Available dates:
Tuesday 5th May & Wednesday 6th May 2015: 10am-5pm
Tuesday 19th May & Wednesday 20th May 2015: 10am-5pm
Venue: Creative Exchange, 29 Constitution Street, Leith, EH6 7BS

Introduction to Digital Photography is designed to get you to the next level with your DSLR. The two-day course will help you understand the technology of your DSLR and get to grips with its advanced features. The two-day course will include teaching and discussion of technical aspects as well as the opportunity to complete a shoot to a given brief with tutor and group feedback on quality improvement.

Course requirements:

To do this course you will need to bring a DSLR with lens, memory card, and card reader. A laptop with Photoshop CS6 or higher would be an advantage but is not essential.

Day 1: Introduction

• Getting to know your kit. Learn about different camera brands, choices and budgets for lenses bodies and accessories
• Learning about your camera’s basic operations and maintenance
• Getting to grips with your camera body and sensor technology
• Learning about lens technology — image stabilisation, focal lengths and aperture
• Knowing more about memory cards, buffer technology and card speed
• Knowing the differences between Live View versus OVF
• Exploring shooting modes such as P (Program), Tv (shutter priority), Av (aperture priority) and M (Manual)
• Understanding the exposure triangle
• Getting an overview of video functions
• Exploring basic flash operations
  

Day 2: Intermediate/Advanced

• Taking part in practical exercises exploring P (Program), Tv (shutter priority), Av (aperture priority) and M (Manual)
• Looking at the differences between raw and JPEG workflows
• Taking part in a shoot to a given brief
• Tutor and group feedback on the shoot
• Importing and optimising files for use in Bridge, Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop
• How to colour balance in Adobe Camera Raw
• Basic retouching techniques within Photoshop

TUTOR PROFILE

Paul Cowan has lived in Edinburgh since 1996 and studied at Edinburgh College of Art. He is a freelance photographer and educator, teaching part time at Edinburgh College as well as working in event, product and social photography.

Paul is a member of The Photographers Collective, (http://thisiscentralstation.com/featured-collective/collective-the-photographers-collective/) exhibiting annually in their collections, and delivering portfolio clinics to help up and coming photographic talent. In addition, he has exhibited in solo and group shows of his work nationally and internationally.

He is a self-defined, unrepentant camera nerd and in his personal work explores historic photographic processes such as pinhole photography. Have a look at the quality and range of Paul’s work at http://www.paultcowan.com.

VENUE PROFILE

An exciting business incubator and flexible workspace for people working in creative industries. The Creative Exchange offers affordable space alongside business support, creating a hub for collaboration and innovation in Leith.

The exchange provides:

• workspace for up to 80 individuals, groups and businesses
• a centre for creative and digital talent
• business incubation, development and support services
• a hub for collaboration, innovation and co-operative working
• a demonstrator space to promote the business
• potential of ultra-fast broadband and digital technology
• a platform to showcase the city’s creative products, services and talent
• on-site gallery with exciting programme of exhibitions