Photographic Practice

STUDY PHOTOGRAPHIC PRACTICE ONLINE

• Learn to take better photos. 
• Develops your hands on practical skills in taking photos
• Learn through both theory and highly practical assignments with individual direction and interaction with a professional photographer (tutor).

Lesson Structure

There are 8 lessons in this course:

1. Composition
   • Choosing the subject, Lighting the subject, Placing the subject in the frame, Choosing the medium for recording,
2. Photographing People
   • Snapshots, Portraiture, Posing for Photographs, Nude Photography, Fashion, Photography & Wedding Photography
3. Nature & Landscape Photography
   • Photographing Water, Plants, Landscapes & other Natural subjects
4. Colour vs. black & white
   • Types of film, Analysing photos, Photography for newspapers, etc.
5. Special Techniques
   • Creating Effects,Sport Photography, Cropping, Non Standard Film(eg.Lith Film, InfraRed etc)
6. Illustrative Photography
   • Telling a story with a photo (eg. advertising, sports event, fashion parade or art exhibition), Streetscape photography etc.
7. Publishing
   • Illustrating articles, Analysing photos in magazines, Understanding the industry and photo opportunities
8. Business Opportunities in Photography
   • Freelance photography, Commercial photography, Planning a Photographic Session, Studio Photography, What to Charge, Gallery Sales, Written Contracts

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims

• Compose photographs in a way that matches a predetermined aim.
• Explain a variety of ways to take better photographs of people.
• Explain a variety of ways to take better photographs of landscapes or other natural subjects.
• Differentiate between appropriate use of colour and black and white photography.
• Create varied visual affects through the use of special techniques.
• Explain a variety of ways to take better illustrative photographs.
• Explain a variety of ways to take better photographs for use in print or electronic media.
• Determine the nature and scope of business opportunities in photography.

Tips for Creating Photographic Effects

• An area looks larger when the floor or ground surface is smooth
(e.g.: a person standing in long grass looks to be in a smaller area than a person standing on closely mown grass)

• A smooth boundary will make an area seem larger.

• Shadows or openings at one side of an area will make it seem wider.

• Looking downhill makes a distance seem longer.

• Looking uphill makes a distance seem shorter.

• Repetition can sometimes be used to highlight aspects

• Spaces which are too small can be oppressive.

• Large spaces are empty & hollow unless there are a large number of people in those spaces.

• Long spaces (in large scale public landscapes) can be overdone becoming psychologically exhausting.

• To achieve a harmony in space in enclosed areas the ratio of building height to space width should be no more than 1:4.

• Coarse textures decrease the apparent size of spaces.

• Fine textures will make small spaces look bigger.

• Flowing curved lines are passive, soft & pleasant.

• Geometric lines & shapes are solid, strong and formal.

• Sharp, straight irregular lines create an active, vigorous feeling.

• A space can be made to appear larger by making trees and other features from adjoining properties appear to be part of itself.

• A wide angle lens will appear to give more depth to a photograph.

• A longer lens will "flatten" the perspective of an image, making relative distances appear closer together.