Getting schooled! …Literally!

I’ve finally done it! I’ve signed up for my 10 week photography course, and it starts tonight! I was going to go through Langara, but after some research, I found a workshop-based course that is right near my office (5 blocks away) that specifically deals with DSLR cameras over 10 weeks, for much less than a college-based course would be. I hope I’ve made the right choice!

Here’s the deets!

Vancouver Photo Workshops: Introduction to Digital (SLR) Photography Thursday Nights

This 10 week course is for everybody looking for a great introduction to the fascinating world of digital photography. Learn all about your digital camera, starting at the basics of its operation to using it effectively and with confidence in any kind of shooting situation. Getting your pictures off your camera as well as basic image manipulation and a variety of output (printing) options will be addressed.

Your skilled Instructor will also teach you basic photography concepts, such as exposure calculation, depth-of-field, effective composition guidelines and how to use your flash effectively. You will have the opportunity to practice your newly acquired skills during field trips and a full scale studio shooting session with professional models. With a strong emphasize on practical hands-on shooting exercises, this course will make you feel in complete control over your digital camera equipment. In-depth review and critique sessions are held to give you valuable and encouraging feedback.

Week 1: Lecture: Introduction to Digital Cameras and their basic functions, ISO and file formats, white balance, differences to film, advantages and shortcomings of digital.

Week 2: Workshop: Determining correct exposure, exposure compensation and bracketing, creative exposure techniques. Bring your camera to class.

Week 3: Lecture: Composition guidelines. Rule of thirds, texture, color, point of view, seeing in shapes and forms.

Week 4: Photo Field Trip to Yale town and the water front. Practical exercises and refining composition and camera control.

Week 5:

Workshop: Using your Flash effectively. On-camera flash versus studio flash, fill-flash techniques and creative usage of flash. Night photography techniques.

Week 6: Photo Field Trip to Granville Island: Night Photography. Bring your camera and tripod (if you don’t have one, the school will loan you one for the evening).

Week 7: Swamp Devil dvd Lecture: Basic Photoshop Techniques: File Browser, file formats, resizing, sharpening and black and white conversion.

Week 8: Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace psp Workshop: Photographing People in the Studio, using natural light and artificial light. Explore your creativity, learn how to pose and use different light sources.

Week 9: Lecture: Printing your digital photographs. Downloading images to your computer. Output and paper choice, basic color management.

Week 10: Lecture: Digital image organization, sharing (emailing) and archiving. Open printing session and review of your images created throughout the course.

Some of it will be review of the basic concepts I learned during the Community Program I took for a few weeks last summer, but, I think this will be a great first step to really improving my very elementary skills I currently have with my Canon Rebel XTi.

Have you heard of these courses through Vancouver Photography Workshops? I know some of the instructors also teach at VanArts, and FocalPoint… So, they must be fairly good at what they do! I’m excited!

The mid-week socializing game is still going on below… Join in the fun!

Also! Don’t forget… You’ve only got a few days left to participate in the “Super Deluxe 10 Yr Bloggoversary Contest!“Watchers dvd