5 Photography Tools courses in Edinburgh

This course is about learning to use your digital SLR camera with confidence and skill. Explore aperture, shutter speed and megapixels through to white balance, ISO ratings, histograms and much more! With a blend of technical tuition, demonstration, practical assignments and group discussion, you will discover how to unlock your camera’s full potential and take better pictures. If you don’t have a digital SLR we can often provide one for you – please select from dropdown at time of booking. You can also use your interchangeable or fixed lens system, mirrorless or rangefinder camera on this course. Bridge cameras without interchangeable lenses can be used too, but please note that they may not allow the full range of camera controls. Computer experience is beneficial. Day 1: Features of your Digital SLR camera. Areas covered include aperture, shutter speed and megapixels through to white balance, ISO ratings, histograms and all the rest. There will be time to ask questions and demonstrate the advantages of each feature, getting to grips with the “how’s” and “why’s” We will put into practise all the features that have been discussed and demonstrated in session one on a walk around town with your cameras. We will come back to the gallery, learn a little about methods of downloading and viewing photographs, and explore some basic Photoshop tools. Day 2: Exercises, Assignments and Review Question time. There will be a few formal exercises set up to practise on and time to discuss the elements learned in day one. We will also discuss in more detail the more compositional aspects of photography, and prepare for the afternoons’ assignment. You will carry out your assignments outside the gallery and be given a time to return with your completed assignments. Assignment presentations, troubleshooting and review. The last half will involve editing and viewing the photographs, open discussions and asking any final questions.   Courses are subject to minimum enrolment. Please register early, within five days of the start date, to reduce the likelihood of course cancellation. Please read our cancellation policy before booking. Students, anyone over the age of 65, and those in receipt of any form of benefits can claim the concessionary price, offering a 10% discount on the full course price. Valid proof of eligibility must be produced on the first day of the course. Please use the code CONCESSION when prompted at checkout.

This short course will help you take your images from the screen to final professional-quality prints. We will walk through the processes and techniques needed to take the mystery out of this often daunting and overlooked part of the creative process. By the end of the day you will have gained the skills and confidence to take digital files through preparation in Photoshop, optimisation, and onto physical test printing, adjustments and final output on Stills’ large format Epson inkjet printer. We’ll cover areas critical to the desired outcome including screen and print calibration, paper choice and ICC profile use. By the end of the day you will have two A3 prints on premium Hahnemule matt or gloss papers. Participants should have a basic understanding of Photoshop and attend with a selection of their own RAW files or high resolution TIFFs to work with through the practical exercises. Morning We will begin with evaluating our images and processing the file to maximise print quality output. We will then use Adobe Bridge, Adobe Camera Raw & Adobe Photoshop for the optimisation process. Participants will be guided in preparing their images ready for test printing, before evaluating and adjusting. Discussion will cover using ICC profiles, screen and print calibration, colour rendering, canvas sizing, and sharpening for final print output on various media. Afternoon We will then put the skills we have learned into practice, producing and evaluating test prints before undertaking our final A3 digital inkjet prints. Each participant will finish the session with two finished prints. There will be plenty of opportunity for participants to ask questions at every stage, so that you feel confident and can make informed decisions throughout the whole process. This course is designed for those who are already familiar with some digital photography processes but who want to pursue a particular aspect and develop skills in a specific genre. It is the perfect follow-on from our Digital SLR training courses and will support you in building upon your existing knowledge and allow you to work confidently on your own projects.   Courses are subject to minimum enrolment. Please register early, within five days of the start date, to reduce the likelihood of course cancellation. Please read our cancellation policy before booking. Students, anyone over the age of 65, and those in receipt of any form of benefits can claim the concessionary price, offering a 10% discount on the full course price. Valid proof of eligibility must be produced on the first day of the course. Please use the code CONCESSION when prompted at checkout.

