Course structure:
Week 1 – Introduction to Digital Photography
Historical overview of photography – The digital revolution – How digital photography works – Sensors, pixels and resolution
– How to buy a digital camera – How to set up a digital camera – Backup systems – How to take photos – Composition
Computer software – Digital workflow – Download photos to a computer – Card readers – Stocktake your existing photographs
Week 2 – Camera controls and Portraits
Digital camera controls – buttons, modes, menus and multiselectors – Which controls are essential – ISO – JPEG & Raw
– Photographing people, portraits and using a self timer – How to take a movie
– Digital workflow – Filing and organising your images – keywords – backup – setting up an archive on CD, DVD
Week 3 – Lighting, flash and editing
The importance of light – Controlling brightness – Exposure metering modes – White Balance –
Using and controlling flash – flash menus – Red eye reduction – Backlit portraits – Photographing babies and children
– Editing software programs – Basic editing techniques – (cropping, tones, levels, contrast, saturation, burn & dodge, sharpening, resizing)
Week 4 – Improving your photographs and printing
Tips for producing stunning photos – Landscapes, Foreground – Background – Nature – Animals & Pets – Sports – Macro (closeup)
Sharing in print – How to buy a home printer – Home printer techniques – inks – paper types – Printing cards, contact sheets –
Colour printer techniques – Types of paper – Making photo-books – Archiving prints
Week 5 – Travel photography and putting photos online
How to take better travel & holiday shots – Architectural photography – Night photography – Using High ISO
– Photography and the internet – Sharing on-line (emailing photographs – using Flickr – Picasa – making blogs and websites)
Week 6 – Photographing events – troubleshooting – SLR.s – Scanning
How to photograph events and celebrations – Troubleshooting – Extending editing controls (clone – healing) – SLR cameras – Depth of field
– Buying lenses – How to scan photos and slides – Restoring old photographs – Making DVD slideshows –