Creative Essentials: taking better photos (beginners)

About this course

The course focuses on making intentional photographic choices rather than relying on technical terminology. Participants explore how light, backgrounds, viewpoints and timing affect an image, using the camera they already have. They create a short series of photographs of a familiar person or place, compare before-and-after versions, and review a small selection to identify the changes that made a difference. The course also considers how to produce images that appear considered rather than accidental.

What you'll learn

• Make deliberate choices about light, background, viewpoint and timing.
• Create a short series of five to seven photographs based on a familiar person or place.
• Demonstrate how an intentional change can improve an image through a before-and-after comparison.
• Select two or three stronger images and explain the changes made and their effect.

Is this course right for you?

The course is intended for beginner photographers. The level suggests an introduction to fundamental photographic choices, with participation involving individual image-making, comparison and discussion of why particular changes worked.

• Includes reviewing and selecting photographs rather than only taking them.
• Participants explain the decisions behind their chosen images.