Master the camera and post processing skills required to produce an end result that matches your creative vision and expectations. This practical and fun course enables participants to fully explore the essential camera and Photoshop skills you need to produce stunning digital photographs. Experienced tutor Kat Gollock helps you harness your creative potential in four engaging and empowering sessions. De-mystify the technical jargon and unlock your DSLR camera’s full potential. Learn Photoshop from a photographer’s perspective and the essential skills you need to really make your images shine. If you don’t have a digital SLR we can often provide one for you – please let us know at time of booking to confirm. You can also use your interchangeable or fixed lens system, mirrorless or rangefinder camera on this course. Bridge cameras without interchangeable lenses can be used too, but please note that they may not allow the full range of camera controls. Computer experience is beneficial. Week 1: Camera You will be guided through the manual settings of your Digital SLR camera, fully exploring how to capture light and time in a single image. Learn how to generate accurate exposures through aperture, shutter speed and ISO control and how/when to apply them creatively. We’ll explore some of the other digital settings that are key to understanding and building your confidence with your own camera. Week 2: Creating Put into practice all the camera features discussed and demonstrated in Week 1 on a walk around town. You will then return to the gallery for discussion and troubleshooting session to help further iron out any kinks. Week 3: Composition Will introduce you to photographic composition, history and appreciation and will be accompanied by more time to shoot so as to put these new skills into practice Week 4: Critique This week the full digital workflow will be explored with focus on image selection and post production techniques. An introduction to Adobe programs Bridge and Photoshop will be a key part of this process. On completion, we will have an informal and supportive discussion and feedback session provided by the tutor and peers.   Courses are subject to minimum enrolment. Please register early, within five days of the start date, to reduce the likelihood of course cancellation. Please read our cancellation policy before booking. Students, anyone over the age of 65, and those in receipt of any form of benefits can claim the concessionary price, offering a 10% discount on the full course price. Valid proof of eligibility must be produced on the first day of the course. Please use the code CONCESSION when prompted at checkout.

Do you have a growing mountain of negatives and/or prints and wish to have them as digital files? This course will equip you with the skills to digitally archive your collection ready for reprinting and sharing online! It can be intimidating to approach alone, but this class will break the process down into an easy step-by-step tutorial – from scanning, to editing, and exporting. Having completed the course, participants will have a solid understanding of the required processes and can go on to take full control of their negatives and potential outputs. This workshop will take you through the scanning process – turning analogue negatives/prints into digital files – using two different scanners: an Epson flatbed and a Hasselblad virtual drum scanner. Providing an opportunity to look at how best to scan and restore prints as well as negatives, you will learn the benefits of both scanning systems and understand when and why to use them. Once images are scanned, you will then be shown how to take full advantage of all the information you have captured to really get the most out of the files. The course will guide you through the editing process using Adobe Photoshop to bring your photos up to the highest standard, utilizing colour correction, levels, adjustments as well as a walkthrough of the processes used to clean dust and scratches from your images. You will be shown how to export files for digital printing as well as for sharing online. All equipment and software will be provided for you, but in order to get the most out of the course you are encouraged to bring along a varied selection of negatives and/or prints to use during the course. It is estimated that you will have time to scan up to a dozen images during the day, so please do not bring along whole archives at this stage! Having completed the course you will be able to return to Stills to confidently use the scanning facilities here on a session or daily basis. However, much of the information and learning from these systems can be directly applied to your own home scanning setup if required.   Courses are subject to minimum enrolment. Please register early, within five days of the start date, to reduce the likelihood of course cancellation. Please read our cancellation policy before booking. Students, anyone over the age of 65, and those in receipt of any form of benefits can claim the concessionary price, offering a 10% discount on the full course price. Valid proof of eligibility must be produced on the first day of the course. Please use the code CONCESSION when prompted at checkout.

As phone and tablet cameras continue to improve and App developments become more advanced, mobile photography – previously considered only suitable for quick snaps and throwaway selfies – is more and more becoming recognised as a legitimate photographic medium. And anyone with a phone or tablet can do it! This course will explore the concepts of digital camera photography (and all that it entails) but through the medium of your own mobile device. Through a mixture of discussion and practical work this course will help you to push the limits of what your phone camera can do. As well as exploring the creative side of photography, we’ll break down some of the technical elements to get a better understanding of photography in general and learn how to achieve similar results using your phone or tablet. We’ll explore useful Apps to help get the desired output from your device and spend time looking at postproduction techniques that can improve and enhance your camera photos beyond a casual snapshot. Some of the Apps we will be looking at include Slow Shutter (iOS), VSCO (iOS/Android), Snapseed (iOS/Android), Adobe Lightroom for Mobile (iOS/Android) and Manual Camera (Android). You do not need to have all these downloaded in advance and, please be aware that depending on the capabilities of your phone, some of the features of these apps may not be available to you. This course is suitable for beginners and requires very little technical knowledge – just an enthusiasm and interest in photography and how to get a little more from your device. Please bring comfy weather-appropriate clothing as there will be some time spent outside shooting. Please specify the Make and Model of your mobile device when booking, so that the tutor can provide specific information tailored to your device wherever possible   Courses are subject to minimum enrolment. Please register early, within five days of the start date, to reduce the likelihood of course cancellation. Please read our cancellation policy before booking. Students, anyone over the age of 65, and those in receipt of any form of benefits can claim the concessionary price, offering a 10% discount on the full course price. Valid proof of eligibility must be produced on the first day of the course. Please use the code CONCESSION when prompted at checkout.