Introduction to Photography Course


5 Evenings Starts Mid October 2026


The syllabus has yet to be finalised but as an outline the 5 evening sessions will cover

Evening 1 — Know Your Camera & Exposure

  • Camera controls, buttons and menus
  • DSLR/mirrorless basics
  • RAW vs JPEG
  • Understanding exposure
  • Aperture, shutter speed and ISO
  • The Exposure Triangle
  • Using the camera’s light meter
  • Auto, P, A/Av, S/Tv and Manual modes
  • Practical: photograph the same subject using different settings


Evening 2 — Aperture, Depth of Field & Focus

  • What aperture actually does
  • Depth of field
  • Creating blurred backgrounds
  • Keeping groups and landscapes sharp
  • Focal length and its effect on an image
  • Autofocus modes and focus points
  • Single vs continuous autofocus
  • Common reasons photographs aren't sharp
  • Practical: portraits and objects using shallow and deep depth of field
  • Homework: produce three shallow-depth-of-field and three deep-depth-of-field images


Evening 3 — Shutter Speed, Movement & Low Light

  • Understanding shutter speed
  • Freezing movement
  • Creating intentional motion blur
  • Camera shake vs subject movement
  • Handholding techniques
  • Panning
  • Raising ISO and understanding digital noise
  • Photographing in low light
  • Introduction to tripods
  • Practical: freeze, blur and pan moving subjects
  • Homework: create images demonstrating three different approaches to movement


Evening 4 — Composition, Light & Better Photographs

  • Moving beyond technically correct photographs
  • Rule of thirds—and when to ignore it
  • Leading lines, framing, symmetry and negative space
  • Choosing backgrounds
  • Perspective and viewpoint
  • Hard and soft light
  • Direction and quality of light
  • Window light and natural-light portraits
  • Basic introduction to white balance
  • Practical: photograph one subject in several different ways
  • Homework: create a five-image mini portfolio using the techniques learned


Evening 5 — Putting Everything Together

  • Review and constructive critique of students' photographs
  • Moving confidently into Manual mode
  • Choosing settings quickly
  • A simple workflow: light → aperture → shutter → ISO → focus → composition
  • Portrait, landscape, action and low-light settings
  • Basic introduction to lenses and useful accessories
  • Introduction to editing: exposure, crop, colour, contrast and sharpening
  • Practical photography challenge combining everything from the course


The course content will be based around the above.
Fee is £125 for the course duration £75 to be paid at booking with the remainder due at the first session.

No refunds will be given for non attendance to any of the sessions