SLR course for beginners?
 

Hi all,

So my lovely bf bought me a Canon Rebel XS last Christmas and I've been ecstatically using it since then, but still haven't really gotten the hang of it. The last time I took a photography course was a lifetime ago in high school so I need to relearn everything to do with ISO, aperture, etc. Yes, I know I could just buy a book or read online, but I'll learn much faster and be more dedicated to learning if I had a hands on instructor.

A friend recommended the VSB courses especially since they incorporate lectures/demos and field trips. Do any of you have experience with them?

Any other recommendations for good beginners courses? Evening/weekend classes would be ideal, preferably over the span of a few weeks, not one long session. Note that I'm pursuing this as a hobby only, so I'm not looking to spend a fortune on classes either.

Thanks in advance!!

Michelle

Don't mean to jack your thread there, but I think some of the guys on here could put a class together like Salar and Dennis did a long time ago!

There is a thread on this somewhere in this forum that has good info in it.

- Focal Point (www.focalpoint.bc.ca) & Langara have night courses that IMHO would be better than the VSB ones. They're generally 3 hours a day, one day a week for 10 weeks. I'm not sure about the Langara courses, but the Focal Point courses incorporate field trips.

- There is this little school on the North Shore: http://www.adtschool.com/courses.htm

- You may also want to wait to see if Whitebox Studios goes ahead with their beginners courses. http://www.revscene.net/forums/white...p-t586800.html

I went to that class. It was pretty good actually. Only thing tho is you don't really get assignments so you don't get to practice what you learned and get graded on it.

The VSB course is ok. I took it with my earlier this year. Our teacher was Glenn Bennett. He is an older fellow and he is not bad. We covered all the basics from auto mode to manual controls. What the settings on the camera are when to use them. Also what is some of the accessories that you should have, external flash, extra batteries, tripod and so on. The problem I had with the class was we had a bunch of noobs in there that had no idea what a camera was. I mean we had students who didn't know the battery needed to be charged or that you needed a memory card. Others bought a camera 3 weeks into the course and so on. So it was more irritating than it was helpful for me personally. I am thinking of going to Focal just because they look to be more professional and they are a bit cheaper then Van Arts. Maybe I was unlucky with my classmates through VSB but man that was brutal.

Thanks everyone for the very helpful replies! Sounds like there's a few great courses out there. I think the only reason I'm leaning towards the VSB class is cause I've recently graduated from being a starving student to a starving ad intern, lol. Not sure if I want to invest $400 in courses right now! I'd have to think about it.

darkness, maybe I'll avoid Bennett's class.. this one here sounds the most advanced of the beginners courses. Did you eventually learn these things in your course too?

PHOTOGRAPHY 1: BEGINNERS
Course ID: KT14505 Cost: $189.00 View courses in your shopping cart
A longer course for beginners to master the basics. Learn to operate a 35mm SLR camera through 6 lectures/demonstrations. Develop a good foundation in basic photographic concepts: camera handling, use of lenses, film & exposure controls, depth of field, composition & various types of applications such as motion & night photography. Instructor has won numerous awards in international competitions. 3 weekend fieldtrips: Oct. 4, 17 & 25 and 1 evening fieldtrip: Oct 18.

Special Registration Instructions:
3 WEEKEND & 1 EVENING FIELDTRIP
Number of Sessions: 10
Start Date:23 September 2009
Time: 7:00 PM-9:30 PM
Days: WED
Site: KITSILANO SECONDARY SCHOOL
Instructor: Chu

Any other ideas would be appreciated! :)

Yeah I did learn most of the stuff through a lot of practice and asking others. I am more of a hands on person so the more I get to practice what I learn the faster I pick it up. Just ask lots of questions. I am looking at doing an intermediate course next just haven't figured out where.

There is this school too.

http://www.vancouverphotoworkshops.com/

^
$350 for 5days seems kinda pricey imo =P..

Langara is pretty good. About $450 for 12 classes, 3 hours each class.

Not sure if its too late to mention this but some of the rec centers offer photography courses too, through photographers, and is usually under $200 for a bunch of classes.

Out here its $179 for 10 and was around 3hrs in the evenings (I think thats all right? ahh)

I haven't been able to take it yet, as last year I worked way too much and this year its on just after I have a big surgery :( So I can't comment on it but thought I'd mention it as an option to look into at your local recreation center/community center :)

Lens and Shutter (in Kerrisdale) offers photography seminars. They have one called DSLR for Beginners, but it's in Kelowna.

They also have a seminar for capturing Fall colours, in Abbotsford - $79 (I am not affiliated with them BTW, nor have I ever attended their seminars).
http://www.lensandshutter.com/semina...SgWQ7700EB#115

All you really need to know is lighting, though (unless you are looking for a course to teach you the basics of the camera operation, in which case the User Manual will be your best bet!):

There are tons of free websites to learn lighting (it is entirely possible to learn almost everything you need to know online):
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/ (Canon specific forums)
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...ad.php?t=46599 (using flash for Canon)
http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/ (the best lighting and flash blog on the net)

Are you sure you want to take a "SDLR" course at Lens & Shutter? You could be "amoung" the first to do so! :D

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2532/...8e0a5b01_o.jpg

That was back in sept.

^^ What was? The camera thing? I know. That's not the point. Read their ad again and see how many spelling mistakes you can find. Including the obvious one "SDLR". I mean if you're gonna post that on your front page, you better run the spell checker first...

my bad... I thought you were posting for the course, but yeah the ad is pretty sad. Someone in advertising wasn't completely awake. =)

^^ lol no worries. :D

I did a introduction to digital photography course with them...

10 classes, 3 hours each and lots of hands on work with models too!
I think it was about $350 or something...and a 10% discount if you register early...something like that..not 100% sure

Teacher (Aura McKay) was awesome...and I had a blast...well worth every penny.

I believe they just moved to a new studio that is supposed to be pretty pimp too..

check them out

Aura McKay is an excellent instructor. She also teaches at Langara.

They should have topped that off with a "Your invited" :D At least that used the right You're in the ad. :haha:

The Langara one looks interesting. I had a fellow dragon boater that was going to do it. I'll have to ask her if she took the course or not yet...

^^ lol

I've been taking courses at Langara since September 2008. Their teachers are great. I'm on my 6th course this semester :)