Intermediate courses - where to next

[MissionMan]

I'm in a strange predicament. With no formal training in photography, I'm looking to broaden my knowledge and play in areas outside my comfort zone, but I have no intentions of ever having a full or part time commercial involvement (other than the current charity work I've done) in photography so I don't think it will ever move further than being a hobby.

This is partly due to the fact that I have an existing career path which is probably more successful than I would ever be at photography, and partly because I don't believe I am actually talented enough to be really successful at photography. I believe that anything in art requires both skill and talent, and sadly in my case, while I can learn the skills, there are many out there who have a far better eye than I have. That said, this isn't about self pity, or looking for people to cheer me up, because I enjoy Photography as a hobby, much the same as I enjoy many other sports whilst knowing I will never be a sports professional (unless an armchair critic qualifies me as a sports professional)

Essentially, I'm looking to build my base of skills. To date, everything I have is self taught, playing with settings, feedback etc. Most of my exposure to post processing centres on some youtube tutorials and basic photoshop skills, so while I can do basic image manipulation, lighten shadows etc, I don't really understand enough to play with the levels on a photo.

I know there are options like the Diploma in Photo Imaging but I am not sure whether it would be practical to attend these when I have no intention to move into the professional photography field.

Is it worth seeking out specific courses like portraiture or studio, or would it be more practical to do something like the diploma photography as a whole on the basis that it may address some of the foundation layers that I may be missing.

[ROA44]

Thank you for creating this post I'm currently unemployed and am now having to deal with our beloved friends and stuggling having been employed for 15 years.

I have been considering a course but not from a job perspective for similar reasons although the thought of it does have some appeal but the cost are my main reason for not looking further.

I have seen a number of online courses but not looked at them as yet but also conscious of what recognition some of them have as if I did do one and found out it didn't carry much weight, just can't afford to go that road, So will be interested in the feed back re this post.

ooops not sure what happened here sorry guys

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Thank you for creating this post I'm currently unemployed and am now having to deal with our beloved friends and stuggling having been employed for 15 years.

I have been considering a course but not from a job perspective for similar reasons although the thought of it does have some appeal but the cost are my main reason for not looking further.

I have seen a number of online courses but not looked at them as yet but also conscious of what recognition some of them have as if I did do one and found out it didn't carry much weight, just can't afford to go that road, So will be interested in the feed back re this post.

[ricktas]

personally, once you have the underlying knowledge, you are probably better off doing workshops than courses. Portrait workshops, advanced photoshop workshops, etc. Target those areas where you feel your skills are maybe letting you down. Most courses cover a lot over an extended period. Some of which would be good, but some of it would also be stuff you already know = boredom.

So for me, a workshop over a day or a few days in specific areas of interest would be the way to go.

[MissionMan]

personally, once you have the underlying knowledge, you are probably better off doing workshops than courses. Portrait workshops, advanced photoshop workshops, etc. Target those areas where you feel your skills are maybe letting you down. Most courses cover a lot over an extended period. Some of which would be good, but some of it would also be stuff you already know = boredom.

So for me, a workshop over a day or a few days in specific areas of interest would be the way to go.

Thanks Rick. This is exactly what I was looking for, workshops sound like exactly the kinds of thing that would be practical. Any recommendations on organisation in Melbourne or is it too far out of your local area being Hobart based?

[ameerat42]

So, you want to hone up on photographic skills AND you want to understand what your're doing during PP (ie, how to use editing software properly).
But, not to become a professional, rather just to help your own understanding. Well, some personal development is always laudable, but how to apply your time
and - should I say it? - money?

If the above covers what you're thinking, then I'm afraid I'd have no real idea of how you'd go about it. I have only a couple of vague ideas such as:

Yes, I'd tend to steer away from formal courses, only because they would PROBABLY not cover exactly what YOU want. That is not to denigrate formal courses out of hand.
It's just that they - from what I have seen of some - would not be the ideal path for you.

The idea of workshops is useful, because they are generally specialised sessions and thus allow you to identify the ones more useful to you. What you have been doing with
on-line tutorials sounds as if it has been helpful, and whatever you chose to do besides, you should probably continue using these.

