NYIP Photography Fundamentals

Has anybody tried <a href="http://www.nyip.com/courses/ds/">this program</a>? It seems like it covers what really

matters when it comes to an amateur and photography and I just wanted to know if it was worth the hefty price

($350).

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I have received the free course catalog and the program covers everything from the very basics (aperture, shutter

speed, exposure, etc.) to how you should think about taking a shot to make your photos look "professional". In

addition, the catalog says it will take 4-6 months to complete if you work hard, but you have up to two years to

complete it - so it sounds they have a lot more to offer than one of the month long weekend programs most

photography shops offer.

Wow - so I skimmed the forum for NYIP threads and did not see that there were actually a few until after posting this, I will take a look at those. Doesn't mean you guys can't share your experiences though!

I would google it and spend some time searching if you think $350 is expensive. I think that is a very low price. Their reputation is pretty good but I have not taken their program. You can easily spend $350 on books that will do you only some good. The "expensive" part is not having the discipline to do the assignments well, in a timely manner. That is, you need the self discipline to teach yourself.

It all depends on your level of photography experience. If you need more work on apet. and shutter speed, and the basics, then it is a good course. If you have all these under your belt, then go for their Pro course (which is a lot more expensive), or try one of the online courses like www.ppsop.com NYIP is good, but there is a LONG wait to get your comments back from them. I took this course because it was totally digital, but already knew most of it. I didn't find the comments very helpful 'well, you obviously know what you are doing' didn't do much for me. It is a lot of material, and if you are just getting started, it's not bad!

I guess I was comparing the price to the local classes that have less than 10 hours of teaching and are half the price. After looking through a couple threads (Once I found where they were all hidden... from me at least) it seems that it is indeed very cheap for all that you receive from it. It also seems that people either love it or hate it, but since I am very inexperienced I imagine it would help me a lot.

I hate that you can't edit posts...

 

So after finding the sub-category within the sub-category within the forums that held the many posts about this program (I'm new to the site and photography if that wasn't already evident), I have decided that I will stick with my original plan of taking the course.

 

The biggest two complaints were that the information is dated (it has apparently been updated since most the complaints were made) and that it takes a long time to get feedback/the next lesson (what can you do?). I was also completely wrong when saying the price was high after seeing what it used to be and what other courses cost (photography sure is an expensive hobby). In addition, I have seen that many people loved the course, but many people thought it was a waste of time and money as well. So, it would seem that if anybody is thinking about taking the course they need to stop and think whether it is right for them.

Wait, wait, your last post is talking about two totally different things! The course you linked to in your first post (the 16-lesson digital course) that you said was $350, is a new course, about a year old. This is NOT the course that the previous posts were about. That was the Pro course, and is about $900 to $1000. We were all complaining it was outdated (film people were ok with it), and covers tons of photography stuff, and is currently being updated. The digital course that you linked to, is the one that is very basic and that I said unless you need the basics of composition, shutter speed, F-stops, etc., it will be a bit easy. The Pro course covers just about everything.

Well, I feel like an idiot. Like I said, I am very new to photography and although I know what all of those do, I still do not know when to utilize them to make the photo better. So, I will go ahead and try the course.

I feel that all education is good. I went to college for my photo career. NYIP's rep in this area is that they are a little dated in their

info and some what expensive but still informative and a place to start at. For $350 dollars you can get a hands on instruction at

a junior college. If you had ask me this question a few years back I would have said avoid NYIP but my opinion of them has

mellowed. I am just not sure of the value of said course. From what I read on the NYIP site, they give no real details to what

they cover big RED FLAG. What photo editing software will you be learning through the program? What techniques for shooting

well-composed, artistic looking digital photographs are they talking about? What are these two projects they are talking about?

You do get a gray card that would run about $18 dollars at B&H, again no detail given why you will need it. What is the real value

of this Graduation certificate. I would want answer to these questions before I would part with $350, Maybe it is because I come

from a photojournalism background.

