Institute of Photography Training Course

[michaelb104]

Not sure if anybody is interested but amazon are doing a deal in training courses with the Institute of Photography, it looks like the course should be £399 and with the amazon deal you get it for £49 - not sure how that works!!

Anyway link below.


http://local.amazon.co.uk/National-UK/B00DY63TT6

[Geoff]

Looks interesting But is there a snag has anyone gone for it if so how do you rate it, Is it one of these to good to be true scams as there is a big drop in price. I read that you buy the voucher from amazon then have it redeemed for the course,
Don't no really ? anybody got anything to add.

Geoff

[jinky]

I did this course a few years ago for more money. I found it OK on the technical side teaching me stuff about theoretical aspects that I had not grasped. Lot of material and my tutor based out in Australasia then was quite useful in providing critique. I annoyed the hell out of him by being my usual self and doing too much / trying too hard / asking too many questions.OK for me at that point and for the current price not a bad option to get some critique on what you do as long as :
1. Quality of resources has not dropped
2. Tutor is OK and committed to support

Mine advised me on next steps to getting paid work etc and helped me at that time. Wouldn`t do it again now at full price vut might for £49 if I hadn`t done it before.

Guy called George Seper used to be head of it - well known food photography guy

[Reinardina]

Too good to be true in my opinion.

It covers too much ground and (at first glance) does not really offer anything, you can't get somewhere else on line, for free.

I think everyone who has got so far in photography, as to frequent photosites, may want to improve certain aspects of their photography and should/could concentrate on that.

For £49 you can buy a jolly good book on digital photography, that takes you from start to finish, and covers more or less everything the course seems to cover.
You won't get a 'diploma' (on PDF), but you're left with a good, solid 'manual' you can sit down with, and consult whenever you feel the need.

Well, this is my cynical view anyway, but I see Jinky had a good experience with it, and in that case £49 does not seem to be that much!
Depends what you're looking for, and if this type of learning suits you.

[Geoff]

Thanks guys is there anyone else want to have a say does look good however I have lot of books even books on 35 mm film camera's pick a good one up at boot sale 50p The Focal Encyclopedia of photography Desk edition old book but very useful still in today photography.     

[wavemachine]

I agree with others it seems to cover a lot and even if it covers it well it is a lot to take in, last year I did a 6 week course (3 hours per week) with a local pro photographer it was good for me because it pretty much told me I was doing the right thing and there were some really handy tips, but to be honest out of a group of 20 I would say the majority found it too much to take in and the attendance had shrunk to half by the third week.

There was nothing wrong with the guy taking the course who was willing to answer questions, had great in depth knowledge and has take a lot of superb images, I did a workshop with him and 2 others which was of a lot more value.

[StephenBatey]

I'd better start by saying that I haven't done the course, and my knowledge of it is limited to what I just read on the IoP site.

Unless each unit covers a lot of ground, it may be spreading things too thin. But a large unit could cover as much as an in depth book.

In my opinion, the advantage of a course over a book isn't so much that of content, as of ensuring that you cover all the ground, rather than just the parts that interest you. There's a lot of arcane photographic knowledge that can be applied in unconventional ways. Things that, listed as a chapter or section in a book few would willingly read, yet which, once known, can have very practical applications in ways that aren't obvious when you first come across the concepts.

For those with the self discipline to read even the boring bits, a single book would cover more technical stuff than you need to know. If we leave out the immense difficulty of learning how to use a DSLR (so many modes, so many settings, so large an instruction book...) everything that you need to really know on the technical side can be covered in 30 minutes. If any novice wants to come down my way, I'm willing to put 30  minutes of my time where my mouth is 

My biggest reservation about the course is what it omits. The most important aspect of photography from my viewpoint is learning how to see; and that doesn't seem to be covered as a separate subject. The practice and psychology of seeing should receive far more attention, because they are the two foundations on which composition is based.

[Geoff]

What you say about having the discipline, that would be me,  reading a book that I am not keen
on or doing and an on-line cause I have ask myself would I have the discipline for that either answer
not  sure if I would, yet put me in front of a real life tutor and I would learn something.

Geoff

[jinky]

With this course you get a bit of tutor support in that they assess each modular exercise and give feedback. Anything you get over that is a bonus. I tend to get the most out of situations by pushing the boundaries and must say that I got good responses from regular emails seeking support / clarification and remember having a goo9d debate by email on the photography of Joe Cornish when I sought to emulate his style much to the chagrin of the tutor who hated the front rock/ moving water composition. That said he was positive abo0ut my version of Staithes a la Cornish .

[spikeyjen]

have a look at lynda.com... lots and lots of tutorials on just about everything. They even have a 7 day trial