Naturally these images are outstanding because they are selected from hundreds of project submissions. In fact only a handful of images are selected through the course of a year.

Here are the first two images chosen for our Student Gallery.

The Lake – Rubina Danji, Markham, Ontario, Canada. Image submitted for a project in our Digital Imaging Course.

Glass and Grapes – Sumayyah Balamesh, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Image submitted for a project in our Creative Photography Course.

The images can be viewed in our Student Gallery.

More images will be added to this Thread through the course of the year so watch this space!

It is at this time of year when the snow is on the ground and skies are dark and grey that we dream of better weather as the year matures. During the months from January to March a good percentage of travel plans are booked. This gives people something to plan and look forward to but more importantly, the earlier in the year you book, the better chance of getting the flights/destination/accomodation of your choosing.

So you may have booked your trip and you are just now impatiently awaiting for the time to come. True you probably still need to arrange many things and possibly purchase a few supplies for your journey such as clothing, etc. but there is plenty of time. This time allows for even more preparation for your trip.

One aspect of travelling we think of is taking photos. They may be just quick snaps to show where you have been, who you were with or who you have met. Or maybe you are hoping to capture some real top quality images, possibly to show publicly? Getting these photos may even be the reason for taking this trip. Whatever the reason, a bit more thought and preparation will yield much better images for you to show whether it is to friends and family or even for publication purposes, and will look even better in years to come.

Our Travel Photography Course is the ideal way to prepare for your trip. Not just in strict photographic terms but will also give you an insight in planning a trip, particularly for those who are not very experienced in planning a trip. In fact even before you book anything, this course will give insight into the best ways of going about it.

For those who are just interested in taking quick snaps, this course will be of benefit. Most of us now display are photos publicly on the Internet in social networking websites such as Facebook. We all know how poor some of the images we come across can be. With a bit of knowledge and training your photos will stand out on these websites. Simple things like understanding the lighting conditions can improve your photography immensely.

For the enthusiast photographer who wants to improve their skills, this course is ideal. It will take the quality of your work to the next level. This isn’t just about technical issues such as exposure, it is also about understanding the lighting, weather and getting to know the people and locality you are in. The course shows how best to immerse yourself into the surroundings of your destination.

So if you’re planning or have already booked that trip, whether it is an hour away or 24 hours away, give yourself that extra knowledge and preparation to not only improve your photography but to make that trip a much better experience.

Join our Travel Photography Course today – Enroll!

One of our courses could be the perfect gift.
See details of our full range of courses on our website.  

Gift Certificates are now available for all of our courses. Enroll your gift recipient and you will receive a certificate by email which you can print out yourself. No worry about postal delays and getting it on time for Christmas. You can then present the gift personally.

Christmas Gift Certificates can be ordered up to 12 noon 24th December 2011.

So don’t delay, enroll your loved one today!

See enrolment details on our Fees Page.

Nikon D5100

The camera is smaller and neater then the D5000 but this doesn’t mean it has taken anything away. In fact some features have naturally been added and improved. One feature is the 1080p HD video and another is the 921k dot LCD screen, which can be used as a viewfinder for both stills and video. The screen is also hinged so it can be positioned in all sorts of different angles, enabling viewing from most positions.

The D5100 has a 16.2mp Nikon DX CMOS sensor, very similar to what is in the D7000, which is the next step up in Nikons range. Understandably the D5100 wouldn’t have other features the D7000 has but the final image quality would be very similar.

The D5100 has all you would expect from a DSLR. The standard exposure modes including Manual plus the usual scene modes. A maximum shutter speed of 1/4000 sec is adequate for practically all situations and an ISO range of 100 to 6400 will also suffice. However the ISO can be extended up to 25600 ISO.

A new set of features included with the D5100 is the Effects modes. On the exposure setting dial is “Effects” and these are a set of preset effects that can be added to an image when shooting it. One such effect is selective color where a color is keyed in and preserved in the image while all other colors are converted to black & white. Some may see this as an added gimmick but as this particular effect is commonly used in photography, it may be a nice attraction for some.

