Fundamentals of Photography
Photography II: Advanced
This advanced course focuses on taking you beyond the basics of photography. Reinforce integral visual concepts while developing a photographic series for more exciting pictures, advancing your personal style and building a stronger foundation for artistic decision-making.
Prerequisites: : Understanding Your Canon/Nikon DSLR and Photography I:Basic, Editing class (Lightroom or Photoshop), and Lighting class (Studio or Flash); additional coursework or experience very helpful.
Equipment Needed: DSLR Camera
Ages 18+
Instructor: Chris Bisset
Understanding Your Canon DSLR
Are you intimidated by your Canon digital SLR or mirrorless camera? Don’t settle for photographs that are less than your camera is capable of delivering, and don’t be left in the dark about the vast array of features that you can use to take professional-quality images. Learn to navigate the menus, submenus, options, settings to the best advantage, gain confidence in the handling of your camera and further one’s photographic skills . Bring your camera and manual to class.
Equipment Needed: Interchangeable lens camera (DSLR or Mirrorless)
Cost: $245
Ages 17+
Instructor: Chris Bisset
Tuesdays, 6-8 p.m., January 14-February 25
Understanding Your Nikon DSLR
This course is designed to help you understand the available options and unlock the vast potential of your digital Nikon. The course begins with basic camera settings, advances to auto focus, exposure compensation, and flash options, and concludes with customizing your camera for your needs.
Equipment Required: Nikon DSLR Camera
Cost: $245
Ages 18+
Instructor: Mike Nelson
Wednesdays, 6-8 p.m., January 15-February 26
Photography I
Building on the intro classes, this course is designed to help you take more effective images using the capabilities of your DSLR or mirrorless camera. Increase your understanding of photographic technique and composition. Topics covered include exposure, selecting the appropriate aperture, shutter speed techniques, lighting, basic principles of framing and composition.
Equipment needed - Interchangeable lens camera (DSLR or Mirrorless)
Prerequisite: Understanding Your Canon, Nikon, or Sony Camera
Instructor: Chris Bisset
Ages 18+
Tuesdays, 6-8 p.m., March 11-April 29 *no class March 25
Creative Photography
Creative Fine Arts Photography
Fine-art photography is a medium for creatively and passionately expressing the vision of a photographer, while also communicating an idea, emotion or concept to the viewer. This course will thoroughly examine the basic fine-art image constructs of subject selection, lighting, composition, colors, tones, moods, depth, and perspective to challenge and inspire students toward a personal style and a consistent, skilled and refined approach in their work. The course will also introduce a series of specific creative photographic techniques such as print treatments, hand coloring, infrared, black & white and multiple imaging to guide students as they strive to identify individual goals and objectives in their work. Image finishing, matting, framing and presentation will also be covered.
Requirements: Digital camera, tripod
Cost: $235
Ages 18+
Instructor: Ken Boyd
Studio Lighting
Studio lighting can provide the consistent and predictable high-quality results many photographers require. From tabletop and product images to portraits, fashion and group photography, this course will examine the concepts, equipment, and techniques for simple, effective, and inspired lighting. Modern LEDs, ring lights and traditional strobes, lighting modifiers and backdrops will be used during workshop sessions throughout this course. Photographic planning, composition, and design, as well as posing and props for subjects, will be discussed and demonstrated to achieve the best possible results for each image and subject. *Limited to 10 students
Prerequisites: . Required: Photography I, Photoshop, Lightroom, or permission of the instructor.
Requirements: Digital camera with hot shoe, electronic flash unit compatible with camera, tripod.
Optional equipment: Second electronic flash unit; light stands and light modifiers are optional but not required for this course.
Instructor: Ken Boyd
Cost: $245
Mondays, 6-8 p.m., January 27-March 10
Photojournalism
Learn to tell stories with images, in package groups with leading, supporting, closing images, accompanied by captions or brief texts. Assignments include events, features, themes, and a project. Discover how photojournalism impacts your life, apply its principles, practices, and cover ethics, responsibilities of photojournalists.
Prerequisite: Beginning Photography, Understanding Your Canon/Nikon/Mirrorless Camera. Ages 18 +
Cost: $245
Equipment: thumb drive or internet access to upload assignments to a Google box; DSLR or mirrorless camera; lenses, tripod.
Instructor: Meg McKinney
Tuesdays, 6-8 p.m., January 21-March 11*no class February 25
Looking at Photographs
One of the challenges of advancing your photography is to become a better judge of your own photographs. It is hard to be objective when you are intimately involved with a photo of your own making. This will be a class inspired by the classes at the Maine Media Workshops & College in Rockport, Maine. Rather than taking their own photos, students will collect photographic images under different categories and from various sources like magazines, newspapers, social media, medical journals, great photographers of the past, editorial photography, advertisements, and photographic artists.
The initial meeting will explain the process and offer samples. Subsequent classes will have topics assigned to or chosen by the student. Students will present their collected images during class and discuss composition and what attracted them to the photos. Class is limited to 6 students. Additional students may be added upon approval by instructor.
The goal of this class is to sharpen your eye for what makes an effective photo.
