Photography courses

turnraintocash

Can anyone recommend a good photography course for a beginner who wants to become fully qualified to professional level? I was looking at DIT but its a four year course, will it really take me that long and what are the necessary qualifications? What equipment is required etc? Many thanks

Borderfox

Give them a ring in DIT and ask, its a big task going from begineer to full time pro.

PCPhoto

turnraintocash wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a good photography course for a beginner who wants to become fully qualified to professional level? I was looking at DIT but its a four year course, will it really take me that long and what are the necessary qualifications? What equipment is required etc? Many thanks

Qualified professional doing what ??? photography ? ... Ah Jaysus all you have to do is buy a camera, create a website saying how good you are and post pics that you found on the internet that you like and hey presto you are a professional !!!

(at least thats what some people out there claiming to be professional are doing)

Seriously though ! if you are interested in becoming a photographer full-time

- firstly know what area you want to cover - photography has loads of specific sub-sections(ie. portraiture, reportage, commercial, industrial, sport etc)

- find a niche in that area - why should people choose you over the hundreds of other photographers out there claiming they are the best - with all their shiny websites and fancy new equipment.

- (MOST IMPORTANT) learn how to run a business - many people fail as a result of failing to market themselves, overspending and under advertising, learning how to deal with clients or various situations...I would suggest you learn how to run a business first (this knowledge can also be used if you leave photography)

Oh and .... say goodbye to your personal life - photography is not just a career or job...its a way of life.

I have been working as a reportage photographer or photojournalist full-time since 2005 but have been doing professional photography for about 15years - not always making money from it.
FROM WHAT I SEE
The reportage/photojournalist side of things is completely oversaturated with everyone who owns a camera thinking they can do it, people sending pics into the papers which are not captioned or captioned properly, I have had picture editors tell me that they appreciate what I have been doing for boards.ie members
(I act as a link for some people here who want to send images to the papers - they send me the image, I get all the details that I need from them to caption it up and send the images to the papers on behalf of the boards member - sometimes they get printed sometimes they dont - if they do - they are the ones who make the money - I don't charge a penny for it and in the past have organised media passes for people to gain more experience/access to national and international events)

Anyways I'm getting off topic, music photography is an area where money has dropped out almost completely, sport photography - any of the main sports events will be covered by the two main agencies (INPHO/Sportsfile), weddings/fashion photography is also an oversaturated market....with some "photographers" offering all the images taken on CD/DVD without post processing.

People like yourself starting off in photography also need to learn one basic rule .... DO NOT WORK FOR FREE* - it will not make you known or get your name out there, if someone wants you to take photos of something, no problem - even if you get your costs covered or lunch paid for or something.

*= its entirely your decision - some people do work for charities they like for free, some will do odd jobs for friends for free (some charge "mates rates")...most people that work for free get taken advantage of.

As regards doing a course ... do you need it ? hang around in this forum read tutorials, watch video clips, read some books on photography and ...get out there taking photos and you will learn photography.... photography is by and large ...trial and error (only problem is when you have an error you better hope someone is not paying for your time)

melekalikimaka

Griffith College does a part time degree course, I've just finished the full time, PM if you want any info, personally I feel it was worth it, but I see PCPhotos points, you get out what you put into it, its a massive commitment, I studied Engineering before this and found it a huge leap in workload, and I suck at maths big time, but on the flip side, I rarely missed a class, when you love what you study its never a chore. Not cheap, very tough industry to make a steady income in, expensive to study, equipment and supplies not cheap, its a big decision, you could go the route i took, do the diploma, if you still like it, you pop in 2nd year of the degree course.

chevron

Great post PCPhoto,
although im not looking for a course this is very informative.

Cheers
Danny

turnraintocash

Hi!! wow thanks for the candid response.. I'm still trying to take it all in! I know it is a very saturated market at the moment but I am looking for a change in career direction and need to find something creative that I enjoy doing. I am going to do a start your own business course anyway but I thought photography would be perfect for me. I just was not aware if I needed to have a certain "set" of qualifications to start! The expense actually dosent actually bother me but I would have an issue forking out a ton of money if there is no money to be made in it!!

PCPhoto

Don't get me wrong ... there is money to be made...it's just hard work.

The main problem is convincing clients (The public/newspapers etc) to use you instead of someone else....and its not as simple as undercutting the average price....thats the one mistake average and poor photographers make thinking dropping the price or working for free will get their name out there and make them more popular as a photographer.

Like yourself ... loads of people are looking for a new direction in life, many have lost jobs and want to use the unemployment to try to make a career out of something that they enjoy doing

thatsnotmyname

This thread reminds of a joke I heard recently

Whats the difference between a 16 inch Pizza and a Photographer?
the Pizza can feed a family of four

Gumbo

Daralinn Digital Academy
Three-Hour Introductory SLR Photography Class



http://livingsocial.com/deals/134505?msdc_id=1482&ctr=3&ref=Deal092811_1482_5285email

€49

Any use to a beginner like myself?

PCPhoto

I have never heard of them so cant say yay or nay .

but like any of these courses.... you may learn something ...if you even learn a little bit ..is it worth it ? how much money and time do you spend before it becomes a waste....you could always use the course to network and meet other people who are interested in photography and eager to learn....is it worth the money to meet other likeminded new friends.

Photography is difficult to master but easy to get the basics ... I don't think there really is too many masters of photography out there, there are people who can capture a great image through technology, there are people who can accentuate images or even make an image from a collection of random photos.
I'm rambling on a bit .... point is ... almost anyone can take a photo these days with a modern camera, with my job I'm not allowed to post process (very little is allowed) so I have to try get it right straight from the camera - if you get it wrong, you dont get the picture and you don't get the money.

melekalikimaka

PCPhoto wrote: »

....you could always use the course to network and meet other people who are interested in photography and eager to learn....is it worth the money to meet other likeminded new friends.

i found this quite significant in my course, likeminded and willing to assist each other, helps no ends looking for work, working together too, cutting costs, sharing equipment.

One thing a course will give you is guidence and direction, something that is hard to gain when out on your own. sure some of the greats never studied photography or art, but i can assure you studying art or photography helps a huge degree, especially if you are going into documentry/fine art/commerical.

PCPhoto

melekalikimaka wrote: »

i found this quite significant in my course, likeminded and willing to assist each other, helps no ends looking for work, working together too, cutting costs, sharing equipment.

One thing a course will give you is guidence and direction, something that is hard to gain when out on your own. sure some of the greats never studied photography or art, but i can assure you studying art or photography helps a huge degree, especially if you are going into documentry/fine art/commerical.

I kind of agree - The best thing about a photography course is finding likeminded people, friends who are willing to lend you equipment or borrow from you...groups doing the same thing to cut costs.

A course cannot teach you anything that is not available in other media (books, online tutorials, videos, lectures, etc) ...it does however present the information to you and expect you to absorb it - depending on your lecturer/tutor the information may be explained in a manner which the individual understands

- in short sometimes a course can be someone turning up to hand out photocopies of information which is freely available and expect you to learn it, if its a course which requires attendance you can use the opportunity to meet other people with similar interests who may have business connections which could help you - so chat with everyone - make new friends...and take photos !