With the explosion of sites like Flickr, it seems like everyone is an amateur photography nut. I know I’ve talked about getting a SLR and taking a photography classes for oh… a decade?! Well, why not partake in a free online photography class this weekend. Photography 101: 12 Weeks To Better Photos includes everything from a course outline, weekly handouts, “homework” challenges, and a discussion group. I think they are currently in Week 6, although you can still jump in:
Course Outline
Week 1: Aperture Basic Training
Week 2: Advanced Aperture
Week 3: Light
Week 4: Flash
Week 5: Composition & Framing
Week 6: Shooting Indoors
Week 7: Shooting Outdoors
Week 8: On the Go
Week 9: Portraits
Week 10: Landscapes
Week 11: Your Daily Environment
Week 12: Lenses, Filters & Accessories
My current camera is the Canon Powershot S2. It’s not quite a digital SLR and is already a few generations behind with the S5 out now, but it has 12x zoom and plenty of buttons that just plain scare me. Now to find out what happens when I take it off the Auto mode…
Class info found via The Scottish Lamb.
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If you like what you learn and want to go deeper into flash and lighting I’d recommend http://strobist.blogspot.com/ .
After i bought my digital SLR and got the mechanics of manual mode down, I found that site very helpful.
I wouldn’t say this is the most organized site I’ve ever been to. I’m confused about where to enroll or if I even can enroll…
This looks interesting, I’ll have to check it out.
On a related note, why doesn’t anyone make a simple digital SLR. I would love to throw a digital back on my old T-90 or even my AE-1. Even after going through most of the manual, sometimes the most simple settings on my Nikon D80 are an exercise in futility. I find myself setting it to full manual mode most of the time.
I just got a Canon 40D myself and plan on learn more about photography.
site is not working.
Pro level DSLRs are actually easier to shoot, focus, operate, and have their controls placed in intuitive positions vs the prosumer level DSLRs which have lots of little buttons, sub menus, and multi button selections which make operation confusing. For example a Canon 5D is much easier to operate than the Canon DSLR Rebel.
Is tihs a photography site? What does this have to do about money?
This is perfect. I just purchased my first dSLR (Canon Digital Rebel XTi 10MP) and I’m looking for resources like this.
It’s a fun, free, and frugal weekend activity. I’ve taken a lot of similar online community college courses, and they can cost cost hundreds of dollars.
Hey, don’t worry – the S2 IS was and still is a great camera. There’s a darn good reason why its value hasn’t depreciated at the speed that most cameras do. It should be a good stepping stone for learning about photography before you head on to a dSLR. But if you want a camera for social situations, the S2 IS is pretty annoying to lug around… if you don’t have another compact/ultra-compact camera you might want to invest in one (a sub-$200 one would be fine).
Also, even just reading through the camera’s manual will teach you a few things, especially if you’re already confused about the buttons.
Just purchased a Rebel XTI after the birth of my new son… So far I’m really enjoying it, although I probably need to learn quite a bit more.
The Canon site has an EXCELLENT tutorial for the Rebel XT that applies to all DSLRs. A great flash based site that really explains photography principals in detail with great example images.
http://www.usa.canon.com/content/rebelxt_tutorial/rebelxtlessons.htm
Yup, our 2nd camera is an old Pentax Optio S – the one that fits inside an Altoids tin.
Thanks for the link, Maury, I’ll definitely check it out.
There’s a ton of photo stuff online, it’s just hard to sift through it all, know that’s important and what’s not that important, and to actually get feedback on your photos. So that’s why I thought this course was cool.
good!!