Introductory courses for beginners (4 workshops)

Course No 1: Camera settings (Beginner level)

Learning to use the manual mode of your reflex or bridge camera is an important step towards taking better pictures. Operating manuals provided with the camera are monotonous and do not really show all there is to know about the many buttons and parameters available.

Understanding the parameters of the camera and knowing digital photography vocabulary is the first key step. White balance, sensor sensitivity (ISO), RAW format and exposure correction are only examples of terms that will be presented in a clear and concise way during the course.

This workshop will teach you how to:

• Use the right image format between JPEG and RAW
• Adjust the white balance
• Correct the exposure
• Set the ISO on the camera
• Read a histogram
• Use the “P” shooting mode

At the end of the workshop, we will off a complete debriefing so you can share your images from the session. This collective review by the photography teacher will ensure that everyone has a good understanding of the workshop, as well as the chance to be inspired by other students' work.

Course No 2: Aperture and Depth of field (Beginner level)

Generally speaking, the camera lens, and the notions and adjustments that result from it, will be at the heart of this workshop:

• The notion of focal length, i.e. the angle of vision covered by a lens, will be discussed and applied during the practical phase of the workshop. You will learn the advantages and disadvantages of each category of focal length.
• You will learn how to easily manage the exposure of an image by adjusting the aperture. You will learn how to use the A/Av shooting mode.
• You will be able to manage your depth of field, i.e. the area of sharpness that extends in front of and behind the subject in focus (and therefore also the blurred area).

At the end of this workshop, you will be able to take portraits and landscape photos without distortion (linked to the choice of focal length), to put an artistic blur in your image, and to choose the sharpness area (linked to the choice of aperture).

Course No 3: Shutter speed and movement (Beginner level)

How can movement be captured in photography? Or, on the other hand, how can you freeze the action of a scene?

Managing the exposure time – or the shutter speed – of the camera is the answer to these two questions and is, just like the depth of field, a key parameter in photography. This parameter allows the light to hit the digital sensor for a defined amount of time, which will freeze or blur a movement.

In this case, you will have once again a wide array of creative possibilities: blur or freeze the action, get a panning (a moving subject is frozen in a blurry surrounding).

This workshop will teach you how to:

• Use the “S” and “Tv” shooting modes
• Make pannings of moving subjects
• Freeze the movement of a subject
• Use blur to suggest movement and bring dynamism to your pictures

Course No 4: Light and focus (Beginner level)

During this fourth and final workshop on camera technology, light management, focus, and the use of manual mode will be on the program!

Initially, the management and measurement of light will be discussed; you will learn how to use the different modes and settings to interpret and shape the light in an image.

Focus management will also be discussed. To achieve precise focus on a moving subject, or on an off-centre element, mastering the different autofocus modes and the selection of collimators are fundamental.

Finally, the manual shooting mode will be at the heart of the practical phase; the aim will be to familiarise you with this non-automated mode, to make its use more obvious. Of course, the exercises proposed by your teacher will also focus on light measurement and the use of autofocus.

This course will teach you to:

• Measure light using the different modes (spot, matrix, centre-weighted)
• Take pictures with backlighting
• Focus using the different modes and choosing the right collimators
• Use the manual shooting mode without difficulty