Amateur photographers have begin to realize that just having a great camera is not enough; great pictures require some skills as well and so they have been looking for some classes to get better. In order to answer the need, a number of colleges and other organizations have started offering landscape photography workshops, usually at surprisingly low costs. When debating taking such a workshop there are some basic considerations that should be looked into before signing up, no matter how tempting it may be.
The syllabus should be a first consideration. A bad workshop will only teach a student how to work the digital settings in order to obtain the best picture; a good one will explore all of the manual settings as well. A good photographer will know when to ignore his autofocus and go with his gut; a good photographer will go for the best picture he can get and sometimes that means ignoring the settings of his camera. While automatic settings are good for most situations, the best photographers know how to get the most out of their cameras through the manual settings, and so those settings become a good friend to the photographer.
A great workshop will also emphasize the need for practice and tracking details. A good photographer not only knows his camera, but is not afraid to have fun with it. Knowing what the camera can do means that the photographer has experience to back up his talent, and that means taking lots of pictures. It can only help to track what numbers are used, such as how much light is let in through the aperture as well as which f-stop was used. “Bracketing” is a simple enough technique that involves taking a picture that is one f-stop above and below the optimal f-stop; it ensures that the best picture is taken and becomes very familiar to any photographer.
The class should also discuss composition. The obvious rule is the rule of thirds, but there are other considerations as well. A picture should be more than just what is at the center of the frame; composition can make the difference between a decent picture and a great picture. With a little practice even the worst photographer can develop the proper eye and take some incredible pictures that will impress his friends. With this criteria it should be easy to find a decent class out of the many landscape photography workshops available. It is just a matter of finding one that fits the need of the individual photographer, and then signing up for it.
