Practical Photography (I & II Package)

8 sessions, 2 hours each, S$360 (see further discounts and promotion)

Minimal classroom time, maximum shooting time. Our Practical Photography workshop epitomises our approach to teaching photography.

Instead of defining scary terms like aperture, shutter speed, depth of field, we bring you out to the field and show them what they really mean, and what you can do with them.

No scary definitions and formulae, promise!

In Practical Photography, you spend a total of 10 out of 16 hours of your course taking photographs rather than sitting in the classroom. By the end of the first four lessons, you would:

be comfortable with handling your camera,
know how each shooting mode works, and which one suits your shooting style better,
have a strong concept of how aperture and shutter speed works by seeing its effects for yourself on your photos during our guided field trips,
know what makes a good photo–and how to improve a bad photo,
tackle low-light photography,
understand and be able apply of basic composition techniques,
and most importantly, have lots of fun!

Get on the spot advice in our practical outings on how to improve your composition

In the second part of the workshop, in addition to the focus on practical and hands-on guided field trips, 2 hours would be spent working on your digital photographs in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, applying basic adjustments and correction, and finally outputting selected photographs for print at our partner minilab, Triple D.

By the end of it, you would:

thoroughly master the concepts of aperture and shutter speed,
control aperture and shutter speed to achieve your creative ideas,
exploit different kinds of lighting situations for best effects,
learn how to approach people on the streets for portraits,
find the most effective backgrounds for your subjects,
tackle low-light and flash photography,
use artificial flash light to overcome tricky lighting situations,
understand and apply more advanced composition techniques,
manage your digital library of images with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom,
correct problems in your images using Lightroom,
make creative adjustments to your images using Lightroom,
follow a good digital workflow to ensure that your prints turn out the way you want them to be,
and most importantly, have lots of fun!

Master shutter speed, improve photos using flash in bright day light, never take another ugly flash photo, learn a good digital workflow, and more in Practical Photography II!

We keep our class small (6−8 persons max) so you can be sure you’ll get individual attention from our instructors.

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Course Outline

Lesson details	Topics covered and learning objectives
Lesson 1 Introduction Location: Studio 2.00–4.00pm	Technical Camera Handling and Operation Focus and Depth of Field Exposure: aperture, shutter speed, ISO Exposure Modes Zero-ing the Camera Composition Subject/Content Framing Backgrounds
Lesson 2 Guided Field Trip I Location: Boat Quay 4.30–6.30pm	Photo Shoot Subject and their Backgrounds: Urban Landscapes Review and critique Learning Objectives Putting technical and compositional concepts from Lesson 1 into action Choosing backgrounds and viewpoints Understanding effect of focal length
Lesson 3 Guided Field Trip II Location: Singapore Botanical Gardens 4.30–6.30pm	Photo Shoot Flora and Portraits Review and critique Learning Objectives Aperture control for contrast Mastering depth of field Choosing backgrounds and viewpoints Learning to recognise and exploit good light Thought process for good portraits Shutter speed control for creative effects
Lesson 4 Guided Field Trip III Location: City Hall 6.00–8.00pm	Photo Shoot Street Photography: Candid Portraits Low-light photography: Night Landscapes Review and critique Conclusion Learning Objectives Aperture control Exploiting good light Working with low-light Approaching subjects Using tripods
Lesson 5 Introduction Location: Studio 2.00–4.00pm	Technical Exposure revisited Measuring light: Metering Histograms Shutter speed and motion Lenses: focal lengths, strengths, quirks Composition Spots & Lines Shape Pattern Emphasis Balance Viewpoints and perspectives
Lesson 6 Guided Field Trip IV Location: Little India 4.30–6.30pm	Photo Shoot Architecture and the Stranger Portraits Review and critique Learning Objectives Viewpoints, perspective and architecture Understanding characteristics of lenses Approaching strangers for environmental portraits
Lesson 7 Guided Field Trip V Location: City Hall 6.00–8.00pm	Photo Shoot Portraits Low-light Photography: Flash and Ambient Light Review and critique Learning Objectives Exploiting good light Working with bad light Choosing effective backgrounds Using fill flash Combining flash and ambient light
Lesson 8 Digital Workflow and Imaging Location: Studio 2.00–4.00pm	The Digital Workflow Introduction to Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Managing your photos Applying corrections to problematic photographs Making creative adjustments Preparing and sending photographs for print at our partner lab Learning Objectives Manage your photo library Correcting problems in post-production Enhancing photographs in post-production Ensuring your photos turn out the way you want them to

