Digital Photography 101: The Basics and Beyond!

General Course Information:

This is an 8 week long photography course consisting of 2 hour long classes with one class each week. Our instructors use a combination of lectures and "hands on" photography practice, while teaching each subject from the basics to an intermediate level. We will show you and explain the camera controls related to each topic as we teach you how to create better photos. We have been teaching photography for over 20 years and working with thousands of students we have found those with experience benefit greatly from the review of the basics as they advance their photographic skills to the next level. The beginners not only receive the basics of digital photography, they are exposed to a more advanced level allowing students to achieve the photographic skill level that best fits them. Students completing this course routinely tell us the that teaching the basics combined intermediate level skills works extremely well. This course includes homework assignments, lectures and "hands on practice". Students will also receive a course study guide make a great "photography cheat sheet" (actually it is more of a small book than cheat sheet) for future reference and it is included in the price of the course!

Course Topics Include:

Section A:
Photographic composition, Critiquing photos, Camera file types - including the benefits and drawbacks of each and which one(s) is best for your photography.

Section B:
Exposure Including ISO, Shutter Speed, Aperture (f-Stop), Exposure Compensation, Exposure Modes (Program, Aperture Priority / Aperture Value, Shutter Priority / Time Value, Manual), avoiding blurry photos due to camera shake, using a gray card, and more.

Section C:
How to tell if you have the correct exposure using Histogram, Highlights display mode and other tricks of the trade.

Section D: 
Auto and Manual Focus including different auto focus modes and how to make the camera focus on your subject - Did you know virtually all modern cameras come out of the box setup to automatically select what to focus on and it is usually the closest object or the closet person? Is your camera focusing on what you want or what it wants? Have you taken photographs with fuzzy or out of focus subjects because the camera did not know what you wanted it to focus on? It happens but we can show you how to make your camera focus where you want. Pre-focusing for moving subjects and focus lock including demonstrations and practicing both.

Section E:
Lenses including depth of field, what lens terminology means, what to look for when purchasing your lenses, teleconverters, how lenses affect your photos - ever have a tree branch look like it is growing out of your model's head even though the tree was 5 feet behind your subject? If so your choice of lens focal length may have been the culprit. We will also discuss using UV (ultraviolet) filters. Time permitting our instructor will give you an introduction to using ND (neutral density) and CP (circular polarizing filters) as well.

Section F:  
Flash photography, flash exposure and how to tell if it is correct, flash exposure compensation, flash techniques including bounce flash, how to purchase the right flash for your needs and budget, flash accessories to improve your photos and more.

Section G:
Review, fitting the pieces together. Equipment questions and answers. Personalized equipment recommendations. In the 8 week version of this course, this section is often held "on location" at a park, the riverfront, or other location in the greater Cincinnati area weather permitting.

Course Requirements:

A dSLR (digital SLR) camera or mirror-less interchangeable lens camera and 1 or more lenses. No point & shoot cameras or cell phones are permitted. If you are uncertain if your camera is correct for our Digital Photography 101: The Basics and Beyond! course please contact us with the brand and model of your camera.

Approximately 30 - 60 minutes per week for practice and homework assignments (most homework is optional but it is helpful to students). One or more memory cards for your camera.

Desire to learn.

The following items are NOT required but can be helpful:

A printed manual for your camera - if you have one please bring it.
Pen & paper to take notes.
A sense of humor makes the classes more fun.

Upcoming Schedule and Location:

Location

ProCam
1014 Ohio Pike Cincinnati,
OH 45245
(513) 943-9000
Map and Directions

Date: To Be Determined

This course is also available in 2 and 3 week versions for both private individuals and small groups, see below for more information.

Cost: $150

Registration:

To register for the Digital Photography 101: The Basics and Beyond! course beginning on September 25th 2021, please use ProCam Events web-page by clicking here.
If you experience difficulties with the event registration please contact ProCam Cincinnati:

Additional Scheduling Options and Information.

This course is also available as a private lesson contact us for details.

If you have questions about this course call us or email our education department at education@studio63.org. Email usually works best for course and workshop questions! Please allow a few days for us to reply as only our instructors return emails and calls regarding courses and workshops and they are also our busiest photographers.