In the School of Photography we would recommend this camera as perfect for use in our courses.

This level 2 specialist course has 34 lessons in 3 modules for rapid progress and easy understanding.

Module 1 teaches you about the subject, and basic equipment needs, new techniques using what you probably already have to improve your portraits, composition and more.

Module 2 then moves onto lighting, and  portrait studio equipment you can also use at home, how to set up various lighting combinations to give you a variety of portrait styles.

Module 3 takes you into the realms of portrait styles and post processing your images for maximum quality and effect.

Just like all of our courses, this Tutor assisted course encourages you to do several graded practical projects and online quizzes giving feedback on your own work. If you get stuck or don’t understand something, and would like additional information on the lesson’s content, just ask!  Your personal tutor is ready to hear from you.

Start learning Portrait photography at home or the office in your own time today.

Portrait Photography Course

Our new course has everything you may have already experienced from the School of Photography:
- Comprehensive instruction -
- Hundreds of example images -
- A fully documented Travel shoot -
- The ins and outs of travel photography as a business -
- Projects -
- Tutor Feedback -
- A Graded Certificate for Framing -

In short everything you need to know to improve your own travel photography images.

The course is in 3 modules, the first module will show you what equipment you really need and how to put your own personal travel kit together. Learn what goes into planning a travel photography shoot. Module 2 will take you further by showing you how to cope with the various terrains and climates you may experience no matter where you are going. Module 3 introduces how to process all those images you capture and weed out only the best. We show you how to digitally enhance your images using RAW files. If you are interested in running your own travel photography business, we show you how to get started and where to sell your images. Finally, we show you a day by day account of a travel shoot to Rome, documented from preparation to the finished images!

You CAN learn how to capture stunning images on your travels. Each lesson is designed to improve your photography techniques so you can get more creative and don’t miss out on an important shot just because you don’t know how to capture it.

Just like all of our courses, this Tutor assisted course encourages you to do practical projects and gives feedback on your own work. If, after reading each Travel Photography Course lesson, you would like additional information on the lesson’s content, just ask!. Your personal tutor is ready to hear from you.

Start learning Travel photography at home or the office in your own time today.

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Course Fees

We are pleased to announce our newly updated Freelance Photography Course for 2011. Freelance photography has moved on quite a lot since the previous update  and these changes are all covered in the new online course. The course has also been added to our e-learning environment for easier contact with your personal tutor and uploading and marking of projects.

If you are considering taking your photography to the next level and make money on a part time or full time basis, the Freelance Photography course 2011 is for YOU!

For full details see our Freelance Photography Tour Page.

Enroll today by going to our Fees Page.

As part of the Environmental Photographer of the Year, the Young Environmental Photographer of the Year categories promote the talents of anyone under the age of 21, whilst the remaining categories are open to photographers of all ages.

The Young Environmental Photographer of the Year is divided into two groups, one open to anyone under the age of 16 and the other open to those aged between 16 and 21. Photographers are encouraged to highlight issues important to their generation, explore their place in society or celebrate people, places and animals that they value. This competition actively encourages entries from beginners, as well as photography students.

The competition is completely free to enter and encourages entries that are contemporary, creative, resonant, original and beautiful. The winning photographs come together to form the most outstanding collection of environmental, social and natural photographs in the world. Individual pieces are judged on impact, creativity, composition, originality and technical abilities. Winners receive cash prizes and all winning entries are displayed in the Environmental Photographer of the Year exhibition, launched in London. Copyright is retained by the photographer.

See past winning entries, competition details and news coverage from 2010 at www.epoty.org. You can also watch a brief video of the 2010 Awards Ceremony. You can also keep up to date with any new developments by joining our Facebook group.

The competition will run until 31^st July 2011, with judging taking place throughout August and September.

Please Note: School of Photography.com is not responsible for the content of this post. For any further information or to contact epoty regarding this matter, please go to their website www.epoty.org.

iPhone See-View 3D

Today there are many ways of displaying photos outside of a computer or in print. Mobile or cell phones have now become a common way to show and share images. The iPhone is probably the most popular type of phone to do this.

