Saturday July 18th – 10.00am to 6.00pm. Only 1 place still available.
Saturday August 22nd – 10.00am to 6.00pm. Only 2 places still available.
Each of these courses is limited to a maximum of just 4 places, which cost £120.00 each.
Please contact us to request a booking form.
These practical one day courses are being held outdoors on the moors around Fox House, on the edge of Sheffield, and are accessible by public transport.
These courses require no prior knowledge of photography – so they are ideal for people who have just bought their first dedicated camera (and have only previously used a smartphone to take photos), as well as those who have only been using their camera in “auto” mode and would like to learn how to use it to its full potential. The courses are not just for owners of interchangeable-lens mirrorless or digital slrs, but are equally suitable for any type of digital stills camera provided it can be used in other than “all-auto” or “scene” modes – whether it is a compact “point and shoot” camera, travelzoom, bridge, mirrorless, or dslr.
These courses will teach you about the basic controls and settings that will help you make better and more creative photos. Our emphasis is always on teaching solid photographic techniques – techniques that are relevant not just to your current camera, but also to any others that you will own in the future.
On these beginners’ level courses, you will learn:
- what the different shooting modes on your camera are, how they work and when to use them
- how to get correct exposure in your photographs by using the right combinations of shutter speeds, lens apertures and ISO
- how to avoid blurred pictures by setting the correct shutter speed
- how to get your camera to focus exactly where you want it to
- get colours in your images the way you want them to look
- how to understand the information your camera gives you both before and after exposures, and how to use it to improve your pictures
Everyone coming on these courses will receive a printed sheet for your particular make and model of camera, telling you what your camera’s most important controls and menu items are, showing you where to find them, explaining in plain English what they do, and showing you exactly how to set them.
These courses are being held in a beautiful yet accessible area on the edge of Sheffield around Fox House/Longshaw Estate. The moors here will be looking at their best as the heather comes into bloom, turning them a beautiful purple colour. We will mainly photographing landscape and nature subjects (including waterfalls, gritstone edges, abandoned millstones and wildlife) on these courses, but the techniques you will learn are equally applicable to many other types of subjects as well.
“Chris is a patient and painstaking teacher who works hard to build up a good rapport with all his students. The class was small so people could get individual attention and I discovered a lot of things about my camera that I never even knew existed prior to the course but above all how to use them. A thoroughly worthwhile experience.” David.
You can see what some of our clients have said about our courses here. These are practical hands-on courses, and we will be outdoors for the whole day – apart from at lunchtime, when we will go to a local tearoom or pub (though you can bring a packed lunch if you prefer). There we will have a chance to review your photos from the morning on our laptop.
Some walking will obviously be required during the day, but it will be kept to a minimum and should be well within the abilities of anyone who is reasonably fit. However, we will be walking on rough moorland paths, so these courses are not suitable for people who have mobility problems. We strongly recommend walking boots and appropriate outdoor clothing for the time of year – bearing in mind the unpredictable English climate!
All you need to bring on the course is your camera, its instruction manual, any other lenses you have and enough batteries for the day. A tripod is also useful if you have one (but we can lend you one if you haven’t). Your enthusiasm and creativity are much more important than a bag full of accessories! Our aim is to help you get the most from what you already have, rather than encouraging you to go out and spend lots of money. All the advice we give is completely independent – we have no commercial ties to any manufacturers or suppliers, and all the equipment we use ourselves or loan to clients has been selected purely on its merits and actually paid for with our own hard earned cash!
We also run beginners’ and landscape photography courses in other parts of the Peak District. See here for details of all the other digital photography courses that we currently have scheduled.