Photography: Beginners Intensive Workshop

Get to grips with photography with our photography short courses in Sydney.

Join this one-day intensive photography course designed for beginners. Dive into the world of photography, focusing on Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) and mirrorless cameras with interchangeable lenses. This workshop covers every aspect of photography, from wide-angle to telephoto and macro. Explore the art of composition, learn how to visualize the final photo before pressing the shutter button, and get hands-on experience in composing, shooting, and digitally processing your images for class discussion.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this photography workshop, you should be able to:

• Set up your camera menu
• Move away from Auto and use advanced camera settings
• Use different lenses and other attachments for specific outcomes
• Understand and apply the depth of field
• Understand colour temperatures and white balance and apply appropriate settings
• Apply principles of composition, including Rule of Thirds
• Understand basic digital photo editing principles and techniques

Course content

What will be covered in this one-day photography workshop?

Mastering Camera Settings:

• Choosing the right shooting mode
• File format, size, and quality
• White balance and metering modes
• Drive mode – single shot v. multiple shots
• Manual and autofocus modes – which to use when
• Focus points – selecting only one or using them all
• ISO – how to use it to maximum effect and best quality
• Exposure compensation, bracketing, and HDR (high dynamic range)

Aperture and Shutter Speed:

• Understanding depth of field
• Controlling depth of field in aperture priority
• Controlling movement in shutter priority
• Using Auto, Program, and scene selections

Light:

• What is light? Colour temperature and intensity and how to control it
• Front light – taking well-lit and colourful pictures
• Sidelight – highlighting texture and emphasising 3D
• Back light-capturing silhouettes and rim-lit subjects
• Diffused light – exploit overcast conditions
• Artificial light – tungsten and flash (both on and off-camera). Synching more than one flash

Composition:

• Principles of composition – rule of thirds
• Use leading lines to direct the eye
• Portrait or landscape format
• Cropping in-camera – leave enough space around your subject
• Portraits that wow – blur the background
• Different angles and focal lengths – distorting reality

Creativity:

• Use natural frames
• Look for reflections
• Play with colour and contrast
• Use repetition
• The power of scale
• Let your picture tell a story

Intended audience

Who is this photography workshop for?

This workshop is designed for beginners who want to learn to use their DSLR or mirrorless camera

Course venue

Rozelle Campus

2A Gordon Street, Rozelle NSW 2039 (corner of Gordon Street & Victoria Road)

Course materials

What to bring to class

• DSLR Camera
• Laptop with Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom loaded (free trial versions available from Adobe's website)
• Camera Manual
• Fully charged batteries
• Writing materials, paper, etc.