Dublin Photography School membership

NeverHappy

searching the threads I found a disturbing thread about the DPS involving what was an unknown term to me "shrill". Anyhow the thread was uninformative as the DPS were a new school. Well time has passed so I will ask a similar question....

So heres my new question, the school are offering 1 yr membership (€500) that allows you to do all their courses over that 12 month period. I am looking at some courses and this offer seems good. Just looking for anyone with experience of the school. Im a newbie to photography with a wish to have a home studio setup to photo family etc. Nothing expensive.

Any experiences/recommendations.
Thanks,
Neverhappy

Corkbah

if you have the time to attend courses and can afford the €500 go for it ..... but it wont teach you anything that isn't available on the internet.

ps. the term "shill" is someone promoting their own business ...creating threads so someone might become interested (its possible that you are another "shill")

most shills simply come into forums and try to promote their business/product etc, and do not form part of the forum community.

as regards DPS ... I dont know them but dont like them, I have never experienced any of their courses nor do I want to - as I said earlier - ALL the information they offer is available online or in any of the many forums .... personally I would say avoid !!

PS. you said "nothing expensive" .... if you wish to set up a home studio there is not really a cheap option - as you are going to be starting a business there's a lot more to do than taking photos !! ....so you will have to learn a lot more than just photography.

NeverHappy

Not setting up a business, just want to capture my kids as they grow up. Got some cheap studio lights years ago but never could get the pictures to look right.

did some book learning and some internet reading but have a birthday coming and was asked to pick a photography course cos im always talking about them. Some courses take you up the mountains etc, I wanted someone to start at the start really because I am at the stage that i dont know what i should know if that makes sense.

My wife offered to get me the 1 day course and I saw the membership offer. I didnt want to commit to multiple courses if the reviews were bad and thought it would be a waste to do just the one day when a few of the courses appealed to me.

Also looked at http://www.instituteofphotography.ie/courses/digital_level1.htm
its about €300 for the day, so Im just checking here for any experiences.

I have a computer job and I know its easy to say that stuff is online but sometimes it helps to get a good start and go from there.

Also, as with the previous thread about DPS, ppl seem to say avoid without having attended the courses, it almost seems personal.

Has anyone here attended these, or any others they can recommend for a person who is not a complete beginner but looking for guidance.

Thanks for the response,
Neverhappy.

Corkbah

well...if the online reputation is anything to go by .... avoid.

as I said earlier ...all the information you want to know is available online, video's, tutorials, blogs and forums.

Trial and error is the way to learn - if you already have equipment then why have you not looked for advice here ? .... I would suggest its a waste of money - €500 for the year.

to me the €500 for the year offer would be an attempt to boost numbers - to give the impression to anyone that does a course that its popular !! .... its a tool used in marketing all the time - usually when a business is struggling (I'm not saying the DPS is struggling)

IOP on the other hand has a much stronger reputation - and if you read the many threads about people who have attended courses with them you'll see they are a more professional and reputable outfit (I have never used either company....I learned back in the film days)

Sometimes you get what you pay for !!

Ben D Bus

How about joining a camera club instead?

I joined Dublin Camera Club this year (membershio €95 iirc). For an extra €30-odd on top of membership I get to attend 10 beginners lessons and yesterday we got a chance to check out the DCC studio. There is a short course on using the studio also available.

Along with Youtube and the abundance of photography websites, that's a lot of learning available for buttons.

I do agree that it's sometimes good to have someone experienced on hand to help you learn, and the Internet doesn't do this. If you follow something on a Youtube video and it doesn't turn out like the video did then it can take longer go work out why. But a good club might help there too.

Corkbah

so ... you purchased studio lighting equipment to photograph your kids, you admit you know very little about photography and then say that you are disappointed with the results of your photography.

you need to walk before you can run.

take photos is the best advice anyone can give...get out and change the settings, see what the difference is:

Learn about ISO, shutter speed, shutter priority, aperture, depth of field, rule of thirds.
know and understand your camera - despite being a mass product most cameras react differently to different lighting situations, I had a 1D mkII a few years ago which would always overexpose when in bright sun light, so I learned that I had to underexpose when I was in those situations.
know how to change the settings in your own camera

as ben d bus has said ...join a camera club - you will get feedback on your images and advice and find likeminded people who are interested in getting out there and taking photos.

doing a photography course in your case seems like a waste of money ....did you do your research before you purchased the studio lighting equipment ? you seem to be intent on this particular school and what they are like - yet do not want to listen to the advice of joining a camera club ....visit a photography forum etc.....post some pics on boards in the random image thread and see the feedback.

