Description
2 Day Photography Course Details
Duration: 2 Consecutive Days, 10am – 4pm
Location: London, South Bank, UK
Date: This is a 1-2-1 course, book a date that suits you.
No. Participants: Up to two people can attend this course at no additional cost.
Loan Camera: Canon Mirrorless loan camera available.
We Also Run This Course In: Bristol & Peterborough
Gift Vouchers For This Course Are Available Here
On this 2 day course with professional photographer Paul David Smith you will learn what your camera is truly capable of and start taking the photographs you’d hoped your camera would have given you all along.
In auto modes, your camera is going to make mistakes as it simply does not know what is happening in front of it. It is merely trying to give you a shot which isn’t too bright and isn’t too dark, but this leads to inconsistency and errors. On day one you will learn all about aperture, shutter speed and ISO, this will allow you to start taking control of your camera and ensure pin sharp photographs each and every time. You’ll learn how to both freeze and blur motion as you desire, how to achieve background blur or ‘bokeh’ as it’s often called to ensure your subject stands out from the background and how to balance the light to get your photographs as bright or dark as you want them in any conditions.
We’ll also look at white balance, continuous shooting versus single shot modes and how to get the best from the auto focus options present in your camera, including how and when to use them.
Once you have a good understanding of the correct technical settings and when to use them, you need to pair that with creativity. We’ll look at composition, lighting, storytelling and angles in order to ensure that your photographs look their best. Good composition and storytelling are key to taking good photographs and the Greek translation of ‘photography’ literally means ‘painting with light’, if you don’t have or create good light, your photographs are never going to be great. We’ll look at how to use light to your advantage, this includes finding good natural light and adding in flash when needed.
Lastly we’ll look at editing and go through Adobe Lightroom which is the software of choice for many professional photographers. It’s far easier to learn than Adobe Photoshop and has many features which make editing a breeze.
A few examples of what you could learn on the course:
- Take control & get out of auto mode.
- Benefits of using P, S, TV, A, AV or M modes.
- How to shoot pin sharp images every time.
- Blur backgrounds using aperture.
- Master difficult lighting conditions.
- Understand ISO and the exposure triangle.
- Camera equipment advice.
- Choose the correct camera image settings.
- Use different White Balance settings.
- Stop motion using shutter speeds.
- How to use off-camera flash.
- How to avoid out of focus images.
- Understand lenses and focal lengths.
- Master composition for strong images.
- Post-production image techniques.
- You tell me what you’re struggling with!
FAQs
Do I Need Certain Skills Or Equipment To Attend?
Please bring your camera with a fully charged battery, lenses and any accessories that you use frequently with you. If you could also bring with you a selection of images that you have taken then that would be really helpful to allow us to get an understanding of your current level.
Can You Recommend Camera Equipment For Me Prior To Me Attending?
I get a lot of requests for help with camera equipment recommendations, almost daily in fact and offer a Personalised Photography Equipment Recommendation service which you can find by clicking here.
Recommending a camera and the best lenses to buy really has lots of different factors involved in it which need to be investigated first such as what the equipment will be most used for, budgets, your expectations on image quality, your current level and aspirations, etc. Hence the above service so we can really drill down into finding you the best equipment.
Alternatively, some people attend my courses and borrow a camera from me for the course to do so, we can then incorporate this recommendation as part of the course at no extra cost. The benefit of doing it this way is that I have a lot of cameras and lenses you can try and see the difference between prior to purchasing anything. The downside is you’re not learning on your own equipment of course, so there are pluses and minuses to doing it both ways, it depends on what you think works best for you.
Are You DBS Checked?
Paul is DBS checked and is happy to share a copy of his DBS certificate with any client, no matter whether they are a business, charity, organisation or individual.
You can read more about Paul’s DBS check here.
What Is The Refund / Date Re-arrangement Policy?
Our Course Cancellation & Re-Arrangement Policy Can Be Found Here.
Can I Speak To Paul Before Booking?
Yes, you can. If you’d like a chat first about whether the course is right for you, what it covers or what equipment to bring, you can book a free 15-minute video call with Paul here. Just choose a time that suits you and you’ll be emailed a Teams link for the call.
You’ll Be In Good Company, Clients Include…
Z Ramsden –
Amazing beginners photo course in London. Paul is a fountain of knowledge and a great teacher.
I held off buying a camera and Paul advised the best one for my specific interest.
Highly recommend.
Daisy –
I attended this course with Paul to help me improve my social media photos. I’d bought a new mirrorless camera and was quite scared by all of the buttons and dials, all of which I had no clue as to what they did. By the end of the course this had changed dramatically and I was using the camera in manual mode, understanding shutter speed, aperture and ISO with a routine to always ensure they work for any photo I am taking. My confidence with the camera grew over the course and Paul was a constant source of easy to understand knowledge with any questions I asked him throughout. A fantastic course with a very genuine and friendly guy.
Sam Moyes –
I’d bought a camera maybe two years ago and tried to teach myself how to use it following YouTube videos and asking friends who also owned cameras. This had led to me simply getting frustrated with the camera and not using it if I’m honest. In just a day Paul had taught me in a manner in which I could understand everything the camera was capable of doing, how to shoot in manual mode, how to use flash, edit photos and shared a wealth of composition tips and knowledge. I was blown away by just how easy he makes everything seem, it feels like he has a real knack for teaching which has obviously come from years of learning how to do it all himself. I could not rate this course highly enough, if you have any questions about photography or how to use your camera, Paul is an excellent teacher.
Lola James –
This course was exactly what I had needed for such a long time. I’d spent quite a lot of money on camera equipment but was barely able to get a shot in focus on the auto modes. Within just a few hours of being with Paul I was shooting in manual mode and was surprised at just how easy he made the entire learning process. We also covered composition which instantly made my photos look better than they had before and Paul took the time to explain to me the importance of lighting and how much it affects the final images. We finally found time to sit and go through editing some of the shots I’d taken on the course. This course was excellent value for money, it feels like I’ve just been given a bit of a cheat code to jump a few levels in my progress in no time.