Since I bought my DSLR camera last year, many of my friends have asked me about where I have taken classes and what I learned from them. Others receiving this link have already completed formal classes on their own journey to develop their skills as well, and some of us have actually met in those classes. In seeking to better my skills, I found a (free!) highly recommended self-paced online 12-week class called “Twelve Weeks to Better Photography.” Clever title, huh? :-) It’s free, it’s easy, and it is self-paced with no formal meeting times so you can work on it when it is convenient for you. It covers all of the basics to help you take your camera off the automatic setting and learn what those other settings and buttons are for. And if you're wondering why I am doing this since I have already completed a basic digital photography class through Parks and Rec, it's because this program has more of a practice component dedicated to the specific lesson each week. At my class, we brought photos each week for sharing, but they didn't tie in to specific lessons. That is where this differs -- each week, the photo assignment will coach you to develop and demonstrate a specific skill.
I was planning to work through it by myself, but being the social butterfly that I am, ha ha, I thought I would try to rope some friends in on it, er, put this together for a group and see if others want to join me in the process. I hope some of you will be interested and we can learn together and from each other. I know many others who want to learn but don’t know where to start, don’t want to spend the money for classes, don’t know where to go, are limited on time, can’t attend a weekly class in person, etc., so this may work for them and you.
How it Will Work
Beginning on June 6th and continuing each Sunday evening for 12 weeks, I will distribute the week’s lesson plan via email. I can send you via email a copy of the first week’s lesson plan so you can get an idea of what they are like and see the assignment for the first week if you'd like to see it before signing on. The goal is for each participant, by the following Saturday evening, to read it, complete the tasks described, and upload your best photos that correspond to the lesson to this blog that I set up where all participants will have privileges to post and comment. And this blog can either be open to other viewers or closed to only participants -- w'll decide that as a group before we start.
I’ve read through the lessons, and it is very flexible as far as time commitment to complete assignments – it depends on how much time you want to put in it. And if you would rather just read the lessons and participate in any discussion without completing the assignment, that is fine too.
My goal is each week to arrange for a different guest professional photographer to critique our best photos (either comment via the blog or privately to you via email if you don’t want comments posted) to help us understand how to improve our work. Of course, if you don’t want to post work, or if you want to post work but don’t want to have it critiqued, that is fine. There will be no pressure! But if you are interested in feedback on your work, I hope to provide a professional with a critical eye who can help us develop our skills and offer suggestions for improvement. My personal thought is that feedback from someone who knows photography is important to help me grow and develop my skills, both about my photos and about other’s photos, but not everyone is comfortable with critique, and that is perfectly okay. It’s really up to you and your comfort level.
We will move through the 12 lessons one week at a time. If your schedule doesn’t allow you to participate every week, that’s fine. Again, no pressure! I will act as the moderator/coordinator and keep things moving along, distribute weekly lessons, moderate/update the blog if needed, try to tackle any technical issues that come about and find answers to any photography-related questions that participants may have. As I said, I will try to arrange for a weekly guest coach to critique, and in addition, I will provide encouragement to all! If Tucson participants are interested, I will organize local fieldtrips or try to arrange for family/maternity/babies/children subjects to practice on (provided I can find volunteers), and I plan to have a couple of photography-related prizes for a “best photo” here and there during the course of the 12 weeks.
If you are still reading, thank you! I know this is long. We’re almost done. Here are the lessons that will be covered:
- Week 1: Aperture Basic Training
- Week 2: Advanced Aperture
- Week 3: Light/White Balance
- Week 4: Flash
- Week 5: Composition and Framing
- Week 6: Shooting Indoors
- Week 7: Shooting Outdoors
- Week 8: On the Go: Capturing Motion
- Week 9: Portraits
- Week 10: Landscapes
- Week 11: Daily Environment/Photojournalism: Telling a Story with Photos
- Week 12: Camera Accessories (covers lenses, filters, grey cards, etc.)
The first lesson will be distributed on Sunday, June 6th and lessons will follow every Sunday evening for the next 12 weeks. If you are interested or if you have questions, please send a message to me via Facebook or email me via my email listed on FB and include your email address if I don't already have it. In addition, if you know of anyone who would like to join in, please forward this information and invite them to participate. Before we begin, I will post an introduction of everyone participating here that will include their primary photographic interests and their equipment. It will cost you nothing but time. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope you will join me on this journey to taking better pictures!
Melissa
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