# Where to get photography training?



## cayenne (Nov 24, 2012)

Hi all,

I've had my 5D3 since May. I've read and read...been shooting....etc.

But I do think I could really benefit from some kind of formal training....a photography class. I've been searching around in my area (New Orleans), and I"m not really found anything that seemed good, reputible...etc.

I've been trying to see if one of the local community colleges had a course I could audit..etc...but so far no luck.

What would ya'lls suggestions be, for looking around to find someone to give me training on all the basics, so I could get an organized education on the basics of the balance of ISO, aperture and shutter speed....depth of field, shooting backlit subjects, etc....

I've figure out a lot, but I'd really like to have a course in it...especially with regards to digital....to make sure I understand everything and maybe see if some concepts I've not known about play into it all too?

I'd really like a human led class....with assignments so I could bring in pics, and have them critique'd and suggestions on what did and didn't work with settings, composure...etc.


Thanks!!

cayenne


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## jointdoc (Nov 24, 2012)

Cayenne,

I don't know all of the resources in the New Orleans area but I suggest that you consider stopping by the New Orleans Area Camera Club. http://www.gnocc.org/ 

I am a member of my local camera club and they are a great resource. There are monthly competitions which are judged by independent professional photographers and educators. They have classes before the meetings but best of all they know who what is available and who is good and who is not.


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## And-Rew (Nov 24, 2012)

+1 on the local camera club.

They are invaluable. 

You could also have a look on Flickr to see if there are any strobist groups in your area, as they can be extremely educational as well.

Quick look found this group... http://www.flickr.com/groups/nopa/
If they're not exactly what you want, they may be able to provide further information


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## Halfrack (Nov 24, 2012)

Toss in chatting up your local camera store as they may offer group or 1on1 classes.

Plus https://www.fisheyeconnect.com/ has lots of different groups publishing their activities. Smugmug user groups may also be in your area.


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## cayenne (Nov 26, 2012)

Goodness, thank you for all the replies and suggestions!!!

I"ll give this a look!!! The local club thing seems a great place to start to look into things.....

I'm not familiar with flickr and smugmug, so will look into those...

Keep any suggestions coming, and thank you for these so far, they look like good leads!!


cayenne


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## RLPhoto (Nov 26, 2012)

Behind the Camera. 8)


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## 7enderbender (Nov 26, 2012)

Check meetup.com perhaps.

It's certainly great to have some live hands-on experience that way, class or otherwise. The other thing that I found is once you start looking into more specific questions and areas of interest that there are outstanding online tools available.

I came from film not too long ago and wanna say that I had most of the basics covered. But then there was this whole new world to be discovered that is specific to DSLRs. And I was never much of a flash/strobe user and it bugged me how clueless I had always been with that - and how poor my results had always been.
So other than participating in a local event/class through a studio shooter meetup group I found some great resources online starting with the famous strobist blog web site. Add a few good books to that and don't forget the manuals (and additional information on the Canon web sites) and it got me closer to where I wanted to be - and I went from reluctantly using my old Metz potato masher (nuking everything in its range) to successfully using complex wireless multiple flash setups with my favorite model inside a running shower...


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## bainsybike (Nov 26, 2012)

The Open University in the UK run just such a course, which I can thoroughly recommend, having done it myself. It's web based, so you can do it from anywhere in the world. Details here: http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/course/T189.htm


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## Botts (Nov 26, 2012)

cayenne said:


> I've been trying to see if one of the local community colleges had a course I could audit..etc...but so far no luck.



Take a look at the college and/or university's for-credit options. I know the schools up here in Canada wouldn't let you audit, but they will let you take the courses as a distance student. I took a 3-credit (1 semester) course from 6-9PM every Thursday for $750 CAD.


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## awinphoto (Nov 26, 2012)

www.creativelive.com... free education while the events are live.... Once the events are over, the courses are still cheap enough... you get training with some of the top pro's in the industry, and you get insight you wont get anywhere... I got a BA from one of the top photography schools in the country and I still learn from creativelive... If they were around when I was at school, I could have saved thousands of dollars.


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## JBeckwith (Nov 26, 2012)

+1 for your local camera club. I recently discovered mine and it's great. There's a lot of information tossed around and it's also a great way to network.


