Getting better at photography - taking a course?

[Maxf]

I've been playing around with cameras for a couple of years now, but I always feel that my shots look like 'snaps'. I was thinking of going on some kind of course (preferably an evening course in London) to learn some how to compose a decent photograph.

Could anybody recommend anything - or is there any better way of improving my composition skills than attending (and paying for) a course?

[curtisl]

I was toying with a course for a while but to be honest, apart from getting out there and taking photos (which has been the best way to learn for me) is to look at other peoples photos. I spend at least an hour a day I reckon looking at photos. On Flickr, talk photography and on here mostly. I have learned so much just from this forum and it's free, think of the things that you really want help in and there are so many people that have alot of knowledge to pass on. As I said though, IMO there is nothing that can beat just getting out there and taking photos.

[Major Bloodnok]

I think that, for the majority of people, curtisl's got it spot on. There is the possible advantage in taking a course, that you've got someone to ask questions of, but that person might not really know their stuff - at least here and on other messageboards, you'll get a range of views.

That said, depending on exactly what you want from your photography, taking a course might be the best thing you can do; but it's got to be a decent (i.e. not cheap) course. I'm currently half-way through a two-year foundation degree course at a local college, and I love it. But then, my ambition is to make a living from photography, so I view it as job training.

What do I get out of it? Several very knowledgeable tutors giving very focussed feedback and advice on what I'm doing; access to equipment that I simply can't afford at the moment; an environment in which I'm immersed in the work of many, many contemporary photographers; and, last but not least, my fellow students - it's really inspiring looking at your contemporaries' work, talking pictures all the time, bouncing ideas off each other, and so on.

What can you do if you don't want to take a course?

As curtisl says, take lots of photographs.

Invest in a few good books: 'Criticising Photographs' by Terry Barret is good book for getting the foundation of being able to look at yours and other photographs critically. 'The Photographers Eye' has been mentioned here a few times and is a good introduction to composition and thinking about your photographs (most 'bad' pictures come from simply not asking yourself what it is that you're trying to say with the image).

Look at photographs. Examine the picture in magazines and newspapers and try to decide what it is the like or don't like about them. Browse some books in your local Waterstones. Go online and look a the work of famous (and not-so-famous) photographers*. Immerse yourself in pictures.

• A few to look at (from all eras) as they come to me:

Julia Margaret Cameron
Weegee
Irving Penn
Dan Holdsworth
Diane Arbus
Sally Mann
Martin Parr
Peter Fraser
Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Capa
Uta Barth
Sze Tsung Leong
Atget
Simon Norfolk
Ed Burtynsky
Andreas Gursky
Spencer Tunnick

Check the Magnum photos website - there's some cracking stuff there. I just did a Google search on 'contemporary photographers' and got loads of links to sites where you can discover new stuff - stuff that you may hate, but which, equally, might inspire you.

[rottie102]

Give Janette @ AnglesGB a call.

http://anglesgbltd.moonfruit.com/

Highly recommended for photography courses!

What sort of photography are you into the most?

Edited by rottie102 on Monday 25th October 18:10

[bradders]

Just a thought, but maybe a tog "buddy" from TP or here may do you the world of good.

I am by no way any good at this either, but have found that being out and about with someone who knows what to look for when composing has been of great use. I've learned more doing that than any reading I've tried to take in. Just considering angles you wouldn't normally try opens a whole new world.

I've met a few friendly faces on TP who are more than happy to let me tag along.