Photo 101 - Online Photo Class

[Nicole's work has the vibe of Kate Spade ads sometimes]

I signed up for the Photography 101 class at Nicole's Classes for the month of January. After seeing some positive review on blogs, I saw this post by Nicole herself and decided to take the class back in November.

I have a Micro 4:3 camera - the Olympus EPL2, and I had been using the auto function since I received it in June. I was growing increasingly frustrated with the orange-tone of my photos and the unimpressive photos I was taking. Before taking the class, I actually purchased the book during a sale. Still, BDF convinced me to shell out $125 and just take the class.

[Pic from the website where you can kind of see the application]

What I really like about the class is that it's online and you can take it at your own pace. You can definitely find time once a week for an hour or less. They send you a link to download this Adobe application - I've never seen anything like it! There are videos to explain each portion of the lesson as well as a quiz and "homework." (Optional!) Having a video is helpful bc you can just rewind to rewatch something you don't understand. January was a particularly busy month for me, so unfortunately I didn't have a chance to submit homework for feedback or join in on the chats. I really appreciate the flexibility of an online course - they even give you an extra week to catch up on any lessons you didn't have a chance to do.

The class was not too difficult to understand, especially since I have a film SLR and I understand the basics of manual photography. But, the class showed me that there's so much more I didn't know. Although it's not difficult, I think it takes practice, so I'm going to diligently practice what I learned in February. I plan to go over all the homework assignments in February and practice one per week so I can really try to master what I learned.

I feel pretty encouraged though, and I already feel much more in command of my camera. I've been using the Manual setting, and I think my photos are getting better. You can see samples of the photos I took for various homework assignments (that I never submitted) in the post about San Juan Capistrano.

There are other classes, and I'd definitely check it out if you're frustrated and figuring it out yourself is not working.