 

From what I have seen so far I could not recommend this program with so little detail.

Nic, then the course will probably be just right for you. If I had taken it at the beginning of my learning, it would probably have served as a good course. I thought I would never understand or have a clue what an F-stop was, and why on earth I cared at all, but then you look back later, and say why on earth was that so difficult?

I am a digital SLR newbie and looked into NYIP recently- I decided it wasn't quite what I was looking for, one of the

questions I asked was about lecture/comment delivery. Apparently, they have updated lessons to be delivered on

CD's, but comments from instructors can only come on cassette tape- I don't even own a tape player anymore and

was kind of concerned about the general technological level of the entire course given that they are using, what

seemed to me at least, to be antiquated technology, particularly given the ease of making digital audio files. Just

something to consider.

I tried that program and a few others and (in my very personal opinion) - what you pay is what you get. $700+

that I invested in the complete course (that was a few years ago) got me a bit more than a bottle of snake oil

and a box of silver bullets. Glad I did it though, because it convinced me to go for *real* education and I ended

up enrolling in a full-time photo school. My major problem with NYIP program was the fact that students have a

very limited contact with the instructor (basically, it's a one-way road where you are given some 75 sec. or so

of feedback per shot) and in case of a major blunder (which tend to happen all the time when you are learning

something new) there will be nobody around to give you a hint or critique your work. The only difference between

reading a good instruction book and this school is that it costs a few times more than a book and gives you a

feeling that some wisdom has been dispensed. IMHO - given a second chance, I would never do that again and would

always opt for a live instruction course instead - at least you get valuable feedback, which worth gold.

Well I'm on the fence again. Almost everywhere I look people are saying that when given the chance take a photography class with actual instructors, photography is not meant for correspondence learning. Many people also say that since the critiques are awful, you are basically paying all the money for learning material that you could buy anywhere else (for less than $350).

 

Maybe I will take one of the 5 part classes at Ritz or Richmond camera, then see where I stand.

Nick. We have all been through this. You really can teach yourself the basics. That information is readily available. You will need a basic digital SLR with one lens, a computer, photoshop elements, and a whole lot of time. Photoshop will take a year to learn on your own (a whole topic in itself). Concentrate on aperture/shutter speed/iso (exposure), how different lenses work, and basic composition. You can learn these without instruction, up to a point. Then go for formal instruction. Finding a good teacher is a great way to learn quickly. That's my advice for what it is worth.

Nick

 

I am just finishing their program (submitting unit 6). I have been in photography since 1992. In Venezuela, where I came

from, there are very few GOOD options in formal learning opportunities. I began learning by my self, then in the year

2000 I had the opportunity to really improve my formal knowledge taking a VERY GOOD private course in Caracas. Then

once here in Texas (2005) I found the NYIP advertisement and I decided to try it.

 

I am very happy with their program. My first career is in the science and research field, so according to my teaching and

researching experience I consider their method as very well conceived for teaching photography. They really go step by

step covering in very close detail all the basics needed to start you in doing photography.

 

As Robert stated, you could learn by yourself. Today the information is everywhere but I consider that having a formal /guided

training helps to improve faster than trying alone.

 

I have also a critique to NYIP. I am in agree with Alex S. I consider their personal attention as not efficient as I

expected / they advertise it. When I e-mailed them (my personal advisor assigned to help you) asking for some issues, I

got disappointed by the response. It was an express / brief response like not having time to dedicate to my concern and

also leaving me almost as before the e-mail. Then I decided to find out my responses by my self.

 

Conclusion:

1) I liked how the text material and subjects are organized, explained and presented to the student, step by step

(lessons and units).

2) I liked the recommendations/advices accompanying/complementing each lesson (in the texts).

3) I consider it as a very complete course, giving you a very nice idea about the world of photography.

4) I liked the audio and video support of each unit, I liked the extra information included in the package.

