K30. Do a little soul searching and decide what you would enjoy. Your first class should be a fun class that will keep your attention; sculpture, Jewelry, ceramics, or pottery. Enroll in classes are classified as “Foundation” classes "Beginning Drawing", "Elements and Principles of Design", "2D Design", and "Color Theory". Keep in mind what you want to develop will take more than a couple art classes. This will help you develop the ‘photographers eye’ and understand photography as an art. You will not find your talent in “Photoshop”, learn to draw then take that class.

09-05-2012, 12:04 AM - 2 Likes	#7
magkelly Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,901	Originally posted by Kaufeetime In addition to Photography 101 I believe you should take a variety of art classes. Art is more than famous painting found in the museum, Art is all around you it is the building you live in, the chairs you sit in, the car you drive, and the shape of your new K30. Do a little soul searching and decide what you would enjoy. Your first class should be a fun class that will keep your attention; sculpture, Jewelry, ceramics, or pottery. Enroll in classes are classified as “Foundation” classes "Beginning Drawing", "Elements and Principles of Design", "2D Design", and "Color Theory". Keep in mind what you want to develop will take more than a couple art classes. This will help you develop the ‘photographers eye’ and understand photography as an art. You will not find your talent in “Photoshop”, learn to draw then take that class. Not everyone can draw, nor is it a prerequisite for photography. You sound like my favorite design teacher, laugh. You do need to understand about art and design, form, line and light, yes, but if being able to draw well was a necessary thing before learning to be a photographer I'd have never picked up a camera. I can draw in Illustrator or Photoshop but don't ask me to pick up a pencil and go there. I'm just plain lousy at drawing that way. I nearly flunked out of my first semester of design courses in college because of the initial drawing and painting requirements of the certificate. They would not even let us touch a computer for 2/3 of Design I. It was awful. First assignment I was actually allowed to use it my project grades went from C to A and I totally stunned my teacher who clearly thought I'd NEVER be be a designer or photographer. I can still remember the absolutely flabbergasted look on her face when she turned around from the pin board and realized the assignment she'd been praising to the skies was mine. I couldn't have shocked her more if I'd tried. Some of us are a bit challenged when it comes to things like drawing, but not being able to draw or paint doesn't mean you can't have the eye for photography. Personally I believe we should be allowed to draw as we wish, on a computer if that helps. Ask me to draw and paint it in traditional materials and I'll show you an absolute mess when I am done. Give me a computer and Illustrator and I'll show you 100% the design concept you're trying to illustrate. Whatever works. Having a computer and the proper programs totally frees me from frustration and enables me to be creative. I will never be a proper painter. But I still have a painter's eye for light, thank goodness. Study art, yes. But don't make yourself a slave to it and don't let a lack of traditional art skills dictate whether or not you ever become a photographer. If you can do it, sure it will help you, but if you can't? Just try to understand it. It will translate into your work with film and digital eventually...

09-05-2012, 09:33 AM	#8
Docrwm Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,285	Originally posted by magkelly Not everyone can draw, nor is it a prerequisite for photography. You sound like my favorite design teacher, laugh. You do need to understand about art and design, form, line and light, yes, but if being able to draw well was a necessary thing before learning to be a photographer I'd have never picked up a camera. I can draw in Illustrator or Photoshop but don't ask me to pick up a pencil and go there. I'm just plain lousy at drawing that way. I nearly flunked out of my first semester of design courses in college because of the initial drawing and painting requirements of the certificate. They would not even let us touch a computer for 2/3 of Design I. It was awful. First assignment I was actually allowed to use it my project grades went from C to A and I totally stunned my teacher who clearly thought I'd NEVER be be a designer or photographer. I can still remember the absolutely flabbergasted look on her face when she turned around from the pin board and realized the assignment she'd been praising to the skies was mine. I couldn't have shocked her more if I'd tried. Some of us are a bit challenged when it comes to things like drawing, but not being able to draw or paint doesn't mean you can't have the eye for photography. Personally I believe we should be allowed to draw as we wish, on a computer if that helps. Ask me to draw and paint it in traditional materials and I'll show you an absolute mess when I am done. Give me a computer and Illustrator and I'll show you 100% the design concept you're trying to illustrate. Whatever works. Having a computer and the proper programs totally frees me from frustration and enables me to be creative. I will never be a proper painter. But I still have a painter's eye for light, thank goodness. Study art, yes. But don't make yourself a slave to it and don't let a lack of traditional art skills dictate whether or not you ever become a photographer. If you can do it, sure it will help you, but if you can't? Just try to understand it. It will translate into your work with film and digital eventually... Ditto. Many tell others that to be a great X they have to follow Y path. The genuine Greats all took their own path. Drawing is a wonderful skill, if you have the ability, but is in no way necessary to being good at much of anything else - particularly photography.

