New Partner: Proud Photography
Please join me in welcoming Proud Photography as a sponsor to Epic Edits. You can see their banner (shown here) filling a sidebar position for the month of November.
Proud Photography is an online photography school currently offering two courses: General Photography and The Expert Wedding Photographer. Additional courses and resources will become available in the near future.
The General Photography course is organized into 13 interactive units developed by professional photographers and prize-winning enthusiasts. But this is more than just a collection of lessons to consume — you'll have homework and quizzes along the way to supplement your course and gauge your progress. Some of your work will be graded by the tutors, and you have the opportunity to receive photo critiques. And though you can't move on to the next lesson until you've completed each previous lesson, you can work at your own pace.
Here's a quick overview of the 13 units in the course:
1. Introduction to Photography — Overview of cameras, lenses, and other gadgets, and what you'll need to achieve certain types of photos.
2. Digital Photography — Film vs digital, technical aspects of digital images, and working with digital files.
3 & 4. Exposure: Shutter Speed & Aperture — Detailed explanations of these two very important exposure controls and how to use them effectively.
5. Composition — Rules of good composition, perspective, and viewpoint.
6. Light — Working with natural, artificial, and mixed lighting in various situations.
7. Shooting Black and White — Comparison of film vs digital, black and white films, and lens filters.
8 & 9. Travel Photography I & II — Sunrise, sunset, filters, landscapes, extreme weather, seascapes, reflections, capturing local people, architecture, still life, and more.
10. Portraits — Formal, informal, backgrounds, viewpoints, makeup, and lighting.
11. People and Their Environment — Utilizing natural light, working in weather, candids, close-ups, young folks, and old folks.
12. Insiders' Tricks and Techniques — High ISO, fisheyes, macros, filters, flash tricks, panoramas, and lots more.
13. Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them — How to avoid improper exposure, flare, bad framing, poor focus, camera shake, reflections, sensor dust, and more.
While I haven't been through the course myself, I've seen multiple reviews from photographers who have and they've all been quite positive. I think the main attraction to a program like this lies in the organization of content in addition to the content itself. Having one-on-one interaction with the tutors, doing homework, and taking quizzes are all icing on the cake.
I would recommend this online photography course from Proud Photography to beginner/intermediate enthusiasts. If you're still a bit rusty on the technical details of photography, wanting to learn more about the many facets and styles of photography, or if you just don't know where to start, this course might just be for you. And while it isn't free, it's much cheaper than most camera equipment — plus, this is one tool in your camera bag that won't break or wear out with use.
The Expert Wedding Photographer course is aimed more at those looking to get into the wedding photography business. It covers the topics of setting up and running your business, equipment needed, how to capture formal and informal shots, post production work, and presenting photos to your clients.
If these courses sound at all interesting to you, I encourage you to visit their website to learn more: www.proudphotography.com