With most people having a decent camera in their pocket these days and Instagram taking over the world, everyone fancies themselves a bit of a photographer. But, as good as phone cameras are now, if you feel like you want to take it to the next level then investing in a decent camera is the way forward. Once you have the thing though, you’re going to need to know how to use it properly!
We recently got an entry level digital SLR (a Canon 760D if you’re interested) so went on the hunt for the best beginners courses in London, eventually signing up for the Jessops photo academy as they have regular Saturday courses, perfect if you need to fit it around your work schedule. The course takes place above the Jessops Oxford Street store and all you need to do is sign up for your chosen date and turn up with your camera. The day starts by going through the very basics of how your camera takes pictures, the elements that control getting the right exposure and what all those buttons on the camera do. Having never ventured far off the automatic settings it was great to begin to understand the manual functions and how to get the style you’re after without just clicking and hoping.
The best thing about the day was that it wasn’t all just sitting in a classroom – we hit the streets of Soho twice to put into practice everything we’d learnt. James, course instructor, was brilliant, always friendly and helpful, and even legging it through Soho Square as fast as he could so we could practice our ‘panning’ technique. He’ll also follow up on email with you afterwards with notes and information from the session.
All in all this a great introduction to photography – we were so impressed we signed up to level two on the spot.
Courses from £119
129-131 Oxford St, London W1D 2HU
www.advice.jessops.com