betterphoto.com?

[Kevin1844]

Hey folks,
I've been trying to track down a local school that holds courses in photography that goes beyond "How to turn on your camera and download pictures" but I've been pretty unsuccessful. I'm in Northern MA/Southern NH. I'm not looking for a 2 year certificate course, just something in a classroom setting that will help me improve my skills. If anyone knows anything around here, I'd love to hear about it.

In the meantime, I've come across betterphoto.com several times. It's instructor-led online learning and their courses are pretty targeted. It SEEMS like a good place to start albeit pretty pricy.

Someone posted this question a long time ago and back then nobody knew much about it. Has anyone experienced their courses? Are they any better than simply reading a book and experimenting?

 

[TamiyaGuy]

In my opinion, nothing is better than experimenting. A lot of people on The Photo Forum highly recommend the book "Understanding Exposure" (I'm afraid I can't remember the author), but I (in my opinion ) have done fine without it.

Maybe it's because I'm a cheapskate, but I would just suggest you get out there and take photos. LOTS of photos. Experiment with various combinations of shutter speed, aperture, ISO, etc, and just learn what works with what. e.g. take the same photo (of maybe a flower) at an aperture of f/2.8 (if your lens has that aperture), f/5.6, f/8, and f/11, and compare each one.

Best of luck!

 

[Overread]

This might be of interest if you are looking for some focus:
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125099
though you will have to wait a few days (and 10/15 posts) before you can send a pm to the mentors - its a security feature to discourage pm bots and such.

After that I would say there is a lot to learn with experimentation, books and the internet, but nothing beats one on one tuition or guidance - see if there is a local photography club in your area or a local photographer who is shooting the kind of photography you are keen on and ask if you can ghost them.
Some will be only too happy to help another whilst others will simply say no - but you won't know till you ask.
Also look around for semenar and day events - these can be good to pick up tips and get talking with a pro in the respective field of interest- though be carefull, check out the course first (like you are doing here) as some of these are simply long adverts for certain kinds of kit which they will spend the whole time trying to push you to buy