Certificate from NYIP

[ronda]

Will a certificate from New York Institute of Photography do me any good ? Is the online course worth the money

spent on it? I dont need to become the next most famous Photographer. But I would like to be good enough to

maybe sell a photo or 2 someday. Or should I just keep plugging away at it reading what I can find and practicing?

Thanks, Ronda

[hjoseph7]

A certificate ? It can't hurt, NYIP is probably one of the best photographic correspondence courses available and they are not very expensive. If you try plugging away and reading it will take you a llot longer. It's a little like driving. When I was a teenager I failed the driving test three times, because I learned on my own and thought I knew everything. I finally enrolled into one of those high-school driving schools and I passed the test.

[ronda]

Thank you Harry yes I agree it will take longer without being taught. And to be honest I'm just a tad frustrated........some shots turn out really nice and some well what can I say they are just plain bad. And some are soso. Thanks for you opinion.

[hjoseph7]

"And to be honest I'm just a tad frustrated........some shots turn out really nice and some well what can I say they are just plain bad."

 

Formal schooling, or any type of schooling is not going to teach you to get great shots everytime. That comes with experience and practice. They do give you the basics and structure where to start from, also how to improve and build on what you have already learned. What makes a good photographer great, is the amount of pictures in their trash can.

 

I took the NYIP course years(decades) ago and to this day, I still try to use some of the techniques I learned there. Right now I'm taking their Digital Course. They don't teach you everything no school can do that, but you will definately be one step ahead of the average Joe. While you are thinking about it, here is a good place to start http://super.nova.org/DPR/#TOC and is all free ! Just browse some of the subjects and you will be amazed.

[fullmetalphotograper]

A certificate from New York Institute of Photography and a $1.50 will buy you a cup of coffee. The instruction is a little

dated and expensive, but it is a starting point. I would recommend looking at a Junior College or an Adult School for some

hands on experience. The one advantage with NYIP is can study at your own pace.

[ronda]

Oh Harry I realize that, school can only do so much. Well from the amount of pictures in my trash can I'm on the road to being really great ;^) ***giggle*** I will go over those tuturails you gave me through that link. That looks like a good site. I marked in in my favorites. I'm thinking what I'll do is keep practicing and reading and this winter, If I still feel the need for formal schooling I'll give it a try. I also found a site called BetterPhoto.com. I'm in the process if checking them out.

 

Ralph I'm in Washington State I need $4.50 for a good cup of StarBucks coffee. I have checked into the Colleges here we have 2 in my area and neather have a Photography course. I would have to drive 130 miles 1 way to sit in a class room. With my small business and family thats out of the question. I would like to find a Photography club/group around here though.

 

Thanks for the feed back, I'll keep on keepin on and check back.

[elnoralouisa]

You might also want to check out www.ppsop.com the online school ran by Bryan Peterson. His book "Understanding Exposure" is just great.

[Life Photo-Documentaries]

Hi....

 

Ronda... I am in agree with Harry Joseph's posting... Any school will give you basics, but is up to you to explore and

experiment enough to develop your SIGNATURE, your style. I am in the photography since 1991, learning by my own

until year 2000-2001, when I took my first formal course in Venezuela. Let me tell you that a little help to organize what I

had learned by my self was a GREAT step forward to improve my skills...

 

Actually, I am about to complete the unit 6 of NYIP and even though I already knew most of the information of the

course, IT HAS HELPED a lot. I definitely recommend it to any one with none or basic photography knowledge but willing and discipline to learn to try their teaching system, it is easy going, clear and very COMPLETE. One finished the

professional photography course, I will definitely enroll in the Photoshop for photographers, hoping for the same

pedagogy level. (I DO NOT work for them, by the way).

 

Thank you for your time, hopping having helping you.

jc

[ronda]

Debbie thank you. I seen that book at our local book store and the dunce that I am didn't buy it. duh! Now I cant find

it I am going to have to order it through Amazon. Thank you for the link! I will check it out ASAP.

 

J.C. Thank you for your response. I'm definitely going to consider enrolling in NYIC probably this winter when I have

more time. I know the course is cheap but I'll have more money after my busy season and more time.

[robert_hall2]

http://www.ppsop.net/ is the correct address.