Cost: $185 (5 classes)
Requirements: No previous course requirements in SAOTA. Students need a computer with internet access and jump drive for class
Instructor: Cliff Brane
Wednesdays, 6-8 p.m., February 5-March 5
Holiday Lights
Holiday Lights
Explore Photography Techniques for star trails, star points, light painting, and holiday displays. Ages 18+
Prerequisites: Understanding Your Canon/Nikon DSLR or mirrorless camera, Photography I. More opportunities for Night-Time Low Light students!
Equipment: digital camera, changeable lenses, tripod, flashlight, strobe light, intervalometer, shutter cable, footwear suitable for uneven ground at night, and thumb drive to submit photos in class.
Instructor: Meg McKinney
Outdoor Photography
Outdoor & Landscape Photography
Learn the principles of outdoor/natural light and landscape photography in this class. This includes initial visualization, suggested lenses, accessories and camera settings through various choices of software for editing photos. Topics will include composing landscapes, creating panoramas, using multiple exposures, blending single exposures, identifying layers of interest, flowing water and lowlight/harsh light techniques.
This class meets for 7 weeks, includes weekly assignments and 3 or 4 weekend outdoor sessions at locations to be announced at the first class. In previous classes we have invited special guest photographers to discuss their approaches to making good photos. Efforts by the instructor will be made to make any outdoor locations and times as convenient as possible for all class members. The instructor encourages frequent contact throughout the weeks of the class through email, phone, or texting.
Prerequisites: Prior to the first meeting of the class, students are encouraged to submit up to 10 jpeg samples of their photos so the instructor can seek to understand their starting point for the class. Students should have a working knowledge of their camera’s basics and an interest in learning more about taking better pictures outdoors.
Requirements: DSLR or Mirrorless camera, tripod, computer with internet. While not required, some knowledge of Lightroom or other editing software would be helpful.
Cost: $235
Instructor: Cliff Brane
Photographing Creatures: Exotic & Domestic
Learn tips and techniques to photographing domestic and exotic creatures, to include pet portraiture (studio rental approx. $10/student); field trips may include – dog agility event, horse show, a farm, the Birmingham Zoo (admission $19.95 adult), Alabama Safari Park (admission $24.95 adult), a rodeo (admission $15-25). Field trips scheduled at first class.
*No tag-along’s permitted, such as family or friends, unless student has a disability and needs assistance, and kindly discuss with instructor prior to field trip.
Requirements: DSLR or Mirrorless camera, tripod, computer with internet. While not required, some knowledge of Lightroom or other editing software would be helpful.
Prerequisite: Understanding Your Canon/Nikon/Sony; Photography I
Equipment Required: DSLR Camera, tripod
Cost: $245
Instructor: Meg McKinney
Tuesdays, 6-8 p.m., March 11-May 6 *no class March 25 & April 15
Architectural Photography
Architectural Photography
Discover architectural photography, exteriors, interiors, with technical challenges of composition, distortion, lighting. Assignments to emphasize designs, styles, eras, on-location problem solving. Field trips: 3 all-day, out of town; 1 half-day near Birmingham. Dates, times TBD in class. Admission fees: $30 total. Field trips are not required but offer excellent photography experiences.
Prerequisite: Understanding Your Canon/Nikon/Sony; Photography I
Equipment Required: DSLR or mirrorless, lenses, tripod, thumb drive to present images in class – or upload to a class drive. Google account, to submit images for class.
Ages 18+ ; Student(s) must be high school graduates, or have GED. We will be going on field trips; photographing locations with historic, cultural significance; meeting guides, location representatives, and students must conduct themselves accordingly. No tag-along’s permitted, such as family or friends, unless student has a disability and needs assistance, and kindly discuss with instructor prior to field trip.
Instructor: Meg McKinney
Certificate Electives
Adobe Lightroom
Adobe designed ‘Lightroom' specifically for photographers who want to organize and edit digital images quickly and safely. This course is designed to teach photographers how to edit images and to learn a complete start to finish workflow. Adobe Lightroom is the preferred software for creating beautiful images and it integrates with other postprocessing software programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. Lightroom is safe and nondestructive to your original images making it perfect for photographers that are new to editing.
Prerequisite: basic computer skills.
Cost: $245
Ages 18+
Instructor: Mike Nelson
Wednesdays, 6-8 p.m., March 12-April 30 *no class March 26
Printing
Essential Color Printing
Learn about preparing your photo files for printing and the inkjet printer choices photographers typically consider. Discussion will include requirements for completing the printing portion of the SAOTA Capstone. Students will look at images printed on various types of fine art papers and how they affect the look of the print. The course includes the student selecting a photo(s) for printing, choosing appropriate paper from a provided set of papers based on judging the way their photo(s) will look on that paper and finally creating a print(s) on the Samford Academy Epson P900 printer. Bring your 10 best photos files to the first class.
Requirements: Laptop & thumb drive
Prerequisites: Photography I, Adobe Lightroom or other editing software.
Ages 18+
Instructor: Cliff Brane
Capstone Course
Capstone Course
This is the capstone course for those seeking the photography certificate and have completed all the core and elective courses. The course will be run as an independent study. Must be approved by Academy to register for this course. Email us at: academyofthearts@samford.edu for approval.
Dates: Attendance of first class meeting on January 16 is mandatory. Other meetings will be scheduled by appointment. (Thursday, 6-8 p.m., January 16)
Cost: $300
Ages 18+
Instructor: Mike Nelson