Course Requirements

Participants must bring their own camera (DSLR or compact with manual exposure modes). A tripod, while not necessary, will expand your creative options and ensure the best quality images in some of our guided field trips where a tripod is recommended.

Tripod recommended for lesson 4 and 6. Tripods of varying built quality are available for rent from our partner Camera Rental from $5–15 a day. Students enjoy a discount on equipment rental.
Laptop with Lightroom 2 installed recommended for lesson 8

Course Schedule

Saturday Class (Starting March 13, 2010)

March 13, 2010, 4.30–6.30pm
March 20, 2010, 4.30–6.30pm
March 27, 2010, 4.30–6.30pm
April 3, 2010, 6.00–8.00pm
April 10, 2010, 4.30–6.30pm
April 17, 2010, 4.30–6.30pm
April 24, 2010, 6.00–8.00pm
May 1, 2010, 4.30–6.30pm

Sunday Class (Starting April 18, 2010)

April 18, 2010, 2.00–4.00pm
April 25, 2010, 4.30–6.30pm
May 2, 2010, 4.30–6.30pm
May 9, 2010, 6.00–8.00pm
May 16, 2010, 2.00–4.00pm
May 23, 2010, 4.30–6.30pm
May 30, 2010, 6.00–8.00pm
June 6, 2010, 2.00–4.00pm

Wet Weather Postponement

In the event of wet weather conditions, the instructor may give an one hour prior notice to postpone the guided field trip. For Saturday classes, the field trip will be postponed to the next day on Sunday at the same timing; for Sunday classes, the field trip will be postponed to the next Saturday at the same timing. However, special wet weather arrangement may apply if it is listed under Course Schedule.

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Promotions & Discounts

This Practical Photography package is $40 off its usual price at $360 instead of $400. Additional discount and promotions available below.

Early Bird Promotion — $10 off

Sign up and make payment by February 20, 2010 (for Saturday class) or April 1, 2010 (for Sunday class) to enjoy $10 off your course fee.

Bring-a-friend Promotion — $10 off

Bring a friend along and enjoy $10 off your course fee; bring two and enjoy $20 off!

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By clicking on the ‘Register’ button below, you agree to the following terms and conditions:

Fees must be paid in full—by bank transfer, credit card or cheque—before the start of the workshop to ensure your enrollment.
In the unlikely event that the workshop is cancelled due to insufficient participants, you can choose to either receive full refund of the workshop fees or to join the next running workshop.
Workshop fees cannot be refunded for any other reasons once paid.
You are able to attend the classes of your chosen session, as well as any special wet weather arrangement, as listed under Course Schedule
Make up lessons for missed lessons can be arranged by joining the next running workshop subject to class vacancies. However, to be fair to all our students, we limit the maximum number of students per class and priority will be given to students who have signed up for their given session. Thus we cannot guarantee that there will be vacancies for make up and you’re strongly encouraged to attend the sessions that you have signed up for.
In the event of wet weather conditions, the instructor may give an one hour prior notice to postpone the guided field trip. The dates for postpone field trips are listed under Course Schedule.
If you’re unable to make it for the postpone field trip, you may attend the equivalent field trip on the next running workshop subject to class vacancies.
You are responsible for the safety of yourself and your equipment during the workshop, and will not hold Phocus LLP liable for any injuries or damages incurred during the course of the workshop.