In order to display images on these phones certain Apps are needed. Like computer programs there are many different types of Apps for different purposes. The See-View 3D Image Browser is one of them.

See-View is the revolutionary 3D image browser which makes viewing photos on your iPhone fun.

Groundbreaking technology specially adapted for the iPhone platform provides an intuitive experience by allowing you to glide through our 3D world. Rotate, zoom, spin and select as you put new life into a photo collection.The browser can also sort by colour, shape and content.

View up to 500 images, automatically clustered into groups of 30 for use on the iPhone. The photos are grouped by similarity using our mapping technology, making it easier to find what you want to see.

See an overview of the collection displayed on the face of each box and then dip into the box of your choice to see more of the same. Once inside the 3D space, move from box to box to view the entire collection.

This App is currently being developed for iPad.

This camera is one worth noting whether it ever becomes a success or not. For one it is a Leica, probably one of the most highly rated camera and optical manufacturers in the world. But this is their first step into the medium format world.

For those who do not know what is meant by “medium format”: The term goes back to film size. Medium format was a term used for 120 and 220mm film. A film size over double the size of 35mm, which was the standard for SLR cameras.

Medium format film cameras were much larger then SLRs due to this much larger film size. Traditionally medium format cameras lacked the bells and whistles of SLR cameras. Most of these cameras only had manual exposure and focusing, most didn’t even have a built-in light meter.

At first glance the Leica S2 looks like a slightly larger then average DSLR, though about the same size, if not smaller then professional DSLRs such as the Nikon D3 or Canon EOS1. Unlike other medium format digital cameras, it looks more like a DSLR. But the comparison stops there.

In medium format tradition, the body of the camera looks clean and clutter free. It lacks much of the knobs, buttons and lights that can be found on even the most basic entry level DSLR. Even when getting into the menus and settings, there is no sign of idiot modes such as subject programs. The one dial is on the top plate and it is a simple shutter speed dial. The other main button is the thumb wheel on the back of the camera. This controls and selects most of the menu functions.

Exposure functions include Manual, Aperture Priority, Shuter Priority and Program. ISO goes from 160 to 1250 but only in full stops. Metering options are Multi-point, Centre Weighted and Spot. Flash options include 1st and 2nd curtain sync.However flash sync is a sluggish 1/125 sec. A faster shutter speed can be obtained using lenses with a leaf shutter. Unlike all other DSLR cameras, there is only one focusing point for the autofocusing system.

This camera isn’t about automated marvels, it is a photographers camera that oozes build quality and delivers amazing quality images through the highest quality lenses money can buy and a 37.5 megapixel sensor. Yes that’s right…37.5 megapixels. That means images of 4992 x 7512 pixels delivering a 73 mb RAW file. There is no denying image sharpness is impeccable, even up to A1 size prints. The secret to these superb images is also in the lens quality. However the range of lenses at the moment for this camera are limited to just three; 38mm, 70mm, 180mm. The 70mm is the standard lens. However more lenses are on the way, one rumoured to be a zoom lens.

Images are taken in RAW format but there is an option to shoot in jpeg, for use as proofs. RAw images are saved to a Compact Flash card while the jpegs are sent to an SD card. Of course another option of saving images, which would be commonly used by photographers who would use this camera, straight to a computer.

It seems there is a downside to every camera. Some of the features could have been improved without any real sacrifice. However one important flaw is the way images are transfered off the camera. The industry standard is Firewire but Leica have chosen USB, which is about 20% slower. This can be a strain during a professional shoot, slowing down the shoot.

There is no doubt this is a professional camera. The features are aimed specifically at the professional ignoring the budding amateur and so is the pricetag. At a price of $23,000 body only, it is quite a bit more expensive then rival digital medium format cameras, not to mention many cars! But this is the price for sheer quality.

Want to learn how to use this camera, take a School of Photography.com course.