Recommended Photo courses?

Sgt Pepper 64

Anyone been on a Dublin photocourse or other that they would recommend?

Looking to go out in a group, take some pics and then do some photoshop work and print, all under tutition

thanks

Are these guys any good?

http://theacademyofphotography.ie/dir/?cat=3

Corkbah

I think the iop.ie is the best recommended around here (I have no personal experience of them but others have highly recommended)

amdgilmore

This would put me off:

http://iop.ie/holidays/hdr.htm

This is the kind of HDR that gave HDR a bad name. And they're actually teaching it.

Sgt Pepper 64

amdgilmore wrote: »

This would put me off:

http://iop.ie/holidays/hdr.htm

This is the kind of HDR that gave HDR a bad name. And they're actually teaching it.

Whats wrong with it? Looks ok to me!

DaireQuinlan

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

Whats wrong with it? Looks ok to me!

Guy's charging €5400 to show people how to make their B&W shots look like hideous toneless mud-pictures. That's mostly what's wrong with it. OTOH photography is a wonderfully subjective pursuit so it might just be the ideal course for you !

magicbastarder

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

Guy's charging €5400

there's some excessive tone-mapping of the price going on there.

Kenny Logins

That Scott Kelby blog post on HDR (posted on another thread) was very interesting - togs hate it, punters love it?

http://scottkelby.com/2010/the-case-for-hdr/

Although that was three years ago..

DaireQuinlan

Kenny Logins wrote: »

That Scott Kelby blog post on HDR (posted on another thread) was very interesting - togs hate it, punters love it?

http://scottkelby.com/2010/the-case-for-hdr/

Although that was three years ago..

There's a corollary there though. I.E. that a photographer who DOES like HDR isn't a 'real' photographer. Next thing you know he'll be saying that despite being born and bred in the highlands, it's inconceivable that they don't like porridge

Corkbah

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

Guy's charging €5400 to show people how to make their B&W shots look like hideous toneless mud-pictures. That's mostly what's wrong with it. OTOH photography is a wonderfully subjective pursuit so it might just be the ideal course for you !

where are you getting that price ... it says €450 on my screen.

DaireQuinlan

Corkbah wrote: »

where are you getting that price ... it says €450 on my screen.

12 photographers x €450

Sgt Pepper 64

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

Guy's charging €5400 to show people how to make their B&W shots look like hideous toneless mud-pictures. That's mostly what's wrong with it. OTOH photography is a wonderfully subjective pursuit so it might just be the ideal course for you !

Im still not getting it. The shots look very good to me. Perhaps overally dramatic. But certainly not "toneless" or "muddy"????

And what is OTOH?

Corkbah

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

Im still not getting it. The shots look very good to me. Perhaps overally dramatic. But certainly not "toneless" or "muddy"????

And what is OTOH?

on the other hand = OTOH


(I'm guessing - but makes sense)

The Muid

There is only one course I could conscionably recommend, and that is Photography in Dún Laoghaire IADT:

http://www.iadt.ie/en/ProspectiveStudents/FacultiesCourses/FacultyofFilmArtCreativeTechnologies/BAHonoursinPhotography/

I graduated from this course last year, and I can vouch that it is the absolute pinacle of photographic education on this Island.

Only the best are accepted, and only the passionate and determined complete it.


Diarmuid

gubby

Can anyone recommend a good beginners course for a 12 yrs old. In Cork. ?

The Muid

Hello gubby,

As someone who has spent over 4 years studying photography at third level, I can promise you that short photography courses are a terrible way to learn photography - especially for a 12 year old.

What he or she should do instead is bring the camera everywhere, go hang out with friends, leave the camera on auto and just shoot lots of photos. Instead of wasting money on terrible courses run by amateurs (believe me - I know dozens of people who run these courses and they are the worst kind of incompetant amateur), invest instead in a decent laptop for editing photos.

Also, avoid camera clubs like the plague - camera clubs are where creativity goes to die.

Any more questions, I would be delighted to answer.


D.

adox

The Muid wrote: »

Also, avoid camera clubs like the plague - camera clubs are where creativity goes to die.

That is a huge generalisation imo.

The Muid

It is, to be fair. I was only after waking up when I wrote that and I was a bit heavy with the brush stroke.

I find that camera clubs take photos that are of an exceptionally high technical quality, but that ultimately lack any real depth of meaning. When I started photography, I used to attend the local camera club, and when photographers would come to present their work, people would only ever ask questions like "What ISO did you use?", "What shutter speed/aperture/ lens/ camera body?"

These questions are ridiculous. Whenever I presented my work to them and I was asked these questions, I would always reply "The right one."

What I always ask people is "Why did you choose this subject?", "What drew you to this building?", "How does this photograph fit within the context of your other work?", "What does this photograph tell us of evolving social mores?".

This is only the very basics of a critical framework for photography, something that is missing in camera clubs. These clubs typically (but not always) judge individual images. When you have only one image to look at and nothing to compare it to, all you can judge it on are its technical merits. One photo can tell a story, but not as easily as, say, ten images can. Photography, to me, is about exploring the world around us, not reducing it to thirds and worrying about pin-sharp eyes.


