$250, 12 weeks of online instruction, videos and help with your lessons by artist & educator, Tony Ferguson
Tony Ferguson, Online Digital Photography Course 1©2008
www.tonyferguson.netIntroduction to Digital Photography, Online
Join this course anytime10 (or more) Things You'll Learn, About this Course, Sample Lesson/Video(s), FAQs
Nature of the Course:
In this digital photography 1 course you will learn how to use your camera through the lessons, by reading from Tom Ang's book or information from the web, watching the video tutorials that are designed to help you with your lessons, asking questions, and receiving feedback and guidance. I built this course to teach you traditional photography techniques (understanding of shutter speed, aperture, iso) as well as automatic and how to use presets. Furthermore, we are in the digital age and no photography course today would be complete without teaching you about digital photography which includes editing and saving properly for a variety of uses. I have used an older version of photoshop elements because it comes from the industry standard, Photoshop, which is the software from which all digital photo editing software has sprung. Contained in these videos, are the fundamental effects, functions, and features any digital photo editing software will have. They are fundamentals, and whatever you choose (although I recommend any version of Photoshop elements) the knowledge communicated in the videos will apply. You do not need to spend $600 on full version of Adobe Photoshop CS4. It is not necessary.
This course is an online course that takes place asynchronously. This means it does not meet at any regular time and you do the coursework at your convenience in your own home, work, a cafe--any place you have a computer and internet access and a way to edit and upload your images. The only difference between this course and when I taught it for the college is we had weekly deadlines so that everyone in the course kept in pace with the direction of the course and was able to give each other feedback through the course of their shared development. Although I encourage you to do 2 lessons a week, you can work ahead, work behind and catch up, however you choose to learn, I am available the duration of the course to help and guide you with your lessons.
With this course you can also start anytime and from the moment you log in to your course, you will have 12 weeks of access. When you post or ask questions on the forum regarding your lessons, I respond within 24 hours. This course is also module based which means there are no deadlines as I mentioned. You have 12 weeks of access to the course and the materials (lessons, forum, gallery, videos) and to my help, feedback, and guidance. This training course is not for credit and it is why the cost is only $250 instead of $500 at a community college and much much more at a university.
Before you sign up and pay for this course, I encourage you to:1. Read through the 4 hyperlinked pages as listed at the top of the page: 10 (or more) Things You'll Learn, About this Course, Sample Lesson/Video(s), FAQs to understand if this course is right for you.
2. The Cost is $250 and is non refundable because of your access to all of my copyrighted materials. Before I would shell out $250, I would want to check out the instructor: About, Workshops
3. Make sure you can download, see and hear the videos. Any problems, see FAQs, try the solutions, and then contact me if you need help.
4. Plan on buying the textbook (about $16 on Amazon--you will enjoy the course and learn more if you do the minimal readings listed with the lessons)
5. Have or plan on buying a digital camera (a point and shoot compact is fine, a sub SLR is better, and a digital SLR is the best--any camera will work for this course).
6. The course is web based, so understand you can post and upload images for the course anytime you wish from any computer, anywhere: home, cafe, friend's house, etc.--you will just need to make sure you have a way to get your photos on that computer so you can upload them.
7. Use a trial version or plan to buy digital editing software. I recommend Photoshop Elements (2.0 is about $10-$20 on ebay) any version. See Online Course Materials.
8. Once everything is kosher, (you'll need to send me a check for $250 or paypal 1 to 2 weeks preferably before the course starts. (fergyart@yahoo.com).
9. I will send you an email invoice marked paid after monies clear and you will receive your log in information and you can begin getting familiar or start the course right away. There is no refunds for this course because it is electronic. I give you the first three lessons so you can see what the lessons are like, the format, etc. so you know what to expect.What you Get:
●24 lessons
●24 video tutorials
●Instruction and guidance
●knowledge and fun
This course averages out to 2 lessons a week with an 12 week time table of coursework. I figured 12 weeks is practical for people's schedules. Again, if you feel like doing it in less time, go right ahead, I will be available to you the entire 12 weeks from the day you receive your enrollment key.
Hopefully by now you have had a chance to see what the lessons and video are like. Essentially, you would be doing the lessons and posting your results in moodle. When you post, we will be able to look at, discuss, make suggestions, etc. in a professional and kind hearted and honest fashion week to week. Posting is asynchronous meaning you post whenever you want to and respond whenever you want to, making this perfect for anyone's schedule, traveling or otherwise. If you want to post every 2 weeks all your lessons (4 on average) that is fine too--this is actually how we did it when I taught for the local college here. Since there are no grades or deadlines, this should be fun and relaxing, yet challenging as you will be learning some new and important content and knowledge that you will be able to apply to many aspects of your life that have anything to do with photographic imagery.
Online Course Description:
This introductory course will cover the fundamentals of digital photography, composition, and presentation. Students will need to supply their own computer, internet access, digital camera (any type) and photo editing software. Information on selecting a digital camera will be covered during the first part of the course and you can email now if plan to take the course and will be buying a camera before the course starts. Students will post questions, reflections on the discussion board and images directly regarding the lessons. The instructor will respond, facilitate discussion, help, provide guidance as you progress through the lessons.
Prerequisites: Working knowledge of Computer operating systems such as Windows, Macintosh, Linux. If you can surf the web, you can take this class. If you already haven't, you will learn to resize images and upload them to our discussion area (if you've sent a picture to anyone, you can take this course).
