Photography Tuition!

Im really interested in photography and would love to try and make a career out of it or at least take good photos as a hobby. However, at the moment I dont have the time to do a course but im desperate to learn how to do it properly. Does anyone offer or know of anyone else who does or is willing to give one-on-one tuition?

No sorry but you might want to start looking online as there are loads of beginner tuturiols. It's not the same as learning from someone, but it's a start.

How much do you know already? Have you got your appertures, shutter speeds and lighting sussed? What kind of pictures do you take? What camera do you have? I have a complete 35mm kit that is sat in a cupboard doing nothing. I used to develop my own pictures in the 'old days' but it's all gone a bit digital now.

Im really interested in photography and would love to try and make a career out of it or at least take good photos as a hobby. However, at the moment I dont have the time to do a course but im desperate to learn how to do it properly. Does anyone offer or know of anyone else who does or is willing to give one-on-one tuition?

Well, your post is in the right place now. Assuming that you are an absolute beginner:

I suggest that you just buy a cheap secondhand digital SLR with a kit zoom lens that allows you to have full manual control. This should cost no more than £2-300. You will also need a reasonable spec. PC/Mac to allow you to process images; this will become more important as you get to grips with the camera. Read the manual then take a lot of pictures! Repeat shots of the same scene, varying aperture, shutter speed, focal length etc, etc will let you see what these things affect in terms of the image. Digital shooting is free once you have bought the camera, so there is no excuse not to take '000s of pictures.

A course will not do you any good until you have a certain amount of experience and know what sort of image you are after.

Good luck,

Pete

While on the subject of this, does anyone know of any photography courses in Sheffield apart from those at the collages? I tried to apply for the collage ones, but they were all fully booked within minutes! The only one available is AS-level 35mm photography, which would be great, but I can't apply without GCSE photography (which I never realised even existed)! I don't really see the point in taking the GCSE one, as I already probably know more that they would teach me! (Apart from using a black room, which surely can't take more than a lesson or two to learn!)

I have a canon 400d and I am a complete beginner. I've tried to use a book and the manual for the camera but I still cant work it out. Eg. I read about aperture in the book, what it means n how to use it in different ways n then i read the manual to find out out how to use it on the camera n then I take a few shots of the same image using different aperture settings n they all come out looking exactly the same so i must be doing something wrong somewhere.

I have a canon 400d and I am a complete beginner. I've tried to use a book and the manual for the camera but I still cant work it out. Eg. I read about aperture in the book, what it means n how to use it in different ways n then i read the manual to find out out how to use it on the camera n then I take a few shots of the same image using different aperture settings n they all come out looking exactly the same so i must be doing something wrong somewhere.

Well, I don't have a GCSE in photography but this is how I do things:

Aperture does two things: 1) controls the amount of light hitting the sensor, so adjusting it will get the exposure right and your picture will not be too light/dark; 2) controls the depth of field, i.e. how much you have in focus at any one time.

The best way to see 2) in action is to zoom your lens to the highest telephoto setting, set the camera to A mode, and take some portraits while varying the aperture (the cam will automatically adjust the shutter speed for you to get the exposure right). When you open the aperture (f2.8, 3.5, 4 etc), you will find that the subject is in focus but the background (if it is a few feet behind the subject) will be blurred. This draws attention to your subject, which will be nice and sharp. However, if you close the aperture (f8, 9 10 etc), then the you should reach the point where both the subject and the background is in focus, which is good for holiday snaps of Aunty Mabel in front of the Eiffel Tower etc.

Try it and post your shots here!

Pete