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Photography

Introduction to Digital Landscape Photography

Course Times & Enrolment

This course is currently unavailable.

Course Summary

This course allows you to develop your practical, technical and contextual understanding of contemporary landscape photography, through working on-location and introducing you to the use of Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom to post-process and edit your images. This course is aimed at both new and intermediate photographers who want to explore their ambitions, developing their photographic skills, explored through a project.

Please be aware that all of our digital courses that employ the use of computers and Adobe software are delivered on Apple Mac computers.

This course is aimed at those students who are just starting out in digital photography or have some basic skills and want to develop and enhance their knowledge of the camera, shooting and editing skills.

This course is delivered over three days, moving between the studio and local locations, exploring the digital camera’s functions, to become acquainted with and understand the camera’s potential for gathering a range of photographic references. The photographs are then brought back to a digital media lab, where the students will begin to develop skills in the use of Adobe Photoshop, editing their images and realising the potential of post-production.

Part of this course is taught at Cramond. Students are responsible for making their own way to this location.

Course Details

Pre-requisites for enrolment

None.

Special Information

Essentials materials and equipment students will need to provide themselves:

  • Digital camera with standard (i.e. 50mm, 18-55 zoom, etc.) lens

  • A sturdy tripod

  • USB stick / external hard-drive for saving images

  • Footwear and clothing appropriate for outdoor shooting

  • Card reader / communication cable for transferring files

Additional recommended materials and equipment students can provide:

  • Other lens types (wider lenses more suitable to landscapes) that students wish to experiment with

Content of Course

Each session students will be introduced to various topics in relation to the course, exploring a combination of context references and practical exercises and demonstrations, which include:

1. An introduction to contemporary landscape practice covering a broad range of photographers and styles.

2. An introduction to working from one or two locations around Edinburgh (and within the public transport network).

3. Developing a theme-based project.

4. Introduction to the use of Adobe Photoshop & Lightroom in post-production through the photographs taken in any relevant Field Trips.

5. Technical instruction; camera handling skills for landscape photography.

6. Compositional techniques for landscape photography.

7. Informal group critique discussing each days’ work.

8. On-location photography workshop further developing camera handling, compositional techniques and working towards a coherent body of work.

Teaching method(s)

Field trips (local around the city) and studio workshops tasks and exercises.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students should be able to: 

  • Demonstrate critical analysis of contemporary landscape photography;

  • Demonstrate a working knowledge of camera handling, compositional and post-production skills that will help achieve personal photographic goals;

  • Demonstrate the ability to select, edit and present a small body of coherent landscape photography.

Sources

Core Readings

Recommended

  • Wells, Liz, 2011. Land Matters: Landscape Photography, Culture and Identity.  London: IB Tauris

Web Sources

http://compofoto.lluisribes.net/en

Photoshop on Adobe TV:  http://tv.adobe.com/product/photoshop

Photoshop online help (accessible from the Help menu within Photoshop)

Class Handouts

Class handouts. General Information – photographic suppliers, photography galleries, influential landscape photographers, etc. Adobe Photoshop / Adobe Lightroom – organizing files, resizing images, good backup practice. Cheat sheet – helpful hints and tips to get the most out of your camera.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.