Accredited Photography Courses

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Hi All,

I have been interested in photography for a while now but its not the easiest thing to learn everything about photography alone.
Im looking to do a course but instead of wasting money on a course with no cert at the end i thought it might be best to do an accredited photography course.
But the problem is my time constraints. Full time job , Ball and chain and kids.
So doing a full time course is out of the question.
Am unable to dedicate a set night each week due to work till 9 most weeknights so im unable to do evening course's or visit weekly camera clubs.

So i figure distance/Online learning will be my only option.

Is there any particular course i should do? i am a beginner so will need something that will cater for this.
also would prefer it to be an accredited photography course.

Im looking at the Fetac level 6 course
Has anyone done one of these or any other course that may be worthwhile doing.

Thanks for any help or support on this.

PCPhoto

photography is by and large trial and error - learning how your camera operates in different lighting situations and controlling the light.

if you really need a qualification in photography then by all means spend money on an online course - if you dont want to spend money then visit youtube, visit loads of photography websites, explore photography - take your camera out and take pictures - examine your pictures and figure out why they are too dark, too light.

aperture, shutter speed, ISO/ASA are the basics - understanding them will allow you to advance on to using off camera flash, slow synch, and studio lighting and advanced lighting techniques.

buy some books ...read up, visit youtube...watch some video's ....see examples of other peoples work and see if you can figure out how they took the image.

I have no formal qualification in photography but have been working as a professional photographer for around 10yrs - and a couple of years part-time before that.

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Everything you mention makes perfect sense but i thought it would be easier and more productive to learn in a module based situation in order to learn most aspects.
also thought that it would be more of a help to be taught the right things of the technicial aspect instead of hoping i guessed the rights things of the technicial aspect.

Paulw

Buy "Understanding Exposure" and then get out with others and start shooting. You'll learn quickly, especially on boards outings or through a camera club.

EVGR

Hi Chevron

If you want to do a distant learning course in your own time, with tutor feedback, and accredited to a university, maybe the course "The art of Photography" would be of interest. More info here: http://www.oca-uk.com/distance-learning/photography-1-art-of-photography
It's not strictly about the techniques, but also about how to express yourself through photography, and how to see images.

There's a student forum on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/ocarts/

The book "Understanding Exposure" mentioned below is also an excellent book. There's lot on the internet, and you can also get books at the library to get you started.

charybdis

What do you plan on doing with a photography certificate or some other form of accreditation?

I recommend not buying Understanding Exposure. If you really want some books for technical instruction in photography buy The Camera and The Negative, both by Ansel Adams.

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charybdis wrote: »

What do you plan on doing with a photography certificate or some other form of accreditation?

Now that is a good question.
The main question was for my brother who wants to give up his job and go back to college to do photography.
Needless to say that the family are not happy with the idea of him giving up a job in the current climate.

his 2 main interests are landscapes and music gigs.
His plan is to learn what he can and he wants to learn how to do music gigs once he fully understands the ins and outs of his camera and its manual settings.

he belives that the only way he will fully understand everything would be in a module based way in a class room envirnment, So i was trying to see if it was worth doing it via the net (Distance Learning) so he does not give up his job.

DotOrg

chevron wrote: »

Now that is a good question.
The main question was for my brother who wants to give up his job and go back to college to do photography.
Needless to say that the family are not happy with the idea of him giving up a job in the current climate.

his 2 main interests are landscapes and music gigs.

there is little to no chance he'll ever make any worthwhile money doing either of those two types of photography. he'd be lucky to cover his costs, but making a career out of landscapes and music is impossible unless he has a genius talent with the camera and a genius business brain

chevron

Thanks guys,

Couldnt have hoped for better response's.
Heres hopeing he takes all this onboard

charybdis

chevron wrote: »

Now that is a good question.
The main question was for my brother who wants to give up his job and go back to college to do photography.
Needless to say that the family are not happy with the idea of him giving up a job in the current climate.

his 2 main interests are landscapes and music gigs.
His plan is to learn what he can and he wants to learn how to do music gigs once he fully understands the ins and outs of his camera and its manual settings.

he belives that the only way he will fully understand everything would be in a module based way in a class room envirnment, So i was trying to see if it was worth doing it via the net (Distance Learning) so he does not give up his job.

I don't have any experience of formal photographic education but I'd imagine going to college for photography to lean how to use a camera is like going to college for English literature in order to learn how to read.

melekalikimaka

charybdis wrote: »

I don't have any experience of formal photographic education but I'd imagine going to college for photography to lean how to use a camera is like going to college for English literature in order to learn how to read.

not exactly, i'm just finishing a degree. the first few months is basically a crash course in using a camera, the rest is either themed assignments or art theory, influence on imagery in politics, influences in art over last few hundred years... so and so forth. shed loads od writing basically but on the upside it just stir the creative juices