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## carlc (Nov 26, 2012)

I was in the same boat. Looked high and low, finally settled on New York Institute of Photography. Depending on your payment option choice, it runs about $1,000. But I think it is well worth it and you do all the work on your schedule, not someone else's.

Pros: Very, very thorough printed (study guide), audio (CD) and video (DVD). Great individual evaluations by your assigned instructor. Six sessions, each with a final exam. Easy to reach "student advisors" for questions.

Cons: Some of the material is a little dated and they devote a good amount of time to film. However, I found the film discussions helped me with the digital challenges.

I am about half way through and already see a marked improvement. I would do it again!


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## shutterwideshut (Nov 26, 2012)

cayenne said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I've had my 5D3 since May. I've read and read...been shooting....etc.
> 
> ...



You may try to check this out: http://www.betterphoto.com/courseOverview.asp?sessionOffset=&cspID=230


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## TexPhoto (Nov 27, 2012)

The camera club is what I was going to suggest. (I prefer to call it a photography club as ther are people who just collect cameras) 

Meetup.com is a great place to find a camera club. I found my first that way, and after i moved and could not find one, started my own. Now we have 215 members.


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## EOBeav (Nov 27, 2012)

RLPhoto said:


> Behind the Camera. 8)



+1

Just don't pay somebody to teach this stuff to you. You learn by doing and by networking from others. After awhile, you kind of find your own vision and how to translate it to pixels in a RAW file. You'll get it; just keep at it.


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## dirtcastle (Nov 27, 2012)

EOBeav said:


> RLPhoto said:
> 
> 
> > Behind the Camera. 8)
> ...



+1

Maybe 30 years ago it made sense to PAY to study photography. There was no internet, digital didn't exist yet, and being a professional photographer was still a decent career choice.

If you've got money to burn, then I see no reason not to take classes. But if money is an issue and you aren't expecting to make money off photography... there are TONS of free resources to learn. And the money you save will go toward the gear you need. Because, as one gets better at photography, the cost of equipment generally goes up (especially if you do studio shoots).

Having said all that... as someone who missed a few things along the way, I feel that photography SHOULD be studied diligently and thoroughly. The bottom line is that if you aren't a diligent self-learner, you will struggle to master photography, especially composition.


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## TAW (Nov 27, 2012)

Cayenne,

I also prefer live classroom instruction and really learn a lot from the interactions with others. However, finding the right class, at the right time for the right amount of money was really difficult. My ultimate solution was to mix online training with classroom training – it allows me get a lot more out of the live training because I have a better base… I suggest you consider taking a look at lynda.com - it costs about $40 a month, no subscription and every class I have taken is outstanding. It is not a big investment to give it a try. I just did a quick search on photography on the site and there were over 400 results – some short 30 minute classes and many 3-6 hour classes…

Good luck and happy shooting… 

tom


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## RustyTheGeek (Nov 27, 2012)

RLPhoto said:


> Behind the Camera. 8)


*+1*
It would be easy to brush off this comment but I tend to agree. I learn a lot by shooting and then researching the questions I come up with based on that shooting. I am a needs based learner. I tackle problems and learn/evolve as a result, I don't learn stuff well 'just in case'. I'm not discounting the value of instructor led training, that has a place but ultimately, it is YOU that will be doing the learning, the instructor can only motivate you and expose you to info, answer questions, etc. Set limits and 'assignments' for yourself and learn to achieve results within those limits. (Like use a 50mm prime all day, etc.) You'll get a lot more out of a class if you prepare yourself ahead of time by shooting, practicing, studying and building a list of questions you are struggling with before the class.

You should check out Digital Photography School too. Lots of info and projects to give you stuff to do with a purpose. http://digital-photography-school.com/25-great-photography-tutorials-and-links-from-around-the-web

I also enjoy watching Mark Wallace on Adorama TV. Same with Bryan Peterson. They are good at introducing basic concepts quickly.

And I learn quite a bit from studying lots and lots of photos that others take. I observe the framing/composition, the lighting directions, the backgrounds, etc. Check out the Flickr stream for the whitehouse photographer, Pete Souza. Mostly prime lenses, Canon 5D2, and you can look at all the EXIF data to see which settings, lenses, etc were used. http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse (Same goes for most of the pictures on Flickr, not just those.)

Good luck, enjoy. I think every photographer agrees that they NEVER stop learning, this is such a rewarding and evolving activity, it always challenges us.


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