 

A beginner who is serious needs a manual camera. Shoot manual all the time. Get the minimum lenses you will actually use, zooms. They do not need to be great. Wide angle is the least used for most beginners. 300mm is about as long as you need unless you do sports. Get a macro if you want to do closeups. Practice a lot. Design experiments to see what things do. (ex: shoot the same scene at different shutter speed and fstops and iso's) Do a lot of reading but not in magazines which are designed to show equipment. Look at photographs in picture books to see what you like. Try to duplicate those images in your own area. Your first major investment should be a computer! Get a monitor that can be calibrated. Then, probably photoshop elements, and learn it well (it takes a year or two). Then CS3 or its newest version. If you print, you need a printer that can be calibrated. This will cost you about $3000 excluding the camera. The Canon Rebel is a good start. I had to learn the basics with a hand held meter. Because the meter lays out the exposure options visually, it worked for me. An old luna-pro with both reflected and incident light options would not be a bad idea if you have the discipline to use it. (In my day, I had no choice. Cameras did not have built-in meters).

 

How do you learn? Some people learn well on-line, from books, from others, from schools, or from practice. You do have a learning style. There are "gazillions" of on-line offers, gadgets that do little good, come-ons from lots of places. Just be careful. NYIP is OK if that is your learning style.

 

Learn expousre well. The two ends, dark and bright, are the most difficult. You don't need any other lens to learn exposure, just the normal lens. Digital cameras respond to light in specific ways. Learn what your camera does in light. Learn how to control the light. Look at your pictures and try to solve problems on your own.

 

Hope this helps!

[martyphotoarts]

I recently bought a DSLR and have started back into photography (it as been decades since I used a camera in even a semi-serious fashion). On top of that, I aimed a little high and picked up a D300 whose capabilities can be, to say the least, a little daunting. Talk about ups and downs in terms of image quality, whew! I have discovered, though, that there are ways to help yourself improve. I try at least once a week to give myself an assignment. Sometimes it's subject oriented, sometimes artistic, or sometimes technical and so on. For example, later today I plan to shoot in bracketed mode and attempt to gain some competence with that camera feature. I spent time earlier this week reading the manual and other literature on bracketing.

 

I've reviewed a variety of photography school curriculum offerings and decided that, for now anyway, there are ample resources, if I avail myself of them, to do plenty of self study. However you approach it, there is a time commitment involved and, if you take a course, a monetary one as well. If it is important to you to improve - and it sounds like it is - you'll get there if you keep working at it. A class may accelerate the learning curve, but so will a focused, concerted effort on your own. However you approach it, I wish you all the best in your photographic endeavors.

[ronda]

Robert Thank you for your response, I did buy a Canon EOS 5D. I know way more camera than I need at the

moment, but I was afraid I would out grow anything smaller in a year or so. And I just can't force myself to update

that soon. I have 2 lens a EF24-105mm F4L IS USM that came with the camera when I bought it, and I just got the

EF100-400 F4.5-5.6L IS USM. I almost have the money saved up for a macro lens Im debating on the EF 50mm 1.4

USM or the EF 100mm 2.8 Macro USM. Leaning towards the 50mm. I should have gotten the macro before the

telephoto, oh well. And I do use manual all the time. I have used Program Mode at the zoo in Portland because I'm

still slow in Manual and and being slow I missed some shots. But as you can see from my Tiger shots on my

Portfolio that I need a lot of practice! I have a computer I do need a decent monitor my monitor is a Sylvania F72 my

pictures look pretty good on it. But when I view some of them on my sons lap top they are way over sharp or the

color isn't quite right. As far as the printer goes I have a HP Photo Smart C5180 It seems to do a good job to my

untrained eye. But If I want to print anything larger than an 8x10 (and I haven't "yet") I'll have to have it done at a

photo lab. Because of money reason's I'll have to wait for a $3000. dollor printer set up. I still need to dive into the

calibration stuff. Thats where I adjust the colors on the monitor to appear correctly?

My learning style is hands on experience. So maybe that answers my own question about NYIP. You are right there

is tons of info all over the internet. That and practice.... maybe I should just hold off on NYIP. Thank you agian Robert

you have given me a lot to chew on.

