Newcastle Photography School
For a while now, I have had an interest in photography but have never pursued it as a hobby until recently.
When I first arrived in Maitland, I worked for Expression Sessions, a family portrait studio, based in the mall. The studio traveled every two weeks to a new area, so it was a great way to see NSW.
I learnt how to pose children, and how to quickly conduct shoots. What I didn’t learn about was the camera set up and how to navigate the settings.
Every day, we tested the lighting set up and made sure we had the correct settings. It was never explained to us why we needed these settings. I never really got a chance to play around with the camera and try out different exposures, shutter speed etc.
I recently decided to enroll in Newcastle Photography School’s Photography 101 course which cost me $250. It isn’t much in the grand scheme of things. The 101 course is a 5 week evening course, although I believe it is also offered as a 2 day.
The cost also included a field trip on a Saturday morning which meant I could put into practice what I had learnt. I found the field trip to be the most beneficial part of the course as I printed my images and had them constructively criticized in class.
The main aim of the course is to teach students how to navigate their digital camera, which, for me, was awesome as this, I found, is the most daunting. I learnt how to take photos using professional (M, AV, TV, P) mode. I had used manual previously but only on settings which I knew worked in the studio which didn’t always translate to real life situations.
Was it worth it?
Hell yes, as who want’s to own a DSLR and not be able to make the most of the camera. Even though I had some knowledge of photography, I still learnt quite a lot. I also found the instructor to be really helpful. The class didn’t move on to the next topic until everyone understood the content.
I have enrolled in the Newcastle Photography School’s ‘Beyond the Basics’ course also.
*The image above is one taken on the field trip.
** This is an honest review. I have not been paid to promote the school, in fact, they don’t even know I have a blog, let alone reviewed them :).