Professional Photography

Hours: 230 / Access Length: 12 Months / Delivery: Open, Mentor Supported
Retail Price: $1,545.00

Course Overview:

This Professional Photography course reflects a comprehensive mix of scholarly and practical information. It covers every aspect of photography, from capture through to output, both digital and analogue. There is an emphasis on explaining the 'how to' of photography, but also includes in-depth coverage of the fundamental principles that govern the art, such as how light behaves, optics, and the shutter. This course ensures that the student comes away with not only a good grasp of photographic technique, but also an in-depth understanding of the fundamentals that will help them to better understand how great photography is made. As such, it functions both as an excellent course for students of photography, and a great primer and reference for amateur enthusiasts.

The field of digital photography is steadily becoming an increasingly popular and exciting hobby and profession. These days, just about anyone can take beautiful photographs after having learned the right techniques and gaining a solid editing know-how. This Professional Photography course also covers some of the basics of using Photoshop & how to start a home-based photography business.

After completing this course, you should be able to:

  • Comprehend the basic principles of photography
  • Identify the steps involved in processing photographs
  • Identify digital photography techniques
  • Comprehend the professional photography career
  • Define techniques for successfully starting a photography business

NOTE: Adobe Photoshop is NOT included in this course. Students will need to have their own copy of this software installed on their computer.

Course Outline:

Professional Photography Module 1
The Basics of Photography
  • Facets of Photography
  • The Role the Photographs Play
  • Styles and Approaches
  • Lighting and Image Forming
  • Wavelengths and Colors
  • How Light Forms Images
  • Lenses and Their Controls
  • Depth of Field and Focus
  • Cameras: The Essential Components
  • Camera Types: Which Is Best?
  • Twin and Single Lens
  • Close-up Equipment
  • Digital Cameras
  • File Formats
Professional Photography Module 2
Taking the Picture
  • Basic Characteristics of Lighting
  • Lighting Equipment
  • Practical Lighting Problems
  • Organizing the Picture
  • Noticing Subject Features
  • Structuring Pictures
  • Films & Filters
  • Black & White vs. Color Photography
  • Storing Film
  • Filter Kits
  • Exposure Measurements
  • Exposing Different Types of Film
  • Practical Exposure Tips
Professional Photography Module 3
Picture Processing, Finishing and Printing
  • Film Processing
  • Equipment & General Preparations for Processing
  • Processing Different Negatives
  • Black and White Printing
  • Darkroom Organization
  • Making Contact Prints
  • Controls During Enlarging
  • Common Print Faults
  • Post-Production for Digital Images
  • Basic & Advanced Editing
  • Mounting Methods & Framing
  • Getting Your Work Noticed
Professional Photography Module 4
Digital Photography Techniques
  • Taking Digital Photos
  • Consider Your Lighting
  • Control the Exposure
  • Control the Sharpness & Depth of Field
  • How to Take a Better Photo
  • Creative Photo Techniques
  • Organize Photos with Photoshop Elements
  • Basic Image Workflow
  • Advanced Photoshop Elements
  • Make Photographic Prints
  • Sharing Your Photos on the Web
  • PDF & Video Slide Shows
Professional Photography Module 5
Photography Business
  • Getting Started as a Home-Based Photographer
  • Amateur vs. Professional
  • The Pros & Cons of Self Employment
  • Financial Planning
  • Start-Up Costs
  • Financial management
  • The Legal Aspects
  • Writing a Business Plan
  • Taxes & Recordkeeping
  • Computers & Business
  • Managing Your Photography Business
  • Marketing Your Photography Business

System Requirements:

System Requirements:

Internet Connectivity Requirements:
  • Cable and DSL internet connections are recommended for the best experience.
Hardware Requirements:
  • CPU: 1 GHz or higher
  • RAM: 2 GB or higher
  • Resolution: 1280 x 720 or higher
  • Speakers / Headphones
  • Microphone (Webinar / Live Online sessions)
Operating System Requirements:
  • Microsoft Windows 7 or 10 (Home, Pro)
  • Mac OSX 10 or higher.
  • Latest Chrome OS
  • Latest Linux Distributions

NOTE: While we understand that our courses can be viewed on Android and iPhone devices, we do not recommend the use of these devices for our courses. The size of these devices do not provide a good learning environment for students taking online or live online based courses.

Web Browser Requirements:
  • Latest Google Chrome is recommended for the best experience.
  • Latest Mozilla FireFox
  • Latest Microsoft Edge
  • Latest Apple Safari
Basic Software Requirements (These are recommendations of software to use):
  • Office suite software (Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, or LibreOffice)
  • PDF reader program (Adobe Reader, FoxIt)
  • Courses may require other software that is denoted in the above course outline.


** The course outlines displayed on this website are subject to change at any time without prior notice. **