I am writing this review based on my personal experience with the photography course, ‘Digital Camera Mastery’. I was lucky enough to find this course through my university’s magazine, which is where I heard about it first. I was intrigued and thought I’d give it a go. I can honestly say it has been one of the most enjoyable and interesting courses I have taken in the past few years.
The course was divided into three sections. The first section covered topics such as composition, exposure and lighting. This was an excellent introduction to the basic elements of photography and gave the students the chance to familiarize themselves with the camera. The second section dealt with advanced concepts such as digital editing, using Photoshop to enhance photographs and shooting in RAW format. Although I found the second section the most enjoyable of the three, the third section was the most enjoyable to me. The third section was called ‘Mastery’ and focused on learning how to photograph different types of subject, such as landscapes, portraits and nature, with the ability to edit the images afterwards.
There were two sections held at the college I attended during the course. The first section had four two-hour sessions, one week apart, and the second section had five one-hour sessions, one week apart. I think this is a good approach to learning, as it allows for the learning process to progress and gives the students time to absorb the information.
To give you a little insight into the course content, the final projects in each section are as follows. In the first section, the students had to produce a portfolio containing ten photographs that met certain criteria, such as the pictures being of a particular subject (landscapes) and being of high quality. In the second section, the students had to produce a portfolio of six pictures, four of which were edited. The third section included a short assignment which was submitted to a local newspaper in order to demonstrate the student’s knowledge and understanding of photography.
One of the best aspects of the course is that the instructor, David Denny, is very passionate about the subject and he has a wealth of knowledge to share. He also has a good sense of humour which made the lessons more enjoyable. If you are thinking about enrolling in this course, I would highly recommend it. I cannot recommend this course more highly than that.