25 May 2009

Photography lessons?

| Blackwaxned
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Hello all,

Can anyone recommend a good place to learn photography in Canberra?

I live on the North-side and I must rely on public transport to get around so it would be preferable to find something close to home, if it exists.

My question is: Can anyone recommend a good photography school in Canberra that will not break the bank and is located in the City or the North-side of Canberra?

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Better late then never. This is a fantastic weekend photography course in Canberra. Highly recommend. http://www.Ilovephotography.com.au

Hi bugmenot,

I’m sorry you felt that you didn’t get much out of our Floriade workshop. Please get in touch and I’ll give you a free one on one session and I’ll give you as brutal a critique as you like….. 🙂

We do try to be nice and encouraging in our feedback at Floriade but I’m happy to get more advanced with you in a personal session…..

Ben Kopilow
Fusion Photography

bjphotography10:41 am 12 Aug 10

I can help you with my photography workshops. I’m a qualified and experienced professional photographer, based in Canberra. An award winning member of the AIPP, I offer a two day course which covers camera mechanics and light, and then a separate day for covering post production and workflow using Adobe Lightroom. You can sign on to the beginner 2 days, and then take the lightroom day if you like. All of the details are on my blog: http://www.bethjenningsblog.com – just look for the Worshops link. The difference with my workshops is that they are a small (limited to 6 people), conversational in style, practical and hands on. By then end you’ll wonder why you ever thought shooting on auto was a good idea! Beth Jennings

I have to agree with bugmenot re Photoschool. I found Irene to be disorganised, easily distracted and unreliable as far as sending follow up information after classes. For what she charges for an 8 week course, I am certain that there must be better value for money elsewhere.

I have been recommended to try CIT or Photoaccess – I’ve just been too lazy to get off my bum and follow up….

without some good instruction i think you’re unlikely to explore the limits of what a camera can do within the settings it allows. a good idea for any learner is to get some advice (tutor or books/online info) on how light works and what these aperture shutter speed and iso things are all about and go out and push them about, experimenting, but unless you have some sense of what they might do, self analysis of the results of the experiments may not yield too much to go on.

my cit solutions classes had the first lesson discussing and understanding what ‘f8’ or ‘f22’ etc, and what 1/2 or 1/60th exposure times might do and how to make sure these settings allowed a quantifiable amount of light into the box (camera). understanding these basic concepts is critical to developing good photographic skills.

of course, this needs to be supplemented with a very healthy dose of ‘doing’ and some understanding of basic principles of our visual habits and such things as ‘rule of thirds’, etc, to help students explore their creativity. nothing that can’t be got through in a seven week course.

the darkroom skills beyond this general intro, i think, are also very useful in seeing how the second step (getting a print/image from the first step, clicking the shutter to expose the film) can vary so much, so giving a student a grasp of the potentiality of making an image with a camera.

from there one can explore lighting, filters, lenses, film formats and of course the vast range of styles of photography. phew!

and as bugmenot cogently points out, pushing yourself is the best advice!

so, blackwaxned, where are you and what you gone do?

Interesting… I took the 8 week course at Photoschool, but did not feel that I got value for money.

I felt that Irene was unable to provide any real constructive criticism of my work or even really push me in any way to enhance my skills.

The course outline seemed [at least to me] to indicate that we would be working quite hard and creatively trying to use some of the various aspects we were learning in the classes. In the end, what I ended up doing was shooting the basics of what she was seeking as that’s all she really wanted – anything more became a drawn out discussion and long time spent looking at virtually every image that you happened to have on your memory card (with basic head-nodding and “that’s good”).

The classes were slow, which I suspect was great for the guy in the class that needed the extra hand, but the rest of us were sitting there with our eyes glazed over… Course material was dated, no handouts or anything to take home with you.

And Ben from Fusion Photography… I went along to one of the Floriade sessions expecting to learn some great tips, but again didn’t get much from him (or the other presenter, Ian – I think). Some of his work is good, but I’m not sure that I’d turn to him again for instruction.

I think the advice to join the Strobist and Flickr groups is good sound advice. You will learn more from those resources than from the simple courses offered around town.

Critical analysis and constructive criticism is what you need as an aspiring photographer. People are generally too likely to take the easy route and not hurt your feelings by telling you that your wonderful/fantastic photo is not really up to par. The internet helps with this in a certain way – the critics are pretty much anonymous and chances are, you probably won’t ever meet. So the critics true opinion is usually able to flow. Take everything with a grain of salt and look for the advice on how to develop rather than just read the “you suck” comments.

Begin your own “photo a day” folder/blog/whatever and push yourself to find interesting things. Take shots that are high-key, low-key, busy, minimalist, portraits, kids, landscapes… whatever takes your fancy. Pushing yourself to be better is the best advice.

I would highly recommend http://www.photoschool.com.au. I am very experienced with film SLR’s, used to have a darkroom at home, and could handle a DSLR pretty well, but the course proved invaluable and has taken my hobby to another level.

