Monday 19 May 2014

{ SLR photography course } ~ A review

I have been busy over the last year and beginning of this year running SLR and Portrait photography courses from Bay Tree Cottage in Farthingstone.


They have been well attended and so far all the students have given fantastic reviews of the course.  I am delighted to share with you one of those student reviews with some photographs she has since taken.


I am continuing to run 1-1 SLR and Portrait courses, read more about them here.  Book your via my contact page.


Digital Photography Course ~ at Bay Tree Cottage. 

February 14th and 28th.

Review by Viv Fox
"This was a lovely course run in two half day sessions, with two weeks in between.
The course was listed as a ‘basic introduction’ and the small number of students meant that Suzanne had plenty of time to give individual help to each of us with our very ‘basic’ questions! 

The first session concerned the three fundamental elements of taking a photo: Aperture; ISO; and Shutter Speed. Each of these was clearly explained and we did lots of practical tasks to see the effect of each feature in practice. Very clear hand-outs were given to support the taught information and Jenny (Bay Tree Cottage) provided a limitless supply of tea and heart shaped shortbread biscuits…..it was Valentine’s Day after all.

Our ‘homework’ was to take 9 photos putting the various settings which we had studied into practice in a variety of contexts. I am keen on Churches, Landscapes and Flowers and took a little tour around the delightful villages in East Northants to complete my tasks. Others concentrated on family events, such as a toddler’s birthday party, and their pet hens and their eggs!

The second session began with a detailed analysis of our photos and Suzanne gave lots of praise for the things which had gone well and some very specific technical and composition advice for the photos which weren't quite so good. As we had all taken different types of subjects, we all were able to learn a lot from the comments made about each other’s photos. In the rest of the session we examined: Histograms; The Exposure Compensation button (this button will change your life.); and Focus.  Advice was given about lenses and editing software whilst we again enjoyed tea and Jenny’s scrumptious, marmalade flapjacks.

One of the strong elements of the course was the atmosphere of trust created whereby we each felt confident enough to ask very simple questions, such as ‘ How do I attach the lens?’  (me).There are no areas which I would seek to change about the course, although it might be a good idea to timetable a follow up type session, two or three months later. Suzanne’s Facebook group does enable students to share their ideas and to keep in touch.

I recommend this course very highly to anyone in the early stages of digital SLR photography".

Following photography by Viv Fox
 Photography by Viv Fox
 Photography by Viv Fox
Photography by Viv Fox

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