Where to get photography training?

[dirtcastle]

Behind the Camera. 

+1

Just don't pay somebody to teach this stuff to you. You learn by doing and by networking from others. After awhile, you kind of find your own vision and how to translate it to pixels in a RAW file. You'll get it; just keep at it.

+1

Maybe 30 years ago it made sense to PAY to study photography. There was no internet, digital didn't exist yet, and being a professional photographer was still a decent career choice.

If you've got money to burn, then I see no reason not to take classes. But if money is an issue and you aren't expecting to make money off photography... there are TONS of free resources to learn. And the money you save will go toward the gear you need. Because, as one gets better at photography, the cost of equipment generally goes up (especially if you do studio shoots).

Having said all that... as someone who missed a few things along the way, I feel that photography SHOULD be studied diligently and thoroughly. The bottom line is that if you aren't a diligent self-learner, you will struggle to master photography, especially composition.

[TAW]

Cayenne,

I also prefer live classroom instruction and really learn a lot from the interactions with others.  However, finding the right class, at the right time for the right amount of money was really difficult.  My ultimate solution was to mix online training with classroom training – it allows me get a lot more out of the live training because I have a better base…  I suggest you consider taking a look at lynda.com - it costs about $40 a month, no subscription and every class I have taken is outstanding.  It is not a big investment to give it a try.  I just did a quick search on photography on the site and there were over 400 results – some short 30 minute classes and many 3-6 hour classes…

Good luck and happy shooting…

tom

[RustyTheGeek]

Behind the Camera. 

+1
It would be easy to brush off this comment but I tend to agree.  I learn a lot by shooting and then researching the questions I come up with based on that shooting.  I am a needs based learner.  I tackle problems and learn/evolve as a result, I don't learn stuff well 'just in case'.  I'm not discounting the value of instructor led training, that has a place but ultimately, it is YOU that will be doing the learning, the instructor can only motivate you and expose you to info, answer questions, etc.  Set limits and 'assignments' for yourself and learn to achieve results within those limits.  (Like use a 50mm prime all day, etc.)  You'll get a lot more out of a class if you prepare yourself ahead of time by shooting, practicing, studying and building a list of questions you are struggling with before the class.

You should check out Digital Photography School too.  Lots of info and projects to give you stuff to do with a purpose.  http://digital-photography-school.com/25-great-photography-tutorials-and-links-from-around-the-web

I also enjoy watching Mark Wallace on Adorama TV.  Same with Bryan Peterson.  They are good at introducing basic concepts quickly.

And I learn quite a bit from studying lots and lots of photos that others take.  I observe the framing/composition, the lighting directions, the backgrounds, etc.  Check out the Flickr stream for the whitehouse photographer, Pete Souza.  Mostly prime lenses, Canon 5D2, and you can look at all the EXIF data to see which settings, lenses, etc were used.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse  (Same goes for most of the pictures on Flickr, not just those.)

Good luck, enjoy.  I think every photographer agrees that they NEVER stop learning, this is such a rewarding and evolving activity, it always challenges us.