Just Completed Online Photography Course - My Thoughts

[TheBigE]

Hello All,

Since CiC has been such a great resource for me, I wanted to provide some of my own thoughts to the group on my recent Online Photography Course. While I am just a beginner, I have completed Understanding Exposure Course by Bryan Peterson at PPSOP. I hope that my feedback below can help others decided if this is the right path to take. I know that when I was researching the course and trying to make a decision to take the course, I was unable to find very little current information. My wife will tell you that I hemmed and hawed until the last minute on taking the course. So what follows was originally posted on another forum, but I thought CiC would be a good place as well to share.

First, let me say that learning is specific to each person, and everyone learns different. I have found this course to be very good for my learning approach.

Some Facts about course

• There are 6 dedicated lessons, plus two bonus lesson
• Each of the dedicated lessons has an Assignment that is due based on the lesson topics
• The assignments are critiqued by Bryan usually within 2-3 days (see notes below) of the due date for the assignments
• Assignments are typically due on Sunday Evening
• Each lesson has a number of short videos (2-5 minutes) that one can watch to emphasise the concepts of that lesson.
• The course starts out and pretty much follows his book Understanding Exposure. Having read the book is not a prerequisite for the course by any means, but for me, having read it before the course did make it a bit easier to follow the lesson.

Bryan's teaching style and methods are very down to earth and pragmatic in my opinion. Please note the last words in that sentence - in my opinion. The course provides the foundation to learn and understand exposure, and most importantly obtain the Creatively Correct Exposure (Bryan's Terminology). Just like any learning, one should be able to form their own opinions on thoughts about the subject. Some concepts may work, and others my not.

Again, continuing with what I have learned and how it has benefited me. Frankly it forced me to get out and take photos. One could say that you do not need a course to do this, and this would be exactly correct. However, for me, the carrot (course) drives me a bit harder to go out and use the camera. Like anything else in learning, one gets out of it what one puts into it.

Individual Instructor Critiques were very helpful. Typically Bryan would write a paragraph on your assignment photos and give you direct and honest feedback on how to improve. This was great. The critiques response time tended to get a bit longer on the last three lessons (4-6 days after posting) but the instructors were open to comment on this and most everything was critiqued before the due date of the following lesson. A great bonus and equally important part of the class was the interactions with the classmates. While the Q&A Forum for the close (Class members and Instructors only) functionality could be improved a bit (you only get notification on your posts, not if you post on others), this was a great place to have discussion with other classmates and just as important as the instructor feedback.

Did the course make me a professional photographer, no it did not (nor was I expecting it too) it just gave me tools and the knowledge to take better photos and begin down the long path of photography.

I have learned many different techniques from this course and ways to look a given scene and not only dial in an exposure, but make it a creative exposure. A few of the photos that I took for the course that I am quite pleased with are attached below. Still even with those, you can see there is still a great deal to learn. However, I can see progress over the last 6 weeks.

Summary: I am looking forward to taking additional course in the future, I guess that is the best summary I can provide. However, just like many things you get out of it what you put into it. This is true for an online course. If you just post photos and wait for feedback from instructors then it may not be worth the price. If you are actively involved in the class and spending time on the lessons, then for me it was worth every penny. Moreover, it gave me the carrot I needed to get out and use my camera, and learn how to create the Creatively Correct Exposure.

I hope this helps other decide if an online course is the correct option for them, feel free to PM if you have any more specific questions.

Landing Cub - Focus on using SS for Panning (ISO 100, 90mm, f/16, 1/25s)


Bike on Wall - Focus on f/8 Aperture (ISO 100, 35mm, F/8, 1/4 s)


Pathway - Focus on Max Depth of Field (ISO 400mm, 18mm, f/22, 0.4 s)


Rain on Fence - Focus on Min Depth of Field (ISO400, 25mm, f/2.0, 1/2500S)

[Donald]

That's an excellent piece, Erik. It will give people the opportunity to think about their own learning, what it is they want to achieve and how to do that. Thank you for posting it onto the forum.

In relation to the images that you have posted. You say that your course was primarily about exposure. Whilst that has obviously worked for you, what particularly strikes me is the strength of the compositions.

[Shadowman]

i'd be interested to know what the instructor thought about Pathway. Did he feel it met the criteria for deep focus imagery? What suggestions did he make on improving the image?

[TheBigE]

The feedback for the pathway photo was - The pathway shot is very inviting and love the depth in this. VERy inviting and I feel like I can stroll right in there where all the ideas are!

Bear in mind there were two other photos that were submitted with this and there were some more focused comments on those photos about metering and focal point.

[TheBigE]

That's an excellent piece, Erik. It will give people the opportunity to think about their own learning, what it is they want to achieve and how to do that. Thank you for posting it onto the forum.

In relation to the images that you have posted. You say that your course was primarily about exposure. Whilst that has obviously worked for you, what particularly strikes me is the strength of the compositions.

Thanks Donald, I hope it helps others. I snapped almost 1500 pictures over the 6 weeks of the class (many ended up on the cutting room floor). With the focus of the lesson, many of the compositions just naturally presented themselves and opportunities...and my composition techniques improved dramatically as well.