One the point to make is that when, say, "learning how to use Photoshop properly", try not to become too involved with the proclivities of that particular software. Rather,
get to understand the principles and ideas behind, say, Layers, or Levels, or Luminance, or Color spaces...

Another thing is, if you are befuddled by some idea - let's say Levels - look up independent references to it on-line or in a book. In earlier versions of Pshop they used to
explain the ideas behind levels and such in not little detail.

OK, so I said I couldn't help much so I'll stop here. I just wanted to throw those ideas at you. (And you may duck.)
Am.

PS: If I can think of anything else I may bore you some more.

[MrQ]

I'm in a similar position - not looking at photography as a career but definitely wanting to get deeper into it. I've done a couple of workshops over the years and while they've been fun I'm not sure I got much more than how to take one specific type of image from them. I signed up for a short TAFE course last year which was better, but it finished just as it was getting interesting - so I've signed on for the Cert IV this year. I couldn't justify the investment in the diploma (time or money) but one day a week for a year seemed good to me. If nothing else it puts me in touch with a group of like-minded people and makes me focus on photography.

I guess it really depends on how you feel about classroom learning. I'm aware that there will be days when I'll be listening to stuff I already know or aren't interested in. It's not my first tertiary study though, so I know I can work through those bits. Other people may learn better by just getting out and doing it. I need a bit of both and I'm getting to the point where "getting out and doing it" is losing focus - so some classroom time will help. YMMV. :)

[MissionMan]

So, you want to hone up on photographic skills AND you want to understand what your're doing during PP (ie, how to use editing software properly).
But, not to become a professional, rather just to help your own understanding. Well, some personal development is always laudable, but how to apply your time
and - should I say it? - money?

If the above covers what you're thinking, then I'm afraid I'd have no real idea of how you'd go about it. I have only a couple of vague ideas such as:

Yes, I'd tend to steer away from formal courses, only because they would PROBABLY not cover exactly what YOU want. That is not to denigrate formal courses out of hand.
It's just that they - from what I have seen of some - would not be the ideal path for you.

The idea of workshops is useful, because they are generally specialised sessions and thus allow you to identify the ones more useful to you. What you have been doing with
on-line tutorials sounds as if it has been helpful, and whatever you chose to do besides, you should probably continue using these.

One the point to make is that when, say, "learning how to use Photoshop properly", try not to become too involved with the proclivities of that particular software. Rather,
get to understand the principles and ideas behind, say, Layers, or Levels, or Luminance, or Color spaces...

Another thing is, if you are befuddled by some idea - let's say Levels - look up independent references to it on-line or in a book. In earlier versions of Pshop they used to
explain the ideas behind levels and such in not little detail.

OK, so I said I couldn't help much so I'll stop here. I just wanted to throw those ideas at you. (And you may duck.)
Am.

PS: If I can think of anything else I may bore you some more.

Thanks. Your comments about learning the principles is exactly one of the reasons I want to do it. In the past, most of what I have learnt online has been very specific to a requirement and there is very little application of that outside of that specific requirements.

It may be worth looking at a combination of workshops for experimenting outside of comfort zone and using courses for photoshops so I can cover some of the basics that are key to progressing my skill.

[fess67]

I think you could do worse than to sign up on Lynda.com or Kelby training. I did a year on both and found them very informative and interesting. I will sign up again in the future when they have added more new content for me to look at. Sure there is a lot of content that I did not need but for a small monthly fee it is worth a look. For between $25 and $40 a month and no lock in I reckon it is worth it even if you just want to have a look.

[MissionMan]

I think you could do worse than to sign up on Lynda.com or Kelby training. I did a year on both and found them very informative and interesting. I will sign up again in the future when they have added more new content for me to look at. Sure there is a lot of content that I did not need but for a small monthly fee it is worth a look. For between $25 and $40 a month and no lock in I reckon it is worth it even if you just want to have a look.

Thanks. I may check them out as a starting point.