Becoming a Pro
In November last year I finally took the plunge and went on a 9 week course with the Cape Town School of Photography. I took the Digital Photography SLR 1 course where they teach you the basics regarding your camera and different techniques. As mentioned before, Imar and I own a Canon 500D. Stuff I learned includes: camera anatomy, resolution, ISO, exposure, visual effects of the aperture and shutter speed, working with natural and artificial light, colour temperature, white balance, lenses, flash photography, composition, visual literacy, advantages of shooting RAW versus jpeg, basics of retouching digital photographs using open source software and preparing images for web or print!
During the course we had weekly practical assignments where we focused on composing with colour, line, shape, form, texture and low light. We also got to experiment with exposure, shutter speed, flash and independent flash techniques.
Below is a selection of my images from our practical assignments. At the end of the course we held a group exhibition where each of us displayed two of our best photos as well as 10 images forming a “story” on a digital display. I’m looking forward to doing the next course in the near future.