Materials: You will need to supply your own digital camera and photo editing software. Videos are downloaded, not streamed, and viewed on your own computer. Once downloaded, you have the rights for personal use. The value of the videos go beyond the scope of the course as a reference point for you should you need it in the futures. More info below.Textbook: Digital Photographer's Handbook by Tom Ang; 2006 edition: ISBN-10: 0-7566-2355-3. This is more than a textbook, it is your digital Bible, Koran, Kabala, Upanishads, etc. It will help you in more ways than one beyond the duration of this course with digital photography and related things like scanning, printing, etc.
Course Outcomes: All lessons are built around these course outcomes which are from MNSCU (Minnesota State College and Universities System) where I have taught on and off since 2000. If you have a good work ethic and like having fun learning something new, this is the course for you. Please note, this course is designed for beginners. If you are interested in a more advanced course, contact me. We will put emphasis on traditional, digital photo techniques and digital editing. If you want more theory and criticism, just ask. Click below to see what you will learn with examples from previous student work:
Online Course Materials:
1. Digital Camera: Almost any digital camera will work for this course. Of course, if you can swing it, buy the best camera your budget allows. If you plan to eventually learn to shoot your artwork professionally, you want 6 mega pixel and higher and expect to pay $400 and up and a DSLR is the way to go (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera where you can attach and detach the lens. Anyway, a camera that not only has automatic, but is fully manual (allows you to set shutter (shutter priority) and aperture (aperture priority) is optimal because you will learn so much more about what a camera can do and "see." Shutter and aperture priority (Aperture refers to the size of the lens opening. Shutter speed controls the amount of time the shutter is open) will allow you to do such things as capture very fast moving objects or show them in movement as well as affect longer exposure times to capture a water fall, fireworks, as well as having great control over your depth of field, etc. Automatic works very well these days but it doesn't leave much room for tweaking. Lucky for us, anyone can now tweak in your digital editing software to mimic some of these manual camera features.
A digital DSLR camera is the ultimate camera for this course (I use a Canon Digital Rebel and Canon 40d) but there are many comparable cameras that have built in lenses and are fully manual as well as automatic. These are called point and shoot or pocket cameras and there are many out there that I can't believe the quality of the images in the $150 to $250 range these days. My experience says you can't go wrong with Canon or Sony. That said, Nikon, Minolta, Olympus, Fuji, etc. are all making great cameras these days and all of the manufactures produce a quality of cameras at different times. So, use one you have or find one you like. It does not matter. This course will lay a foundation for you for the rest of your life and the quality of your images and enjoyment of digital photography will grow.
Doing a current search on "Camera Reviews" or "best digital SLR" or "best digital camera" etc. will produce a starting point for your choice in a camera. I would go to a local camera store and play with the cameras and see what I like as well as ask the sales people what they suggest and why.
2. Photo-editing software: Please view the information on Photo Editors.
3. Required Textbook: Digital Photographer's Handbook by Tom Ang; 2006 edition: ISBN-10: 0-7566-2355-3. Click on Tom Ang and it will take you to Amazon where I believe it is the least expensive. You could maybe make it through this course without the book, but for $16, why not get your full money's worth?
4. Online Digital Editing Videos: Video tutorials I've created will be available for download during the entire course. Currently, there is only a sampling.
Photo Editors
You need to have a computer that can run the digital editing software. The easiest way to do this is to download a trial and try it out. Most laptops will run editing software no problem. Even computers up to 5 years old can run most editors but depending on how large your image files are will determine if you have to wait around for your software to do functions. Below are 3 of many digital photo editing software packages and their system requirements you could use for this class. The easiest way to know if it works well is to download and try it out:
1. Adobe Photoshop Elements 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or now, 7: Visit this site (they also have 30 day free trial) http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/systemreqs.htmlThe link above is for Elements 5.0. The videos I created are using Photoshop Elements 2.0 because it works on everyone's computer (so far) including 5 and 6 year old computers but you can use any editor you wish as what is demonstrated is common to all editors and nearly in the same places in the menu systems.
Keep in mind you can pick up used copies of Photoshop Elements on ebay for cheap ($10 to $20). Also check Amazon. COM, etc. Any version of Photoshop Elements will work because the functions and editing techniques you learn are present in all versions Windows or Mac and also present in nearly every photo editor or demo I've every played with. The newer versions stream line some things and have added abilities like picture packages so you may want one of those. More than likely, your digital camera if you have one, came with a photo editor. Worst case scenario is you download a trial version and use that.
2. Mac Users will like Aperture if they choose not to go with Adobe products.
3. The Gimp (FREE, yes, it's free): http://www.gimp.org/
Please note regarding digital photo editing: you can find nearly anything you need online if you search around. Closer to home: if you don't know how to do a command, use your "help" in your digital editing software. In "help" they will tell you exactly how to perform the function. If all else fails, ask me.
Minimal Technology Needed:
1. A computer with internet access.
2. We will be using AVI and QuickTime files for the video tutorials with some of the lessons. Check the FAQ section for updated solutions to any video problems.
3. Word Processing Software or word-pad, basic text editor, or email that allows you to create and save documents as you may want to write your questions first and then paste them into our discussion board window.
To see a demonstration of the course in action. Contact Me.