Successful Photography

Course Summary
Course Details
Fees & How to Enrol

Level: QLS Level 3

Find and frame stunning shots, regardless of your experience.

  • Achieve the Certificate of Achievement at QLS Level 3
  • Receive the Regent Academy Diploma
  • Flexible home-study to fit learning around your life
  • Personal tutor support

Fees:
£495* £396*   Enrol from £42.60

Entry Requirements

There are no prerequisites for this course. This course has been designed to enable anyone, no matter their experience, to follow their creative passion.

All you need is a simple digital camera and computer editing software (which you may be able to obtain for free). Expensive equipment is not required. As you progress through your course you can acquire equipment, accessories and software which meet your needs.

Our Support Promise

You can phone or email your tutor at any point during your course –
to ask questions, for advice, encouragement or to draw on their wealth of knowledge.

You can also contact the support team who are here to help you Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

What you will learn

Introduction

  • Become a freelance photographer or take professional pictures for pleasure

Lesson 1 - The Background to Photography

  • Why take photographs?
  • Looking at the work of other photographers
  • Are photographs ‘art’?
  • A brief history of early photography

Lesson 2 - Professional Photographers’ Equipment

  • How a camera works
  • Camera types
  • How much should I spend on a camera?
  • Batteries
  • Choosing film
  • Accessories
  • Looking after your equipment

Lesson 3 - The Fundamental Camera Skills for a Freelance Photographer

  • Holding your camera
  • Pressing the shutter release button
  • Handling film
  • Using the viewfinder
  • Focus
  • Exposure
  • Seeing the results

Lesson 4 - Composition and Landscape Photography

  • Looking at paintings
  • Framing up
  • Composing with your camera’s viewfinder
  • Viewpoints and camera angles
  • Focal points
  • Colour
  • Pattern and texture
  • Get close to your subject
  • Landscape photography
  • Composition checklist

Lesson 5 - Lighting, Studio Work and Portrait Photography

  • Photographing in available light
  • Atmospheric conditions
  • Taking portraits
  • Coping with different kinds of light
  • Shooting using flash
  • Studio lighting
  • Lighting terminology
  • Portrait set-ups using studio flash
  • Posing
  • Backgrounds for portraits
  • Lighting and mood

Lesson 6 - The Technical Aspects to Achieve High Quality Photographs

  • Shutter speeds
  • Aperture
  • Depth of field
  • Tilt and shift (aka perspective control) lenses
  • Modes
  • Exposure meters
  • The Zone System, pre-visualization and exposure
  • Focusing
  • Filters
  • Tone
  • Types of cameras

Lesson 7 - Location and Reportage Photography

  • What to take on location
  • Do some research before you go
  • Taking care of your equipment on location
  • Travel photography

Lesson 8 - The Processing of your Analogue Photographic Images

  • Special mini-lab services
  • Cropping
  • Using a professional lab
  • Pushing and pulling film
  • Producing your own images in a darkroom

Lesson 9 - Working with Digital Photographs – from the Shot to the Result

  • Manipulating images
  • The digital workflow sequence
  • Why shoot RAW?
  • Edits in Photoshop are ‘destructive’
  • Tough decisions early on will prevent editing overload
  • Single or multiple catalogue workflow?
  • File naming
  • Using metadata
  • Using Adobe Lightroom, Bridge and/ or Camera Raw Converter

Lesson 10 - Digital Post-production for your Photographs

  •  Colour spaces and colour modes for image editing
  • The main tools within Photoshop
  • Understanding bit depth
  • Photomerge
  • High Dynamic Range (HDR)
  • Smart Objects
  • Cleaning and retouching images
  • Cropping and resizing images
  • Photoshop’s image adjustments
  • Layer masks
  • Compositing images
  • Preparing and saving your images for different uses
  • Printing

Lesson 11 - Storing and Exhibiting your Work

  • Storing negatives and transparencies
  • Storing digital images
  • Albums
  • Portfolios
  • Framing and displaying
  • Exhibiting
  • Entering competitions
  • Contemporary methods of presenting images

Lesson 12 - Working as a Qualified Freelance Photographer

  • How to make money from your photographs
  • Photographing special occasions
  • Taking portraits
  • Getting your work into newspapers, magazines and books
  • Pricing, keeping accounts and records, getting paid
  • Copyright
  • The law and the photographer
  • A final exercise
  • You’ve finished the course!

How Our Courses Work

Your first course materials will be sent to you when you enrol so you can start as soon as you want. You can then enjoy your course at your own pace, studying when it suits you and where it’s most comfortable. This gives you the freedom to learn around your existing job, family or other commitments or location (including overseas).

Course materials have been developed by experts and are clear and straightforward so your studying is easy and enjoyable.

All coursework assignments are included within your course. As you complete each assignment, simply send it to your tutor who will mark and return it along with valuable constructive feedback to help progress your skills further. (You can also contact your tutor or the support team for help at any point during your studies.) The remaining course materials will be sent to you as each assignment is completed.

After successfully completing all your assignments, you will receive the Regent Academy Diploma and the Certificate of achievement at QLS Level 3 from Quality Licence Scheme*

Study Length

There are no deadlines for this course. Simply study in the comfort of your own home, and in your own time.

Your progress may depend upon how much time you would like to commit to study. However, as a rough guide, students tend to complete this course in approximately 6-8 months*.

* Timescales are approximate and depend upon application and motivation.

Certification

Quality Licence Scheme Certificate of Achievement at Level 3

You will also receive the Certificate of Achievement at QLS Level 3* when you complete this course.

Quality Licence Scheme endorsement involves robust and rigorous quality audits by external auditors to ensure quality is continually met. A review of courses is carried out as part of the endorsement process.

* QLS registration fees included

Regent Academy Diploma

You will receive the Regent Academy Diploma when you successfully complete this course. With Regent Academy’s reputation this can be a highly sought-after addition to your CV and, alongside your coursework portfolio, powerfully showcasing your skills to prospective employers or potential clients.

What's Next

Once you have successfully completed this course, you could start a rewarding new career in photography, and specialise in an array of areas, including:

  • Wedding photography
  • Special occasions photography
  • Birthday parties
  • Social portraiture
  • Corporate images
  • Event photography
  • Stock photography (images that people or companies purchase for their own use, which could then appear in newspapers, company brochures or adverts)

You could also enter competitions.

For advice and support, get in touch with one of our tutors, or contact our support team from 9am – 5pm.

You could turn what you’ve learned into a career, or apply it to your existing role. For advice and support, get in touch with one of our tutors, or contact our support team from 9am - 5pm.

Course fee & how to enrol

There are two ways you can enrol

Pay the total course fee of £495* £396* in one sum and receive a £50 voucher towards your next course
or
Pay 10 monthly payments of £52.50* £42.60* (£30 administration fee included)

* QLS registration fees included