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Hi all,

I have been looking around at doing a course online, with the view to doing part time or full time work and have found this one: http://www.thephotographyinstitute.com. ... m/apg/home and it seems to have everything I want out of a course, has anyone had any experience with it, or heard anything about it?

Regards,

Josh

Honestly.. I haven't had anything to do with this 'institute' and nor have I heard about it so this is just my personal opinion..

save your money.. you'll learn a lot more by getting out there either by yourself or with other photographers and posting the images on forums like this.. and asking for honest critque on how to improve the images.. then paying attention the of the advice given (think of it as a lesson albiet a free one) get back out there and take more pics..

I doubt that they will teach you anything that you can't find out here on the net.. for free..

just my 2 cents worth..

Apart from the sensible advice given to you already by Bindii, I wouldn't enrol in any organisation unless
is fully accredited and their qualifications are recognised by the National Qualification Training Framework.
You want to be able not only to learn, but also be sure that at a later stage the qualification you get from
them is recognised and leads to a higher one.

have had a few mates do some courses here: http://www.acp.org.au/workshop
i'll go against the grain here. nothing in the slightest wrong with doing a course or 2 whatever your skill level.

... and a different view again!
I just signed up to Scott Kelby Training videos over the web and I'm finding them really great. At $25 per month or $199 for the year it's cheap. Maybe some of the stuff is a little basic but I find there's plenty in them to keep me going. Have a look- www.kelbytraining.com (and no, I'm not getting endorsement money!!)
Ian

sully wrote:Hi all,

I have been looking around at doing a course online, with the view to doing part time or full time work and have found this one: http://www.thephotographyinstitute.com. ... m/apg/home and it seems to have everything I want out of a course, has anyone had any experience with it, or heard anything about it?

Regards,

Josh

I think this depends on what type of person you are.
If you aren't the type of person who can actively teach yourself, then doing a course can be beneficial as most of the groundwork and information is handed to you to read/do and learn from.

However, the internet is a wonderful tool...if used correctly. Looking through the course outline the Photography Institute have on their website, you could quite easily use this as a guide and find the answers to many of these questions online (using Google, Wikipedia and other various photography websites/forums).

Whilst this "self-help" approach is certainly cheaper than the above-mentioned course, it's success is determined by your drive and determination to learn.

I also agree that a great way to learn is to get together with a few other "like-minded" photographers and get out there and explore photography (and your camera). Don't stay in your comfort zone. If you would like to get better at different types/styles of photography but aren't sure where to start, others may be able to point you in the right direction and with trial-and-error, you will likely find you start to improve and before long you will have a basic understanding of what to do so you can then practice until you are satisfied with the results.

Even the Pro's continue to practice and learn.

Perhaps it might be an idea to list all the things you feel you need to learn, then from this list, work out the best way (for you) to achieve a greater understanding of each......and certainly get out there as often as you can and keep shooting.

My $0.02

sully wrote:I have been looking around at doing a course online, with the view to doing part time or full time work

How much experience and knowledge do you already have?

Do you have any work or a prospective employer lined up?

Working as a photographer seems like it would be a great lark. It's truly great to be working in an industry that you love, doing work that you enjoy, but that doesn''t change the underlying fact that it's still work, and can be a very hard slog.

And not all photographers do the same thing: many specialise in just a few types of photography. Fashion photography is very different from sports photography is very different from wedding photography is very different from photojournalism is very different from shooting nature images. And even within the various categories of photography, there are very many differences: shooting F1 car racing is quite different from shooting the cricket, and neither are anything like shooting the Red Bull air races.

So let's go back a step: what do you like to shoot, what do you want to shoot, and how much experience do have at the moment? You might be wanting to shoot the footy, and could become very quickly frustrated if you're continually sent out by your boss to shoot tree stumps and tractors.

gstark wrote:
My $0.02

Unforunately due to Australian laws and the rouding to the nearest 5 cents .... your 2 cents is worth exactly nothing

not if you pay with a card....

tommyg wrote:

gstark wrote:
My $0.02

I did not!

gstark wrote:

tommyg wrote:

gstark wrote:
My $0.02

I did not!

The perks of being a moderator..

Thanks for all the helpful replies! (and also the humorous ones too)

I feel the need to do a course because that's the way I feel I learn best, I am also speaking to a couple of people I know to see if I can tag along every now and then when they go out and do a job in their field.

Gstark in response to your post, I don't have what I would call a lot of experience so far, just getting out and taking pictures whenever I can, I certainly spend a bit of time observing the comments and advice on this forum which I then go out and practice myself... (I should be uploading some of these for more advice, because I know that I'm still not even close) but no professional experience.

My plans at the moment are to do this for enjoyment, and some 'on the side' work afterwards, and if I like something I find I will pursue it in a more full time manner. I do have a particular interest in shooting people (with a camera) weddings for example, or family/individual photos.

Thanks again for the help,

Josh

sully wrote:shooting people (with a camera)

Seriously, please post some of your pictures for critique. I am sure you will learn something. So will we.