5) I DO NOT liked their responses when I needed some extra consultation from the personal advisor. (I did not used to

much either)

6) definitely, NOTHING substitutes a good live instruction course that gives you a valuable feedback (as Alex S stated).

 

Then, If you are willing to learn by your self, this is a very valuable material to guide you along the whole process. Of

course NOTHING is more important than shooting, shooting and shooting.

 

 

JC

"Has anybody tried this program? It seems like it covers what really matters when it comes to an amateur and photography and I just wanted to know if it was worth the hefty price ($350)."

 

If you think $350 is allot, then try something else. There are allot of free websites these days, or you can buy some books if you know which ones to buy. The reason why I say this is because I took their full Digital photography course and on top of the $750, I had to tack on the price of a Printer, Photoshop, and a scanner. Not only that, the lessons come on CD meaning that if you don't want to toggle back and forth between the Lessons on CD and Photoshop you are going to have to print each lesson. This can get a little costly.

 

I took this course as well as a formal course in Photography at a local Community College. They both have their advantages, but in my opinion, I find the courses at NYIP more valuable. First of all, I found the lessons and excercises easier to retain than formal, training. These people have been teaching Photography since 1910 so you better believe they know what they are doing.

 

Not only that, you can allways go back to a subject you did not understand, because you are not under any pressure to get to the next subject, or to get good grades like in a formal training course. Some people complain about the support, but how much support do you get in a formal course, where the teachers are stressed out trying to fill their quotas and you are competing with 20 other students. It's a matter of time before you become a royal PIA.

 

The thing I don't like about the NYIP courses is that you are basically reading through each lesson. If they had included audio with those lessons(with the option of turning it off) I think it would have made for easier retention. I learn better when somebody tells me something then I read something to confirm it, but that's just me. I also miss the Human interaction you get in a formal course.

 

The thing I don't like about formal training is not only what I mentioned above about the stressed out teachers trying to fill their quotas, but then you are dealing with egos, and all other type of nonsense.

Such as who has better equipment, who has more connections, who takes better pictures, get the picture.

 

Another thing about the NYIP course is that some subjects are left pretty vague, while other subjects are repeated so often they become monotonous. If you are not highly motivated, it might take you years to finish this course, because you will allways find something more fun to do on a bright sunny weekend.

 

If you are just starting out, I would highly recomend it, but if you already feel that you got all the "fundamental" stuff under your belt, then I would look for a more advanced and probably more expensive course.

 

I try to stay away from workshops myself, because usually they are very expensive. The teacher or so-called mentor is allways trying to get the course over with after you shelled out your hard earned dollars and the pace is so fast, that everything goes in one ear and out the other, if your'e lucky.

 

Well I hope I gave you some good advice. Good luck !

Thank you for the additional responses. I suppose that after shelling out 1.5g for camera and gear another $350 for a few resources seemed like a bit much, but apparently not. Pretty much every single person agrees that the communication in NYIP is very poor (critiques are vague and you are lucky to get a response from a mentor), and that if you can get hands on training with a photographer you will gain much more. I will probably start the course before the first of the year if I do not decide otherwise before then.

Hi Nick,

 

I am in the same boat as you and I think the same city based on one of your previous comments. Try the Museum of

Fine Arts Studio School. They have film and digital offerings, during the day and at night. I have taken the film-based

classes there and liked them. Now I am looking into the digital classes. Here is the link to their class listing:

http://www.vmfa.museum/fallclass2008descrip.html#photo.

 

J. Sargeant Reynolds also has some classes but it may be too late to get in for this semester. Unfortunately, VCU's

program is not easy to get into unless you are a full time student.

 

Let me know what you think of the NYIP program if you decide to do it. I think I am going the VMFA route,

supplementing with books and tutorials. Good luck!

I would have to commute to the VMFA for the classes (close enough though), but it may be more helpful to take the Beginner and Intermediate Digital Photography classes with them, rather than the Fundamentals class with NYIP. I'm sort of holding off on the paid education right now though, just taking pictures.