 

 

Jeff thank you for your response as well. I had a Kodak DX7590 was taking some really nice pictures got a swelled

head and bought the Canon 5D talk about daunting. But I think maybe, just maybe I'm starting to figure some things

out. Just taking alittle longer than I expected. Patience has never been my strongest trait I think maybe I just need to

slow down some of my own expectations of myself. That is an excellent sugestion I will give myself assignments as

well, 1 step at a time instead of all of it right now!

 

Thank you everybody, you have all been a great help and given me alot to think about. I will check back. And keep

on keepin on.

[robert_hall2]

Ronda. A 5D, WOW. I have one, and your lens, and I can tell you that the camera will be superb for many years. You can easily get a 24x36 print with no discernable pixels. On canvas, they are stunning. If you know exactly what you want to shoot, a prime lens is best, but the difference is difficult to see without practice. The 100mm macro is great, exceedingly sharp, ideal for portraits. The advantage of the 180mm lens is working distance; decide if you need it, but it is really helpful most of the time. Macro work will lead to flash, and a tight working distance gets crowded with multiple flashes. The 5D has "large" pixels which hold more electrons which gives the image more "dynamic range" (I prefer the term "latitude"). It's a great camera. Printing is a whole world, not too hard to learn, but difficult to master. It is also expensive: monitor to calibrate, calibration stuff, printer, and supplies. A 24" printer is ideal. The 44" units are also great! Epson rules the printer world right now but Canon is a close second; if in doubt, go Epson. Digital darkroom is wonderful, but remember, you are sitting behind a computer in a darkened room, not taking pictures. My suggestion is to find a cheap processor and print 5x7s of your good ones. Master taking pictures before you decide to spend endless hours at the computer. Make a plan: one image a day, for example. Have fun!

[ronda]

Robert well I read your post this am and decided I best go research some macro lenses. I love the 180mm that looks and sounds like a fantastic lens, unfortunately way out of my price range. Maybe in the future. I'm going to go with the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens for $490.00 I have that much saved right now and I will be able to do portraits and macro with that one as well although its not L Glass its got some nice reviews. I do have a Speedlite 430EX flash its a nice little flash seems to be doing what I need "so far" . In fact I have been using it more and not blowing out my pictures as much as I was. I'll have to get into the printer and calibration stuff soon ***sigh*** sounds daunting! I made a plan today I went after a close up of some flowers some turned out some didn't but I got a couple nice portait shots of my dogs. A Lab and a Rat Terrier. The Black Lab is easier to shot than the little black and white Rat Terrier believe it or not. His little nose is blured in most shots cause he just cant hold still. And we did have fun, thank you Robert.

[marcosgey]

I personally enrolled in the NYIP course two years ago. The material they sent me was not really what I was looking for. However, I did read the whole package and it did improve my photography. I agree with some people saying the best is to have a hands on instruction, but at the stage I was at, the course did help me a lot, even so I didn't send most exercises. (and should get to it) If you enroll at a distance learning center, make sure is updated for digital, since most have it set up for film, and even so the basics are the same, there is no point in studying systems you will never use, and not going deeper in the digital workflow.

For me I always felt more confortable with self aducation. There are many advantages now with digital photography that were not available before, like many web sites like this one dedicated to photography and very good people willing to help. I agree with Robert in most things, except the magazines. You should sign up for a subscription to one magazine, yes they try to sell equipment, in the way of reviews, (but we all like new toys). But you need to extract the info that will help you from each issue. One of the best ways to improve is to see more work by others. And they show you some step by step that you can apply to your photos as well, you make your own interpretations.

 

Good luck and keep on shooting

[dlambert]

I'm enrolled at NYIP. Yes you can find plenty information on internet and can buy books. But everything is there for you. They are updating their courses right now.

Upto now I would say it's worth the money spend and you can study whenever you want.

[ronda]

Thank you Marcos for your response. I appreciate the feed back. Ya know I have learned a lot from reviews, and what confused me I did some more reading on.

 

David thank you for your response as well, I'm glad I havent enrolled yet sinse they are updating their courses its good that I have waited. The studing whenever I want sounds good like I said in an earlier post I might enroll this winter. If I am not making the progress I expect. I do think I figured out what was wrong with the Canon Beach shot in my profile. I had the settings for Sharp set to high in camera so the water looks kinda grainy or over sharp. I have corrected that "I hope"