Improve Your Photos
- A course for Amateur Photographers
- Learn from Professionals who sell their photography as part of their job
- Start studying anytime; work from anywhere and at your own pace
This course can be undertaken successfully without sophisticated camera equipment, however you do need the use of a camera. An SLR camera is best but any camera will do. You can do this course using either a film or digital camera; or both.
If you use film, you will need to purchase a minimum of 5 rolls of film and have them developed. (Inexpensive proof prints are acceptable). All photos and written work submitted will be returned to you.
Lesson Structure
There are 6 lessons in this course:
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Origins of Photography
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Digital or Film?
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Image formation
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Lenses & How Light Works in Photography
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Elements of a Basic Camera
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Photosensitive materials.
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The Digital Revolution - Advantages and Disadvantages
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Photographic Terminology
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Understanding Film & Cameras
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Film Photography
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Four layers - super coat, emulsion, backing support, anti halation layer
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More about Emulsion
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Shutter Speed
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Aperture
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Digital Photography
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Cameras without Film
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Sensors - CCD and CMOS array
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Linear CCDs
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Digital Terminology
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The Camera and its Use
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Camera stability
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Ways of reducing camera movement
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Depth of field,
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What can be achieved by Adjusting Depth of Focus
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Stabilisation of Digital Cameras
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Camera Construction
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Modern Film Speed Standards
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Types of Cameras - DSLR, Medium format, Mobile phone, etc
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Different formats - from sub miniature to Large format
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filters, fault finding, etc.
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Film Cameras - Rangefinder or SLR
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Digital Cameras and Equipment
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Choosing a Camera - simple or sophisticated
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Digital Compact, SLR, DSLR, Bridged
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Camera Quality
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New or Secondhand
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Buying a Digital Camera
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More on using a camera
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Flash Photography
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Manual flashguns
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Computer Flashes
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Flash synchronisation
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Problems with flash photography (e.g. red eyes, etc)
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Using a flash in daylight
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Fill flash photography
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Equipment and Materials
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Tripods
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Lenses -Standard, Wide angle, Telephoto, Zoom and Macro
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Film - Black & White and Colour
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Filters
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Downloading Digital Images - Software Installation & Data Storage
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Storage Devices
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Photographic Techniques
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Composition
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Rules of Composition
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Centre of Interest
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Rule of Thirds
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Leading Lines
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Golden Section or Ratio
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Diagonals, Warm Colour Dominance
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Framing
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Horizon
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Simplicity
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Texture
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Time
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Principles of Photographic Composition -unity, balance, proportion, etc
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Qualities of Components - Line, form, mass, space, etc.
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Creating Effects
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Photographic Techniques
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Sport Photography
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Photographing Portraits
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Landscape and Architectural Photography
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Planning a photo session
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Candid Photos
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Posing for photos
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Snapshots
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Developing your photographic style
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What is Style?
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Developing a Style
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Seeing through the Eyes of the Photographer
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Detailed Style
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Photographic Atmosphere
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Themes
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The Photo Essay
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Hints
What's Your Style?
Photography is a creative activity – by many it is considered an art.
To produce great photographs, a photographer needs an artistic eye; an ability to see things differently to others, to see artistic potential in common things. All great photos, irrelevant of the subject, will have artistic merit. A good photographer however will also understand when it is appropriate to use artistic license, and to what extent to use it, and when it is not needed or appropriate.
Good photography is not accidental. Good photographs are created by a person with the ability to identify the photographic potential of a situation, and use that potential (plus the tools at their disposal), to create an outstanding image. It could be likened to the way a sculptor sees the possibility of a sculpture in a piece of stone, and uses the tools available (hammer and chisel), to create a final piece of artwork.
Great photographers don’t develop their art or craft overnight though; it takes time to develop a personal style. Initially photographers must follow a path that begins with learning the technical skills required to use a camera. As they become more experienced with the technicalities, they develop an awareness of how an image capture system (all the equipment that can be used in the photographic process) responds in different ways to light. Their ability (with time), sharpens even further and they begin to identify things and situations that will make great photographs - and to imagine the finished result.
Photographic ‘style’ can vary greatly from one photographer to another. Style is how something is interpreted by the photographer i.e. in the way they create an image, whether through the use of the camera, lenses, filters, lighting, composition etc., or through techniques for processing the image after it has been taken.
Aspects of Style
Style is affected by the way in which the photographer:
- Chooses what components to include, and what not to include in the image
- Organises the components in the image (which can be affected by the angle from which they are photographed: the distance, what parts are in sharp focus and what are not, what components are lit more brightly than others, etc)
- Uses colour
- Uses light
- Captures or hints at movement (or lack of movement)
- Implies or invokes emotions
- Relates to the subject
- Presents the work