Now, why do I advise that gubby's child not attend these camera clubs? Well, because they can be quite tedious. I have sat through far more presentations of "how to resize an image for the web" than I care to remember. A useful technique? yes, but a 12 year old will learn it in minutes on the internet. Many of the members of camera clubs are of an older generation to whom computer techniques do not come naturally. This certainly put me off camera clubs, though luckily not off photography as a whole. It is a rather disheartening introduction to the world of image-making.

And finally, why do I recommend against short photography courses? Again, I believe a 12 year old would find them confusing and tedious. These days cameras as so advanced that there is no need - certainly not at that young age - to learn manual or even semi-manual controls. Also, weeks spent taking pictures of buildings, flowers, models, etc. is probably not what a 12 year old would consider fun.

I would recommend the child be allowed to photograph anything without restriction - encourage them to bring the camera to family events and on trips and to just enjoy taking photographs. Never say "Oh don't take my photo!" or anything like that, just be as encouraging as possible.

bullpost

I'm assuming you eschew colour photography, because you seem to live in a very black and white world

The Muid wrote: »

It is, to be fair. I was only after waking up when I wrote that and I was a bit heavy with the brush stroke.

I find that camera clubs take photos that are of an exceptionally high technical quality, but that ultimately lack any real depth of meaning. When I started photography, I used to attend the local camera club, and when photographers would come to present their work, people would only ever ask questions like "What ISO did you use?", "What shutter speed/aperture/ lens/ camera body?"

These questions are ridiculous. Whenever I presented my work to them and I was asked these questions, I would always reply "The right one."

What I always ask people is "Why did you choose this subject?", "What drew you to this building?", "How does this photograph fit within the context of your other work?", "What does this photograph tell us of evolving social mores?".

This is only the very basics of a critical framework for photography, something that is missing in camera clubs. These clubs typically (but not always) judge individual images. When you have only one image to look at and nothing to compare it to, all you can judge it on are its technical merits. One photo can tell a story, but not as easily as, say, ten images can. Photography, to me, is about exploring the world around us, not reducing it to thirds and worrying about pin-sharp eyes.


Now, why do I advise that gubby's child not attend these camera clubs? Well, because they can be quite tedious. I have sat through far more presentations of "how to resize an image for the web" than I care to remember. A useful technique? yes, but a 12 year old will learn it in minutes on the internet. Many of the members of camera clubs are of an older generation to whom computer techniques do not come naturally. This certainly put me off camera clubs, though luckily not off photography as a whole. It is a rather disheartening introduction to the world of image-making.

And finally, why do I recommend against short photography courses? Again, I believe a 12 year old would find them confusing and tedious. These days cameras as so advanced that there is no need - certainly not at that young age - to learn manual or even semi-manual controls. Also, weeks spent taking pictures of buildings, flowers, models, etc. is probably not what a 12 year old would consider fun.

I would recommend the child be allowed to photograph anything without restriction - encourage them to bring the camera to family events and on trips and to just enjoy taking photographs. Never say "Oh don't take my photo!" or anything like that, just be as encouraging as possible.

The Muid

bullpost wrote: »

I'm assuming you eschew colour photography, because you seem to live in a very black and white world

How did you guess? Yes, all my most recent work has been in B&W, 32 bit HDR with 4294967294 shades of grey in between. Well spotted

denismc

The Muid wrote: »

How did you guess? Yes, all my most recent work has been in B&W, 32 bit HDR with 4294967294 shades of grey in between. Well spotted

You make some interesting points, is there anywhere we could see your photographs?

The Muid

denismc wrote: »

You make some interesting points, is there anywhere we could see your photographs?

Of course. I'm afraid I'm between websites atm, but work from my degree show can be viewed here:

http://www.source.ie/graduate/2012/dunlaoghba/dunlaoghba_student_21_43_30_07-05-12/dunlaoghba_student_21_43_30_07-05-12.php

And below is a link to an Irish Times article from last summer praising my work, among others:

http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/art-and-design/visual-art/future-proofing-the-arts-1.1068623?mode=print&ot=example.AjaxPageLayout.ot

thefizz

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

Guy's charging €5400 to show people how to make their B&W shots look like hideous toneless mud-pictures. That's mostly what's wrong with it.!

Ditto.

Effects

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

Guy's charging €5400 to show people how to make their B&W shots look like hideous toneless mud-pictures. That's mostly what's wrong with it.

People are well informed as to what they are going to learn. If suckers want to learn to take awful HDR pictures then why deny this guy the right to charge them for it. It seems like it's geared towards people who think you need to throw money at something to learn how to do it.

thebaz

I don't like HDR myself , but in fairness , the course itself is 450 per person , and includes hotel for a couple nights , b&b and dinner etc . Completly different to a full time degree course . Education is subjective and relative to different people . Some people are well qualified take dull shots to my eyes , and some people have no education and take brilliant images . Subjective, no rights or wrongs IMO.