Photography Institute

[kiwi]

Has anyone heard of this course: www.thephotographyinstitute.co.nz

I'm interested in doing a photography course and this is the best one I've found that I could do via correspondence, however I've never heard of it before...

Any thoughts on how good it would be?!

[talan]

Hi there,

I think you should really ask yourself what you want to get out of the course. Of course everyone wants to learn but do you want a recognised qualification or you just want to know how to take photos?

I've had a quick look at this course and it just seems like an online course with email support from tutors. Are you comfortable paying the sum of money for a course where you won't get a recognised qualification? There are a lot of online courses out there and you are certainly not limited to online courses by NZ providers. Im too sure about the costs of other online courses.

That's just my thought.

[James]

I'd agree with what talan said.
+
I wouldn't want to be paying money for a online course when I don't get a recognised qualification and I could just as easy teach myself through guides online, books and practise. Just my opinion.

[kiwi]

Hmmm... all good points!

My issue is more that I need to be 'forced' to learn as I can never find the time to use my camera if I'm going to just 'teach' myself. If I've paid for a course, then I know I'll get more out of that then if I just continued playing around with my camera when I fell like it.

I'm not so worried about getting a qualification as such (I've already got my 'Bachelor of Media Arts' - majoring in design but did a few papers in photography, but that was all in the darkroom, not using an DSLR).

Might try looking for a few more courses before committing to any one of them. Feel free to suggest any if you know of some good ones!!

[Lester]

I enrolled in this course a few weeks ago, I have been using photography as an art practice on and off for a few decades, but have never had any formal tuition, completely self taught. The course is very comprehensive, good feed back from the tutor, and for once I am having to do it, rather than just read, and accept stuff, The first few assignments do force you to get to know your camera etc, If you already have a qualification in the arts then this might suit you, it is filling in the gaps for me, and I am finding it does take about a week to do each assignment.

[talan]

I enrolled in this course a few weeks ago, I have been using photography as an art practice on and off for a few decades, but have never had any formal tuition, completely self taught. The course is very comprehensive, good feed back from the tutor, and for once I am having to do it, rather than just read, and accept stuff, The first few assignments do force you to get to know your camera etc, If you already have a qualification in the arts then this might suit you, it is filling in the gaps for me, and I am finding it does take about a week to do each assignment.

That's great feedback from someone who's actually doing it. Feel free to share your work in the photo sharing section of the forums. Would love to see the output of your assignments (Y)

[BaNaNaMaN]

We are currently enroled on this course too. As above we have been self taugh with hands on tuition from other motorsport photographers yet there is more to taking pictures than making adjustments to settings, so we decided to sign up for similar reasons. Fill in the gaps from what we already know to having a comprehensive knowledge of both equipment and how to use it.

We are also currently half way thru another online correspondence course which is also starting to show us different skills and "tricks of the trade" which we have already applied.

Having a full time job, a 15 month old daughter and part time motorsport photographer doesn't leave alot of choice for me to get more out of my photos so correspondence is really the obvious choice.

Will comment later as we get thru the courses further.

[kiwi]

Wow - I'm so stocked a couple of people who are actually doing the course have replied to this!! I'd love to hear your throught as you go through the course. Are you finding that you are learning a lot?

BaNaNaMan - What is the other correspondence course you are doing?

I'd love to see some of the results from your assignments!

[availablelight]

if you want an online course i'd recommend you browse the short courses on offer at www.betterphoto.com

they are not local or nzqa courses but you get one-on-one tutor support and you can specialise in the areas you want to work on - and theyre a lot cheaper too

[BaNaNaMaN]

NZIBS is the other one we are doing. (New Zealand Institute of Business Studies)
It is an incredibly in depth course but looks to be a very good way to learn.

The photography institute has alot of random photos for the first few courses, all in an effort to teach things like depth of feild and the grey scale.
Loving it so far.

[availablelight]

actually... no. the NZIBS course barely scrapes the surface and is completely useless to anyone with a moderate grasp of the basics. (yes, i do know this for a fact).

they also offer a course relating to running a commercial photography business... but it is only open to graduates of the first course, so there's the catch.

[mike.child]

A friend of mine did both the NZIBS beginners and advanced course, and I believe he found them to be valuable. I borrowed his course folders and while there is some good information in them, I wouldn't have wanted to have paid that kind of money for what you get.
If you just want something to encourage you to get out and take photos regularly, maybe consider joining a camera club. Have a look at the Photographic Society of New Zealand's website (www.photography.org.nz) for a list of local clubs. They usually have monthly competitions that you can enter and get good feedback on your photography to help you improve.

[Feisty]

That's great feedback from someone who's actually doing it. Feel free to share your work in the photo sharing section of the forums. Would love to see the output of your assignments (Y)

Is this an nzqa course?
I've been looking at it myself and couldnt find the answer

---------- Post added at 12:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:32 AM ----------

I enrolled in this course a few weeks ago, I have been using photography as an art practice on and off for a few decades, but have never had any formal tuition, completely self taught. The course is very comprehensive, good feed back from the tutor, and for once I am having to do it, rather than just read, and accept stuff, The first few assignments do force you to get to know your camera etc, If you already have a qualification in the arts then this might suit you, it is filling in the gaps for me, and I am finding it does take about a week to do each assignment.

Is this an nzqa course?
I've been looking at it myself and couldnt find the answer

[talan]

Is this an nzqa course?
I've been looking at it myself and couldnt find the answer
Im pretty sure it isn't...

[tainted creative]

I too have looked into this course, I'm not entirely convinced even after them sending me one of the Modules to look at.

At the moment they have $200 off the fees but I still can't see how the cost is justifiable other than the tutor contact factor it's just a bunch of pdfs. I did like how it was structured though so maybe one day...

[Rick0r]

Me and my partner are both doing the course. We signed up a good while ago and paid in full, but then had a wedding to plan (our own), so now that the wedding is all done and dusted, we can finally get back to concentrating on getting the assignments out of the way.

I'm not really looking to get a piece of paper saying i've done it, I just want to solidify what I know already (ie confirm that what I know is right) and hopefully learn a few tips.

[Rick0r]

An example from Module 2 (of 12)


Tripod mount your camera with a normal lens mounted and take a photo of a person from the waist up, or an object of similar size about two meters distant with something other than just sky or featureless wall in the background. Set the lens to its widest aperture and select a shutter speed to give the correct exposure or put the camera into AV mode and start with the lens at the widest aperture. Close (stop down) the lens in one stop increments while simultaneously decreasing the shutter speeds in one stop increments if in manual mode. If you have elected AV mode the shutter speeds will take care of themselves. Do this until f/16 or your smallest aperture is reached. Submit a description of the changes that take place in the image as you proceed

That kind of thing.

It's very much a comprehension test. You read a module that is focused around an aspect of photography, then answer questions on it.

[shutterbug]

I am looking into the nzibs course and wondered whether to do the travel writer/photography course in that writing articles may be another avenue for income. Photography my preference though and getting into the market difficult and the thought is the market flooded......hence the idea of doing the course to sharpen my skills and maybe get some contacts. Had a shot at rally NZ and what a bnast but what to do with the photos? I just gave some to our local guy on a disc. www.jennifer-m-pics.ifp3.com (http://www.jennifer-m-pics.ifp3.com). ifp3 the host domain and a cheaper way of displaying your pics than getting your own website unless you go professional.
Have been flat out using my camera over the last couple of years and feel its time to step back and upskill.