[rpcrowe]

It is difficult for me to judge on-line courses because I don't know where the person who is intending to take the course is in photographic experience or technique.

I studied for a while at New York Institute of Photography when they had a brick and mortar operation located in mid-town Manhattan, New York City (in the 1950's). Looking back, the course was quite decent and the reason I did not finish that course was purely financial. When signing up for the course, I had no idea of the financial commitment that would be required to purchase the film and materials that I needed. I simply could not afford the materials.

However, having been enrolled as a NYIP student had an advantage in that I was accepted into the basic U.S. Navy School of Photography when it was quite difficult to be selected for that school. The wonderful thing about the Navy School was not only the great training it afforded but, there was virtually unlimited film and paper available. This was quite an advantage because film and paper were expensive commodities...

The digital photographer of today has the advantage in that, once the gear is purchased, shooting and post processing is free...

OTOH, I am not sure just how much a diploma from NYIP would go to help you become a professional. "IT MIGHT" open a door but I am not sure.

Regarding community college training in photography, there are few community colleges that give a solid grounding in commercial photography (which is what most photographers make their money doing). Most community college courses are aimed at artsy craftsy type of imagery which is only good for adorning the walls of coffee shops while the graduates of those courses make their money serving coffee.

Another problem (as I see it) is that many of the community college courses want to start the training using film which (IMO) is a waste of money and time. If we want to work with outdated media (in the fraudulent claim that it will give you a better basis in photography) why not start with the wet plate process. I sincerely believe that starting the students in film photography is pandering to the experience and training of the instructors rather than benefiting the students...

I have seen the NYIP coursebooks on sale (used) on eBay for a pittance. It might be worth buying their coursebook and seeing just what information that the course will impart.

[Mike Buckley]

I can see progress over the last 6 weeks.

That statement speaks volumes. It must be very rewarding for you to see improvement in such a short period of time.

I'm confused that the course was about how to obtain an effective exposure yet the explanation of each of your photos mentions other characteristics. Was the course primarily about obtaining effective exposure but also delved into other characteristics?

[TheBigE]

That statement speaks volumes. It must be very rewarding for you to see improvement in such a short period of time.

I'm confused that the course was about how to obtain an effective exposure yet the explanation of each of your photos mentions other characteristics. Was the course primarily about obtaining effective exposure but also delved into other characteristics?

Mike - thanks and it was rewarding. But mileage may vary for others, as when I took this course I was at the very beginning of photography only knowing minimal. So it is easy to have great strides when you are at that level.

To answer you question regarding effective exposure - Bryan talks about the Creatively Correct Exposure. This is a function of the characteristics of what you are shooting - in its broadest category it is either motion or DOF. There are then subsets of each, so in a way the course provides instruction just beyond balancing ISO, Aperture and SS.

[Thlayle]

Thanks, Erik, for sharing your experience. You have offered a lot of information and thoughtful commentary.

I am an amateur photographer myself and have had a lifelong interest in it. I have only gotten very serious about my efforts in the last few years and I have found a lot of online resources (including some really great stuff here at CIC!) that have helped me along. I have thought some about the option of an enrolled, online course like the one you took recently. It's good to know about this particular one.

Regards,

Randy

[Manfred M]

Eric - I just read through your review and would like to add my own experience. I've taken some on line training as well and have done some workshops, at home and abroad.

I'm currently taking a couple of advanced photography courses at the local community college. One is on colour correction and colour management and the other is in composition and design. Both are slightly more than what you are paying ($329US = $420CAD; my courses are running at $450CAD), but on the other hand, my course runs for 14 weeks (3 hours per week) with a live instructor (30+ years of experience). We are using 27" iMacs in the one course and have access to a full photo studio (lights, modifiers, backdrops, etc) for the other. Class size is 15-20 students. The downside is that classes are limited to 20 students and some of the courses are quite popular and book up quickly. These are the same courses that full-time students doing a diploma program in photography are taking.

On top of the assignments (which are discussed and reviewed in class) I get to see the work of others, not just my own and the reviews are by both the professor and the other students. Seeing how others tackle the same subject material and that helps me broaden my thoughts on how to tackle different subject material. The nice thing is instant feedback and if there are any questions they are dealt with immediately, not when the instructor decides to get back to me.

If I want to get into more fine art photography, there is a private photography school in town, and while the courses are more expensive, they offer some some interesting courses (for instance wet plate collodion / tintype photography) that are hard to find offered elsewhere.

I guess I find that a mix of hands on classroom, on-line courses and hands-on workshops work best for my learning style. I find that the on-line courses are probably the least effective for my learning style.

[TheBigE]

Manfred - Great feedback and thanks. As I said in my review, I was really surprised out how much I learned from others in the class and our forum discussions. I really think I learned as much if not more from them, but it did take work on my part to really go in and open up discussion.

Seeing the feedback the instructors gave to other students was also very helpful. Like you it help me understand the concepts and broaden my horizons a bit in the subject material.

I find the online courses such as KelbyOne and lynda.com to be good, but these are more like reference material from a trusted source that I can use at my leisure. It does not approach that of an online course with instructor feedback.

I would like to take a course at a local community college one day and try some more hands on learning in a more traditional classroom environment. I can only think this would be beneficial, like you have seen.