I would suggest the 8 week course rather than the day course – so much to learn! The proprieter is a great teacher.

Although you would prefer northside, if you are getting on a bus to Civic anyway it is only a mere 10 minutes further, and a short hop from the bus stop to the classroom in Phillip.

Ben was the guest speaker at the Canberra Flickr group gala dinner last year. It was an interesting talk, and from the way he spoke he would probably be a good teacher.

I know that Ben at Fusion Photography does lessons. Based in Tuggeranong.

His work is stunning. Check it out here.
http://www.fusionphotography.com.au

Holden Caulfield12:45 pm 25 May 09

photoaccess, that’s them. Thanks astro.

http://www.photoaccess.org.au/

Have a look at http://www.photoschool.com.au/ My wife and I did one of their courses and got a lot out of it.

If you’re after a friendly online community to learn and improve have a look at http://www.ausphotography.net.au There is actually a Canberra meet heading out to Shannon’s Flat early this Sunday if you’re interested.

Another resource might be http://www.canberra-photographic.org.au/ but I haven’t had anything to do with them as yet so cannot comment.

They all look the same deye. 😛

Just an example of progression.
This shot of Parliament House was taken with my old point and shoot back in November 2006
http://www.flickr.com/photos/d-eye/304152606/

This one in March 2008 on the DSLR
http://www.flickr.com/photos/d-eye/2360716991

and this one in November 2008
http://www.flickr.com/photos/d-eye/2995090508/

astrojax said :

with all due respect, deye, while lots of doing is a very very necessary component of learning photography, those of us without the resources to devote almost a full-time existence around their camera will find skilled tutoring invaluable. the basic premises to how light work are complex matters, while understanding a camera is effectively a box with a hole in and the point is to let in a particular amount of light regarding the desired result,

a little learning can go a long way, but i’d recommend it as essential for someone serious about what they want to be able to do with photography as an enthusiastic and/or serious hobbyist.

Photography is my hobby, not my job. These days most of what you need to learn from can be found on the net. With digital cameras you can see the approximate results immediately and with a bit of thought work out what you can change to get the result you want.

I learnt with basic point and shoot, a tripod and going out on the occasional night to take photos of buildings around the place. With night photography you are forced to think about the light and can learn quite a lot from it. I did the same thing at first when I got the DSLR, then gradually moved to people and then added in the use of off camera flashes. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t, but in either case you progress.

I am entirely self taught. That said I do plan on doing a workshop with Koukei one day.

Inappropriate11:47 am 25 May 09

In support of deye; you don’t need a full-time existence with a camera to learn. Just a willingness to take pictures and seek criticism is enough. It doesn’t require a lot of time.

with all due respect, deye, while lots of doing is a very very necessary component of learning photography, those of us without the resources to devote almost a full-time existence around their camera will find skilled tutoring invaluable. the basic premises to how light work are complex matters, while understanding a camera is effectively a box with a hole in and the point is to let in a particular amount of light regarding the desired result, a little learning can go a long way, but i’d recommend it as essential for someone serious about what they want to be able to do with photography as an enthusiastic and/or serious hobbyist.

Just pick up the camera and take a photo, look at the result, think about it, play with the settings and take another 😉

Also look at photo sites like flickr, pbase, deviantart etc and look at the settings used on photos you like. Flickr has plenty of groups that discuss various techniques (also recommend the ACT group)

If you want to learn how to use flashes off camera then have a look at http://www.strobist.com

Seriously the best way to learn is to just go out and do it.

the old jazz school at manuka by the pool now houses photoaccess, the community photo lab/school/gallery/facilities – i would have recommended this of course, but op specified northside. photoaccess was initially housed in acton, by the drill hall where the co-op now is (though the old huts it was housed in have been pulled down)

once blackwaxned does the dark room cit course, photoaccess is the place to join to have a space to use a darkroom, unless s/he wants the expense and fuss of setting up a home space…

worth checking out nonetheless.

Holden Caulfield10:23 am 25 May 09

Is the group that operates/operated near the Manuka Pool still in operation?

Not Northside, obviously, but they were supposed to be quite good courses ranging from beginner and upwards.

Inappropriate10:08 am 25 May 09

Saunter on over to http://www.flickr.com/groups/canberra_act/ – lots of friendly local photographers there. We have regular meets – you’re more than welcome to come along, join in, ask questions et al.

CiT Solutions do intro to camera skills, and other photography classes, at the city campus opposite the convection, err convention centre. guess if you called the cit switch they’d pop you through to the right area and classes for second semester are likely to start in about july.

i used to teach these classes and they are usually taught by ex-cit graduates or teachers as the photography dept usually provides the teachers or recommendations for same, so they are generally pretty good. classes are three hours a week with an excursion on weekends to get some practical experience. they used to run basic darkroom skills, if that’s your bag, so you could progress to that next and extend the understanding significantly (even if you don’t intend to do much b/w printing afterwards, it is the best way to understand exposures and the like, methinks)

good luck! we look forward to your posts later with your images of canberra…

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