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.

The advantage of the rangefinder was its compact size over its main rival the SLR. Some also had interchangeable lenses. The biggest advantage of this camera in pre-autofocus times was the photographer could focus the lens through the viewfinder.

You could say this latest system camera; the Olympus Pen E-PM1 is related to the rangefinder design. Olympus has always strived to make their cameras as small and compact as possible, producing a range of half-frame 35mm film cameras some years ago. The Pen has most features found in a DSLR in a very small and compact camera, which allows for various accessories to be added to it.

The biggest advantage is different lenses can be acquired and attached to it. Though the 14-42mm zoom lens that comes with it really covers most eventualities. But for compactness, the lens can be taken off when stored in a small bag or even pocket. There is a range of lenses available for the Pen to make the camera even more versatile.

Anyone looking at a photo of this camera will note there is no built-in flash. However there is a flash hotshoe and a flash is bundled with the camera. The advantage of this is the flash is further from the lens resulting in a reduced chance of red eye. The disadvantage is this is one more piece of equipment to carry with the camera. But with more powerful flashes available for the camera, this increases its flexibility.

Further system accessories include a number of different viewfinders available, both electronic and optical. These are of great benefit as the view can be seen in very bright conditions (always a problem for viewscreens) also holding the camera to your eye keeps it that little bit steadier. A viewfinder is also a much more comfortable proposition for photographers who have been around for a while.

There are many other functions in this camera, most of which are found in other models of camera. Movie modes are now becoming standard, even in DSLRs and this camera is no different. Even there is an attachable microphone available to improve sound quality.

In all a lot of camera in a very neat size. Though one would wonder about having to carry around a compact camera and all the bits and pieces to go with it. On its own it is a compact, though not pocket sized with the lens attached. But with a suitable and very tidy bag, all the accessories you should need for it will fit comfortably.

There is a range of Pen cameras all with varying degrees of features, some with built-in lenses. So make sure when you are choosing, it is the right Pen that you are looking for.

Main Specifications:

Effective Pixels: 12.3 megapixels
Memory Card: SD
Image Recording: RAW (12-bit lossless compression), JPEG, RAW+JPEG, MPO (3D still)
Movie Recording: AVCHDAVI, Motion JPEG. Records in HD at various sizes.
Viewscreen Size: 3 inches. Approx. 460,000 dots
Shutter: 60 sec to 1/4000 sec
ISO: Standard 200 – 1600
Exposure modes: Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual and other scene modes

This camera will suit perfectly when taking our Creative Photography Course

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.

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

In the last few years photography has changed considerably. More users have switched to using digital cameras, and the quality of the cameras have increased. To reflect the constantly changing world of modern photography all our courses are periodically reviewed, updated and revised to provide our students with the most up to date information and learning experience possible. Our latest update is the Glamour photography course, which has been thoroughly updated with new images, text and videos and also ported to our e-learning system. This means new students can log onto all their e-learning courses from the one location using a single log on. Used by countless universities and colleges worldwide, our new e-learning platform  means that future changes will be simpler, faster and ongoing which will provide the student with both an easy to use and current photography course.

The Glamour Photography course includes 30 full lessons with over 300 images including…

* Finding and working with models,
* Finding locations,
* The creative photographic knowledge you need
* The Home and Studio lighting equipment guide
* Lighting guides with image, videos and examples
* Strobes, Flashguns, Softboxes, Umbrellas
* The Posing Guide
* Filters and Glamour Techniques
* Organising a ‘Shoot’
* Directing the model
* Model Release Forms
* Post processing the image
* Selling your Images
* Projects and feedback on your own work and more…

To enroll in our New Glamour Photography Course or find out more please visit our Glamour Photography page.

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.

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.

So far for 2010 there have been 7 images added to the student gallery. These are as follows:

Waterway by Diane Dugas, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Image submitted by Diane for the Freelance Photography Project 3.

Majestic by Maria Warnes, St Ives, Cambs, UK. Image submitted by Maria for Digital Photography Project 4.

Emotion by Diane Dugas, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Image submitted by Diane for Freelance Photography Project 3.

The Woods Today by Kira Ellender, Folkstone, Kent, UK. Image submitted by Kira for Basic Photography Project 5.

Forgotten Classic by Lindsay Anderson, NW Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Image submitted by Lindsay for Basic Photography Project 3.

