This behind the scenes video shows you how this online photography course works, and what you can look forward to when you enroll. View full screen for best results.
Learn basic camera optics, plus creative uses of depth of field and shutter speed
This is a follow-up course to my free email photo lessons. This 5-week photography course is taught online so you can study in the comfort of your own home at a time that’s right for you.
This course is open for new students, but if you’re one of the first 30 in, you get $20 off!
Start learning today.
The course covers the following topics:
Week 1 – Review
- A review of some of the free photo lessons. This will be your warm up. I’m going to make sure you really know how to use your digital camera and how to set up the important menus before we proceed to the next level.
- If you haven’t done the free lessons, you’ll get up to speed this week.
- How to critique photography. This will make sure you understand the values by which we evaluate photography in this course. This lesson includes a critiquing assignment.
- How to re-size and upload your images to the critique discussion area. Some of you are new to re-sizing, so I’ll help you with that.
Week 2 – Optics
- Lens optics
- Which lens to choose for different effects
- Perspective and how to use it to your creative advantage
- Assignment on shooting photos with different perspectives
Week 3 – Creative Depth of Field
- The three things that control depth of field
- Assignment on shooting photos with different depth of field
Week 4 – Creative Shutter Speed
- Three techniques to show motion in your photos
- Assignment on different ways to show motion in your photos
Week 5 – Conclusion
- Summary and feedback survey
- This will only take an hour or so
What you need to take the course
- Enthusiasm! A desire to learn more about photography!
- Flex Time. I’ll need approximately a 5-week commitment from you. You’ll have access to the course for a very long time after that, so don’t worry if the course dates don’t exactly match your schedule. Even though the course is self-paced, a new lesson will be released each week. If you get behind that’s okay, you can catch up, but the idea is that we all try to keep pace, kind of like being in a classroom. This will also give you incentive to complete the course. Many times we buy self-directed courses that sit there unused. I don’t want that to happen with your course!
- A dSRL camera. Any dSLR will do. The average point-and-shoot may not have enough features for you to complete the assignments, especially the f-stop and shutter speed sections. I don’t want you to be frustrated or unable to do the lessons properly.
Minimum digital camera specs (if you don’t have a dSLR):
- Range of f-stops up to f16 or f22 – many compact cameras only go to f8
- Range of shutter speeds from 1/1000 second at the fast end to 1 second or longer at the slow end.
- Basic zoom lens (18-55mm), or two prime lenses such as a 50mm and one other.
- It is possible to do this with a higher-end non-dSLR compact camera, you’ll just have to work a bit harder on some of the assignments. A few students in the first session used them.
Computer and Internet system requirements
- Mac, PC, Linux
- Up to date web browser such as Firefox, Safari, or Chrome. Firefox is best for this course.
- Access to high speed Internet. This probably goes without saying for an online course, but some of the content comes in large video files.
- Please note: Not all features of the online learning environment work with Internet Explorer.
When you are finished this course you will understand how to use camera optics, and know how to adjust f-stops and shutter speeds to enhance the creativity in your photographs.
You’ll also get
- A full-featured online learning environment using multimedia learning tools such as video and slide shows
- Lesson notes that you can download and print out
- Practical exercises for each lesson
- Access to the instructor for the duration of the course, and longer
- Interaction with other students in the course discussion area, if you choose.
- The ability to upload your photos for critiquing of the assignments. This is one thing that often face-to-face courses or DIY workshops don’t give you.
- Your privacy is fully protected, and you disclose only the details you want about yourself
Enroll today! First 30 students get $20 off.
FAQ
- How is the course content delivered? I’ve never taken an online course before. The course uses the Ruzuku interactive online learning environment. Each week a new lesson is released with tutorial videos, text, PDF’s and of course lots of photo examples. You login to view the new lessons, as well as those from previous weeks. You can ask questions about the lessons and interact with your instructor, Marlene, and your cohorts in the discussion area. You are also able to upload photos for your assignments.
- How much does this course cost? $87.
- How do I pay for the course? Payment is made through PayPal and you can use a credit card through PayPal if you wish.
- Do I attend classes on a certain day or at a certain time? No. A new lesson is released each week, but the content for each week’s lesson can be accessed any time of the night or day.
- I took a beginner’s photography course with you at SAIT. Is the online course you offer pretty much the same? The difference between my online course and the SAIT Basic Photo course (and many other online courses) is that I offer more attention to the individual students. It covers some of the same material, but I teach it my way as opposed to the SAIT way. You get weekly assignments so that you can put what you’ve learned into practice right away. You have your questions answered if you get stuck, and you get photo feedback along the way. And the best part of all, you don’t have to pay for parking or drive in on snowy days.
- I really want to take your course; but I’m so busy right now. As soon as you pay, the course begins. So do it whenever you’re ready. Once you have started, you can take as long as you like to finish it.
- How many times can I view the screencasts/tutorial videos? As often as you need to. You can also download the pdf notes and any video content that is part of the lessons, so you don’t have to keep logging in to get the content.
- Is there homework? I love/hate homework. This course has four practical assignments so that you can try out the creative techniques you’re learning, instead of just reading about them. Being photographers, you’ll likely want to experiment, report back on what happened, and maybe ask questions. Once you have completed your assignments, you upload them to the discussion area for me to critique. The critiques are meant to give you feedback that helps you, not criticize you personally. There are no marks or tests though. This course is meant for pleasure and for learning new skills as a photographer. If you don’t have time to complete the assignments, no one will come chasing after you.
- Will I have access to the lessons when the course is over? You will have full access to the course content for several years to come. I don’t plan on removing any of the material.
Other people who took this course had this to say:
Marlene explained the concepts clearly and provided many examples to help me to understand the materials.
I like the assignments. I can practice what I’ve learned and the more I practice, the more I understand the new concepts.
I always had trouble in understanding depth of field. Through the assignment that Marlene gave us, I applied what I had learned in the lesson and I am happy to say that now I get it.
I love this course because it has an assignment for every week so it forced me to take more pictures than I actually did in your course at SAIT.
For me it was a lot of review, but I expected that going in, some of the things were things I had forgotten about, so they were like oh yeah! moments. I suspect that most of the people taking the course were former students and had some experience already.
I’ve never taken an online course before, and this has been a great introduction to that learning media. Although much of it was review, there was enough that I needed to re-learn, plus the interaction with other students in my “class” was really fun too.
Marlene delivered what she promised! She was professional, organized and extremely knowledgeable. Fantastic course. This was my first ever online course as well.
Marlene, you are an excellent instructor. You know how to teach in plain English. Any questions were answered fully with why and how explanations.
I love that I can do it at home and on my own schedule. As well, I like that I can still interact with other students and the teacher.
Click here to start the course today and get it for $20 less.
