DSLR Photography for Beginners

Course details

68 lectures and 3 hours of video instruction

• Understand how your camera works and identify which settings to use
• Learn the rules of composition for fantastic images
• Progress from automatic to manual settings with confidence
• Choose the correct lens, shutter speed and aperture… 

Are you new to DSLR photography? Perhaps you just bought a new compact or DSLR and would like to get the best out of it. This course will help you to get set up to configure your camera for fantastic photos. It is an introduction to the basic principles of photography and a walk through of components and settings.
Understand how your camera works, identify the ISO sensitivity, how to choose lenses and the rules of composition. Once you have set it up, you will then be ready to go on to the next phase of the course, which focuses on taking control of your camera.
Award winning Photographer Paul Cooper has run his own photography business since 1995 and is here to help you transition from ‘automatic’ settings to full manual control. He will show you how to balance light, demonstrate depth of field and teach you how to get the shutter speed right.
Your new skills are just a click away!
Introduction

• Instructor Intro
• Say hi to your fellow students!
• Share your new course with your friends!
• Introduction

Camera Basics

• Introduction to Camera Basics
• How does a camera work?
• ISO sensitivity
• Lenses
• Memory Cards

Set and Forget

• Introduction to Set and Forget
• File size and quality
• Digital zoom
• Empty slot release lock
• Image stabilisation

Setting the Exposure

• Introduction to Setting the Exposure
• Three factors that affect exposure
• Exposure compensation
• Exposure Compensation Project

Taking a Photo

• Introduction to Taking a Photo
• First of stand correctly
• Composition
• Getting your subject in focus

Downloading, Storing and Editing

• Introduction to Downloading, Storing and Editing
• Downloading from your camera
• Storage, Indexing and Backup
• Image editing
• Handout - Image Editing

The Main Points

• A handy summary of the main points covered so far
• Configure Your Camera for Fantastic Photos Summary

Next Steps

• Next Steps

Take Control of Your Camera

• Introduction to Take Control of Your Camera

Exposure

• Introduction to Exposure
• The three factors that determine exposure
• Handout - Three Factors that determine exposure
• Handout - Apertures and f-stops
• Handout - Aperture basics
• Exposure modes -
• Metering - measuring the light and why automatic modes sometimes fail
• The relationship between iso, shutter speed and aperture
• Switching to manual mode
• Exposure tips - The histogram and flashing highlights
• Summary Of Exposure

Lens choice and controlling sharpness

• Introduction to Lens choice and controlling sharpness
• Lens focal length
• Focus modes - Manual or Auto
• What is Depth of Field?
• How do we control Depth Field?
• Controlling Depth of Field
• Hyperfocal Distance
• Demonstration of Depth of Field
• Positioning the Depth of Field
• Summary of Lens choice and controlling sharpness

Balancing Light and Colour

• Introduction to Balancing Light and Colour
• Backlit subjects and reflectors
• Backlit subjects and Fill-in Flash
• White Balance
• Summary of Balancing Light and Colour

Where next?

• The Next Steps in Your Photography Training

Quiz

• Part 1 - Camera Basics
• Part 2 - Taking A Photo

Updated on 29 December, 2017