Our local college offers a continuing education, creative photography class. I decided that it probably wouldn't hurt to sign up for it. Three Tuesdays and two Saturdays for 2-1/2 hours.


The class had quite a good turn out. about 35 students. Except for one K1000, I had the only Pentax Camera in the entire class which was no surprise to me.

The class was quite informative. Lots of good stuff on the fundamentals of Photography.

Glad I signed up.

[FotoPete]

haha. Lemme guess. The class roster full of Kit Rebellers?

IMO, I think this photography thing is dependent largely on experimentation. Its one thing to learn how the famous guys did it, but something more if we garner our abilities from our experiences.

Like I didn't take any photography class. I'm mostly gained from just being creative and experimenting alot.

[MikeH]

FotoPete, it sounds like you're discounting the value of learning from someone with more experience and knowlege... Everyone can benefit from such a course - and it's up to the individual to take that information and put it to use, experimenting as you say.

Good on EddyInGA for taking a course. I did the same with a Portrait course and I'm really glad that I did. I learned a lot and it improved my photography.

[brainanta]

I on the other hand am looking for a photography course that I can do part time, preferably by correspondence/home study. After experimenting for about a month, I kinda feel the need for a more structured lesson, especially one that can teach me to make pictures of commercial value. Does anyone ever had any experience with those classes/courses offered on the net?

Data

[FotoPete]

FotoPete, it sounds like you're discounting the value of learning from someone with more experience and knowlege... Everyone can benefit from such a course - and it's up to the individual to take that information and put it to use, experimenting as you say.

Good on EddyInGA for taking a course. I did the same with a Portrait course and I'm really glad that I did. I learned a lot and it improved my photography.

ok, well its nice to gather to show your work and exchange comments but in terms of learning, I think there is a large part that you yourself must invest in it. This is experimenting and builidng your creativity.

Like in visual arts class, the teacher kept showing us Monets and Piscasos. Ok nice but did I learn anything about how to paint? no...

I guess it was a case by case basis. most of my visual arts stuff back in high school were just case studies of paintings and historical stuff and I never really got the connection. My friend actually took a photography course and they taught him alot of famous photographers. Like I never recalled getting alot of practical know-how. it was all just about critques and stuff.

I was afraid these photography courses were of the same structure and thats why I didn't see the usefulness in them.

[Mike Cash]

most of my visual arts stuff back in high school were just case studies of paintings and historical stuff and I never really got the connection.

(I couldn't resist. Hope the allusion isn't too obscure).

[macdaddy]

Ed:
I took a course at our college too, and it was valuable in teaching me the basic techniques of composition, exposure, etc. that are the foundation of good photography. Since then, I've taken another under pro Will Carter in Tennessee on landscape. While I agree that you need to "just do it", getting around others of like interests and varying skills levels can jump start our own abilities and often give us valuable insights on how to do somethings we may not be aware of or know how to do.
That's one of the purposes of this forum—to share our hard won knowledge with each other so we ALL become better photographers! Keep on shooting and I'll look forward to getting with you when you get to my area in a few weeks!
Rob W

[Finn]

I took a university extension class when I was 16, which was invaluable for learning all the technical basics of film speed, aperture, and shutter speed. They ceased to be "magical" things the camera just "did", because I was able to understand what the camera "did" in a tangible way. And I took that course with an old twin lens reflex Rollei medium format camera -- completely manual, without even a light meter (and thus no batteries). I was definitely the only one there with one of those!

[Technosavant]

I took one at my local community college probably 6-7 years ago. I found it quite enjoyable, but I do not remember learning a significant amount about composition and the like. I learned the technical basics of exposure and how to do my own black and white developing (quite enjoyed it), but it didn't really help me with the artistic side of composing a good photo.

Maybe I should have signed up for the second level course, but my schedule changed, and I wasn't able to keep it rolling. Oh well, composition is the sort of thing you gradually work into by taking shots, viewing the work of others, and imagining how you want it to look before hitting the button anyway. Besides, I'm not much of an art-eest anyway, so I just try to keep myself happy with the results.

[Teko]

I am taking one starting next week, I can't wait... ...

[justuspr]

My last class of my undergraduate career was a nature photography class to fill a fine arts requirement. I did that on purpose because I knew I wouldn't try very hard at some boring lecture class.

It was 13 weeks and every week we had to bring four slides that were a study in one aspect of photography (one week focus on Depth of Field, the next on Lighting, etc.) the only requirement as to subject was that it was something found in nature. It was a GREAT class and I learned a ton, but the reason I learned a ton was that I invested myself in it. I took on average 2 or 3 rolls a week just focusing on the requirement. Also having someone (the teacher) give constructive criticism on your work is also worth the price of tuition.

That said not all classes are created equally so try and find someone who has taken a class you are interested in to get some feedback.

[awjweb]

I used books, magazines, web articles, and forums to learn the technical aspects of photography (the lingo). I learned composition and technique by taking pictures and seeing how they came out. I used to be very active at photosig.com. This was a fantastic place to submit photos and get very well thought out critiques of your submissions. The other members there would point out even the slightest flaws with any photo that was submitted. This sounds quite defeating but I think it was the number one force that drove me to get better and better. Now I always look at every serious photo I take and ask myself "what is wrong with this and what could I have done to make it better". Photosig is still up and running but it's culture has changed over the years so I don't submit much anymore. It's tough to get more than a couple of critiques now. It's still a *great* place to go to see excellent work being done by other photographers. Sort the photos list by "highest rated first" and you will be truely amazed at what can be done with a camera. But, if you submit there don't even think about submitting a "snapshot" of your family reunion and your kids birthday party. They tear that stuff to pieces.

[FotoPete]

I learnt the bulk of my photography by reading DPR/DCR camera reviews as well as Bojidar's Pentax Pages haha. Like what was a good lens and why it was good and so on.

I already like drawing and design before so it was more just overcoming the technicals. (not to say that my creative side is all that great)

[FotoPete]

(I couldn't resist. Hope the allusion isn't too obscure).

Haha yea literally. and I didn't do all that well in visual arts. It was easier than drama or music. :P

[Dana G]

I took a few photography courses in college. I'd been working "under the table" since high school, so I figured it couldn't hurt.

Even after I had thirty year's experience as a working photographer, I still took a couple of workshops. Especially valuable were the Photoshop workshops, even though I'm a computer engineer on the side.

Since I caught the start of the digital tsunami, I made some money calibrating other photogrphers' screens, and building paper profiles for them. Paid for a Monaco Optix and EZ Color.

Never pass up a chance to learn. I still experiment a lot in the studio, I like to find new ways of using light. Besides, I get to goof off and pretend it's work!!