LionelNashe

NeverHappy wrote: »

searching the threads I found a disturbing thread about the DPS involving what was an unknown term to me "shrill". Anyhow the thread was uninformative as the DPS were a new school. Well time has passed so I will ask a similar question....

So heres my new question, the school are offering 1 yr membership (€500) that allows you to do all their courses over that 12 month period. I am looking at some courses and this offer seems good. Just looking for anyone with experience of the school. Im a newbie to photography with a wish to have a home studio setup to photo family etc. Nothing expensive.

Any experiences/recommendations.
Thanks,
Neverhappy

Hi Neverhappy,
You can learn from forums like this, and from camera clubs, and by just going out and practicing etc. but I'd say there's no reason to limit yourself to these options - If you want to do a course then it will tell you some things you don't know and it will reinforce things that you've read and may have forgotten or not put into practice.

I did DPS's 7-week Creative course, and their 5-hour Black and White workshop, and also a 'Tenner Tuesday' with Institute of Photography (about 6 hours of assorted 1-hour tutorials). Like any training course I've ever done (work, college, whatever), they're not jampacked from start to finish with nuggets of wisdom, but there is more than enough there to make them worthwhile. You will take stuff away and find yourself incorporating it into your pictures.

The Creative course I did with DPS had about 11 people enrolled, at least 1 of which had signed up for the 1-year membership; The B&W workshop had about 8 people, at least 2 of whom where using the 1-year membership. I enjoyed the interaction with the rest of the class over the 7-week period, especially once we had gone on a couple of outdoor shoots and got to know each other a bit better. For this reason I'd reccomend a course that runs once a night for a few weeks rather than doing it all in one day. The two DPS tutors I met knew what they were talking about and knew how to teach, as did the IOP guy.

melekalikimaka

LionelNashe wrote: »

Hi Neverhappy,
You can learn from forums like this

After studying a degree in Photography, I honestly think that this forum taught me everything 'practical', maybe studio lighting/ Product photography and a few more complex types, the degree was better but if you are trying to learn basic lighting and using the camera, this place is brilliant, been using here since 2005 and its a great source, just make sure you are prepared for feedback, negative, and positive, dont take anything personally, ignore the idiots, badger the good guys for more tips, and actively part take in all the threads and you'll be ontop of everything in no time.

Stephen P

I would recommend a course with the IOP, Dave is a great instructor and is always open to questions. I did the Advanced Level 4 course with them last year over 8 weeks for €250 which IMO is a great price, it also includes a field trip.
It is true that you will learn all you need to know on the internet but it's good to attend a class where everything is laid out in a structured way and you can ask questions.

I've no affliation with the IOP just a former student

Corkbah

Stephen P wrote: »

I would recommend a course with the IOP, Dave is a great instructor and is always open to questions. I did the Advanced Level 4 course with them last year over 8 weeks for €250 which IMO is a great price, it also includes a field trip.
It is true that you will learn all you need to know on the internet but it's good to attend a class where everything is laid out in a structured way and you can ask questions.

I've no affliation with the IOP just a former student

the OP is asking about DPS (Dublin Photography School) ...not IOP .... IOP have a very good reputation around these parts, DPS seem to be not well known or recognised/respected.

Stephen P

I understand that, they also mentioned the IOP in another post so I was giving my experience of using them as the OP did ask for experiences (not just with DPS) in the event they go with them rather than the DPS

Corkbah wrote: »

the OP is asking about DPS (Dublin Photography School) ...not IOP .... IOP have a very good reputation around these parts, DPS seem to be not well known or recognised/respected.

slowcyclist

I've just finished an 8-week night class in the local secondary school - Eur 100 - 2.5 hours each week, and included a night shoot. Very good for mastering the basics on the camera, composition, lighting and introduction to Photoshop.