The rise of the online photography class is a relatively new example of how technology has affected the field of photography in recent decades. Not only has the medium diversified to include digital imaging as well as analog photography on film stock, the process of learning the art has become much more accessible to those in remote areas. Today Internet access with the ability to transfer files allows photography students and freelancers alike the opportunity to submit projects for evaluation and marketing as well.
One exciting aspect of digital photography is the ability to see your work immediately, with the limitations being the size of your screen displaying the shot and the conditions in which you’re monitoring your work. As the onboard screens become larger, a more accurate representation of the shots taken is displayed. Obviously when shooting film, a trip to the dark room was necessary before evaluating the results of a shoot. For those interested in the traditional approach to photography, there are also many online courses dealing with film.
The choices when considering an online photography class are extremely varied. BetterPhoto.com has a particularly wide range of four week courses ranging from Basic Photography for eBay and Online Auctions to programs aimed at the operation of specific industry-standard Canon and Nikon cameras. The eight week courses offered branch out to practical subjects such as Digital Wedding Photography and Photographing Children and Babies. This institution also has one year courses, focusing on topics of portraits, Photoshop and nature to name only a few.
Photoworkshop.com is an example of a site that holds photo contests, has an “image of the week” feature and displays member portfolios. These may provide some valuable initial exposure for beginning photographers and for seasoned veterans alike. Photoworkshop.com is an interactive community that’s open free to the public. It also contains a private community where photographers of varying experience interact to learn creative techniques as they build their professional portfolios. There is a Workshop Level emphasizing learning, participation and growth by interacting with other members. There’s also a more advanced Showcase Level which includes all features of the Workshop Level, as well as the opportunity to create an unlimited number of portfolios to display work. These are Flash-based presentation systems allowing students to create personalized websites.
An interesting aspect of graduating from an online photography class is the opportunity to also market images online. There has been a rise in sites that market royalty free images for those freelancers who are interested in this form of payment for their photography. Rather than licensing an image for a specific use or term, these sites offer a one-time price for the use of the photos available for download. In many cases the sites offering photos are also hosting other digital content such as written articles and production music. This provides a one-stop shopping possibility for those seeking content for multimedia presentations.
When today’s students choose an online photography class, they may enjoy the benefits of world-class instruction in a time-flexible environment, without having to relocate to a different geographical area. |