Cream Bud by Kira Ellender, Folkstone, Kent, England. Image submitted by Kira for Digital Imaging Project 1.

Autumn Colors by Sebastjan Reven, Logatec, Slovenia. Image submitted by Sebastjan for Landscape Photography Project 1.

Congratulations to all.

You can see these images in our Student Gallery.

You are welcome to browse all our Student and Tutors Galleries.

If you would like to take stunning images like these, enroll in one or more of our many courses.

Our answer is usually in short; no. Adobe Photoshop is a professional program that has a wide range of uses, not just still photography. Therefore it has many features, a good proportion of which the still photographer would never use. This versatility makes the software popular but complicated and expensive.

There are a good number of digital image editing programs that are directed at the still photographer at a fraction of the cost. The difference between the results achieved from the full Photoshop program and others is usually not noticeable (depending on the particular program) in the final result of image editing.

Most features from one program to the next are similar as well. Once the user is familiar with the features within a given program, the exact same results can be achieved, possibly in just a different manner, in another program.

Just one example of an alternative to the full Photoshop software would be from Adobe themselves: Adobe Photoshop Elements.

Photoshop Elements is aimed directly at the still photographer and can even be used on a professional basis for some photographic practices. It may be deemed as a “beginners” image editing software, but this is mainly due to the beginners options that are in the program. In fact the full editing option within the program is very similar to Photoshop. The difference between this program and the full Photoshop program is a lot of options that would not be a concern to the still photographer have been removed. This makes the program more user friendly and competitively priced.

Learn how to use and get the most from your image editing program, in particular Adobe Photoshop Elements with our Digital Imaging Course.

To create this effect, follow these steps:

1 – USE A TRIPOD! Without some way of keeping the camera rigid you are going to get blur from camera shake at shutter speeds below 1/60 of a second with a standard lens. Also, either use a cable release or the self timer on your camera to trip the shutter, this eliminates camera shake when the shutter button is pressed.

2 – Carefully focus on the area in the image that you want sharp with manual focus. Remember that what will remain sharp is anything that doesn’t move.

3 – Use as slow a shutter speed as light conditions will allow. 1/2 a second or slower will give the best results. The easiest way to determine the exposure necessary is by taking a meter reading using the highest f-number on your lens (usually between f16 and f32). Always use manual exposure mode (M) for this type of work for assured results.

4 – Choose a time of day (early morning or late evening) when light levels are low in order to acheive slow shutter speeds. Use slow ISO rating of 100 or lower. For a good effect don’t use flash, this only helps to freeze movement. Having said this, sometimes using flash and slow shutter speeds creates a nice affect.

A useful aid for getting shutter speeds even slower would be a neutral density filter.

If you would like to know all there is to know about using your camera, enroll in our Basic Photography Course today!

Most auto focus cameras use the central point of the viewfinder as the point of focus. Everything else in the image is ignored. Modern advanced cameras often have multi-zone focusing. Even with these extra focusing areas, unless you change the focusing area the central area of the viewfinder would still be the default area set the cameras. Single point systems are always read from the center of the viewfinder

There are various methods to focusing depending on the type of subject being photographed. With portrait and animal photography, whether it is man or beast, the most important part of the image to capture sharply is the eyes.

If the subject’s eyes aren’t sharp, it is a serious detriment to the image. With most portrait images the viewer will be directed straight to the eyes of the subject, this is a natural occurrence. Therefore the sharper and clearer the subjects eyes, the better the impact of the image.

With single zone cameras for portrait photos you aim the center of the viewfinder at the subject’s eyes when you activate the focusing system. Usually this is performed by half depressing the shutter button. If there is a need to compose the image with the eyes in another part of the frame, the focusing can be locked by holding the shutter button in the halfway position and recomposing before fully depressing the shutter button.

For multi-zone focusing cameras you can select the focus point area nearest the area to be focused upon. For portrait photos for example, you would normally turn the camera vertically, placing the subject’s eyes about a third of the way down the frame. Select the focus zone closest to the eyes, and focus, use the focus lock described earlier then recompose and fire.

Multi-zone focusing is very useful if your subject is not dead center. Simply because you can get the composition correct first, and then select the focusing zone you require for your off-center subject without having to move the camera again.

To learn all about focusing, depth of field and every other aspect of photography, join our Basic Photography Course.