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Basic Photography Camp

“The best camera you’ve got is the one in your hand.” Join me for five days of learning basic photography skills, regardless of the camera you have, even if it’s your phone!

Ben Erlandson, Ph.D.

Average rating:

4.4

Number of reviews:

(40)

What's included

5 live meetings

5 in-class hours

Class Experience

In this five-day intensive camp, students will learn how to practice better photography with any camera, and how to critique their own work and that of others for the purpose of improved practice of their photography skills.  They will get to work in groups and continue to practice the critique of each other’s photographs using the four-part Feldman Method of critical evaluation.
Students will experience and discuss techniques to improve their photography practice such as photography logbooks, instruction manuals, and camera angle variation, as well as individual and collaborative curation and comparison of photographs for technical improvement.

I will demonstrate and discuss methods and workflows for processing and managing photos on the phone and in the cloud with Snapseed, Google Drive, and Adobe Lightroom.

Also, students can share their black and white images to be critiqued and discussed using the Feldman Method.  During these critiques, we will discuss strategies for improving color capture with any digital camera for improved black and white photography processing, as well as one or more apps that allow students to create a black and white camera on their phones, so they can shoot in black and white using their mobile device.

At the end of the camp, students will be ready to continue improving their photography through intentional practice and self-critique and to continue practicing this critique method on their own photography, as well as others’ work.  This will enhance their toolkit for self-improvement in their own photography practice.

Students will be ready to use these techniques to continue improving their photography practice, individually and in groups.  Students will be ready to apply skills they’ve learned to begin and continue practicing intentional processing (editing decisions) and manage their own photos using any number of photo editing apps and cloud platform services.

Finally, students will be ready to continue their experimentation with phone photography capture and processing in black and white, improving their skills through ongoing practice.

Learning Goals

In this five-day intensive camp, students will have the opportunity to learn basic photography composition concepts, simple techniques for improving photography practice, ideas for practicing photo editing, and how to use the Feldman Method to critique their own photography work and the work of others.

Students will be able to create and use their own photography logbooks, create their own instruction manuals, and curate/compare collections of their own photography to continue to improve capture techniques in a variety of settings.

Students will be able to continue practicing basic techniques for processing and managing photos taken on any number of cameras (phones, tablets, DSLRs) using mobile photo editing apps and cloud-based apps/platforms.  Students will also learn how to use available resources (help files, YouTube videos, etc.) to continue to learn about specific features and functions of any photo editing software or camera device.

These methods and skills will enhance their ability to make composition decisions in the camera and to continue the improvement of photography practice through intentional processing and (self-)critique.

Other Details

Parental Guidance

There is no sensitive content in this class.

Supply List

No materials need to be purchased for this class, and all tools suggested for use are free or are have free versions available.
I will provide a number of worksheet handouts made available through the digital classroom.

External Resources

Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.

Ben Erlandson, Ph.D.

Joined October, 2018

4.3

40reviews

Profile

Teacher expertise and credentials

Years ago, one of my photography teachers told me “the best camera you’ve got is the one in the hand.”  Basically, what this means is that you’ve got to understand how each of your cameras works, and how to use each one when it’s the only one you've got available to get the shot that, perhaps you’ve got a single opportunity to capture, ever.

I’ve been practicing a variety of styles of photography for over twenty-five years, and I’ve been formally trained in media composition, capture, and production at the undergraduate and graduate levels of education.

I keep all of my old smartphones to use as extra cameras.  The current Google Pixel phone I have is, in many ways, MUCH better than the first digital camera I had twenty years ago.  As I’ve continued to hone my craft through tens of thousands of captures per year over more than two decades, I’ve become increasingly impressed with the ability to capture, process, and export stunning photography with a smartphone and one or more cloud-based apps.

However, all of my cameras have strengths and weaknesses, and so I generally keep them all handy in preparation for whatever photography project may come next.  I know that there are tools that are better for one job than the next, and it’s important, as a photographer, to be prepared to get the shot.

This camp introduces students to a photographic mindset, giving them methods to practice and improve (through critique) their photography using any camera they already have, including any smartphone.  Hopefully, this camp will set them on a pathway of a larger interest in photography and aesthetic practice.