Atelier Art and Eye Photo

Myles Hickey reviewed: Photography course to take better photographs

"I had the benefit of a one-to-one day course with Michael, an inspiring teacher with a lot of practical advice for the student willing to learn. My starting point, as a lazy "point and shoot" photographer who wishes to record events, locations and experiences as they occur, usually on an auto setting on my camera or phone, results in a lot of images which will be unmemorable to anyone else. I was not even exploiting the technology I had available. Michael's starting point, using a DSLR, is to learn to shoot far more discerningly, with the aim of taking worthwhile pictures which can be edited post-production with the wealth of online assistance available. We began by discussing my aims, the cameras available to me and how to apply the technology and to recognise the limits of the 'auto setting' and the cameras with restricted fstop range. We tried this out in a local park on animate and inanimate subjects. I hope to apply what I learned! Any student who wishes to improve would do well to familiarise themselves with their camera manual before the course to learn what their DSLR can and can't do."