09-05-2012, 11:58 AM	#9
Kaufeetime Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Kansas City,Mo. Photos: Albums Posts: 206	Magkelly WOW you really zero-in on a word and I’m not sure what I said to make you so upset and to use the word “slave”. My advice was “take a variety of art classes” “What you would enjoy” “Your first class should be fun…” I enjoyed my art classes and the classes helped my photography that is the reason I suggested them. I posted what I learned from my past experience and felt it could be helpful. My posting is only a suggestion and no person should take it as a definite standard for advice. Each of your paragraphs was critical and negativistic. I believe most people would prefer reading positive forum responses. Negative posting have a tendency to accumulate and will give this forum a bad reputation.

09-06-2012, 08:43 AM	#10
magkelly Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,901	"Each of your paragraphs was critical and negativistic. I believe most people would prefer reading positive forum responses. Negative posting have a tendency to accumulate and will give this forum a bad reputation." Oh please you're taking what I said way too personally!!! It was just my opinion of the whole design school process. I don't believe in that major art skills are strictly necessary to do design and photographic work and yes, I'm speaking from my own experience. I'm 48K in the hole because I went that route and in the end it got me absolutely nowhere. I could have taught myself everything I learned in those classes in 3 years in about 6 weeks at home with a few good books and it was useless in the real world. It truly was. What I really learned, what was truly useful, I got via my 2 apprenticeships, the videos I watched, the books I read. What came after the college classes was 100% more valuable than what I learned in. Seriously. I just don't want to see someone who may be a great photographer get too discouraged by people who insist upon that being the "only" way that's all. My teachers had no idea of what I was capable of because they had their own preconceptions of what I could do based on their strictly traditional criteria and they all but forced me away from doing it in a way that I could have done easily. They were so "negative" that I nearly quit the course. All that I wrote above it was just me trying to say don't do what I did. Trying to maybe keep someone else from maybe making the same very expensive mistake.... As for my saying what I mean. I'm not apologizing for that. By now I think people on here know I don't pussyfoot around. I say what I mean and admit what I feel. I do try to be polite and helpful whenever possible too, but I'm not freakin Pollyanna spewing sunshine with every word I type. I won't pretend to be either. :P (laugh)

09-06-2012, 09:07 AM	#11
wizzard Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 47 Original Poster	@magkelly, Thanks for your insight, it is very helpful. I can't draw at all and thats what attracted me to photography. This is just a hobby and I have no plans to make it my career so I don't think that I should invest in a design course. With a full time job it'll be very hard to find the time for a regular course anyway. I just want to elevate my snapshots to a little higher level, to something that I can frame and hang in the living room without feeling ashamed.

09-06-2012, 07:26 PM	#12
magkelly Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,901	You are welcome. There are far less expensive alternatives to traditional classes in colleges and design schools. Most places have places like community centers and art centers where you can take a class or two in a more relaxed fashion if you like. But there are also several online video makers that offer really decent online courses. Like Scott Kelby and Lynda.com, to name two I've really liked and found useful. There are free lessons on You Tube and elsewhere and there's always the public library too. I'm going to para-quote my favorite TV detective here (Robert Goren, LOCI) and say that my most important tool is my library card because for me it definitely is. You can learn almost anything via the library and it's resources. It is important that anyone who wants to be a good photographer learn the basics of the craft and of design, but there are many, many ways to do that. Honestly? I wish I'd been a lot smarter about my educational choices. Photography, writing, occasionally performing, those are my real avocations and I really should have pursued them rather than wasting half my life just working to make the rent. All I am saying is do what you love and don't let a lack of a formal education stop you. If photography is a hobby then learn it however you can and enjoy it. If it's more than that then go for it. Follow that muse. Use whatever tools and resources you can. Whatever works....

09-06-2012, 08:29 PM	#13
bigted Moderator Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Jessica Lake, Whiteshell Provincial Park, or Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,594	I am sorry I can't help you with the particular course you asked about, but I did finish a 6 week course on photography last month and it was worth every penny I paid. I used to shoot film years ago and managed quite well even though no one had actually taught me. With my K-r I felt I needed help to get out of auto mode that I was almost always using. The course was great at showing how to feel comfortable out of auto and why each mode (including auto) was good and where you would use them. Before I took the course I asked questions about what was being taught, how it was being taught and what was expected of us as students. The place I took it answered all of those questions and let me know I could drop out and be refunded if I wasn't happy. No one dropped out we all graduated very happy students.

09-07-2012, 08:38 AM	#14
wizzard Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 47 Original Poster	@magkelly Great suggestions as usual. I agree about the library. Its a great resource. @bigted What kind of course was it? Is it location specific?

09-07-2012, 09:16 AM	#15
bigted Moderator Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Jessica Lake, Whiteshell Provincial Park, or Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,594	It was the Photo 101 course offered by Henry's Camera a Canadian chain of camera shops. They offer it across Canada. It was $275 for the 6 week 12+ hours of course work. We did 2 field trips (one part of the course and one in addition so we actually got closer to 14 hours of instruction) and used Flickr to post and comment on homework assignments. Definitely well worth the money. We had an excellent instructor who knew all the cameras and though I was the lone Pentax user I never felt left out.