Technical and general courses

We explore aperture, depth of field, exposure, colour balance and colour management, and the use of every control on the camera, and often every menu choice as well.

We have a fairly quick look at the capabilities of Nikon Capture NX, discuss the option of shooting in Raw or Jpg's, and printing items. 

Many other areas are covered and we answer all of your questions as we proceed. 

The tutor has separate course outlines for each camera, and uses this as a guide, allowing him to move off the core material to answer your questions or demonstrate other features, but able to make sure all major areas get covered. This means the course is fluid enough to cover your areas of interest or concern, answering the questions that you have but also structured enough that no major area is overlooked.  ... see page on HNK course.

CNX - Capture NX Training

Digital photography is a two stage process, capture the image and then edit it

We are not a fan of everything with a Nikon label, and if you have attended the HNK course above you will know we often show you how to achieve some requirements cheaper. Software wise we don't like the Picture Project package that comes with most Nikon cameras. What we are a great fan of is Capture NX, the photo editing package. The main reason we like it so much, and do nearly all of our editing with it, is that it is so quick to use. Particularly if you shoot RAW rather than JPG's you have so many more options, including changing the colour balance and to a small degree the exposure after you get back. In our view you have a tremendous advantage by using this. We can edit just about any photograph in less than 10 minutes.

We have developed a day course to take a person who has little or no knowledge of editing and by the end of the day for them not only to be able to use all the features in Capture NX but feel confident to do so. We start with a demonstration of what can be done, then look around all the features, before moving on to edit a series of real photographs. We have selected a large number of images, that allows both a wide variety of situations to be explored but also done using images that the client finds interesting. From at least lunch time on you are using the mouse and keyboard, with our dedicated help. We don't leave you or try and do anything else, but concentrate on looking with you at how to get the most from each photograph.

Perhaps it would also be helpful to say that you can't learn editing by copying a set sequence of stages or tasks, those who do get into a habit of trying to think of which exercise they have done that could be applied to the image before them. To edit well you need instead to look at an image and decide what changes you wish to make and confidently make them. We have found the best route to achieve this is to start by understanding the individual features and then undertake editing while discussing options and actually undertaking them.

If you wish, you can bring along some of your own images with you, and edit these here with our help.

Capture NX is not expensive, and you can also get a 30 day free trial of the whole package, if you want to try before you buy.

The CNX course requires a full day, so please don't try to combine this with another course. We can find the odd hour to answer other questions or review an area you have problems with but if you try to put much more in, you will not get to a competence level on the day that we are aiming at.  See page on CNX course, which covers the above in more detail and also mentions a range of other software.

CLG - Flash and Creative Lighting

Photography is sometimes defined as painting with light. While available light photography is the most common used, many situations can be improved by the use of additional lighting, mostly in the form of one or more flash units. 

This course aims to both provide a good understanding of the capabilities as well as practically explore a number of situations utilising both the Nikon Creative Lighting system and an economic small home studio system.

We start with the on board flash unit of some models, then move onto a single flash unit and explore its use on camera, and on an extension lead, both as a main light source and balanced fill flash. The various capabilities and settings for this are explored, with a series of photo setups to make use of it.

A small studio setup using a low cost non Nikon lighting system is looked at using a number of flash heads, reflectors, brollies and other accessories and light cubes, a radio trigger is used as well as flash meters.

The Nikon Creative Lighting system is explored, the different flash units and how they can be combined is covered. How each camera caters for this is explored. Balancing light for colour, mixed lighting, fill flash, briefly settings on both the camera and flash units are investigated. Commander mode on some cameras, separate unit or utilising the SB800 and multiple groups of flash are covered. Examples illustrated are fill flash, close up photographs of items and portraits. This covers the SB800, SB600, SB400, SB200, and R1C1 kit including commander. Most of the experience gained will be done using three SB800 and two SB600 units, and any units you have, but can be applied to any of the other models. See page on CLG course.

Before attending this course you should either have attended another of our courses or have a very good understanding of digital photography and the operation of at least one of the Nikon DSLR cameras.

Other course suggestions

The following courses can be taken as a day, or cut down to include more than one in a day, and as the day can have your choice of length, you can get the ideal mix for you, effective use of your time but also long enough to put some of it into practice.  They can also be trimmed and taken in the new 'shorts' 3 hour format'.

Also consider the Masterclasses as well and remember that with 1 to 1, you can mix training providers and still get a saving by utilising training vouchers.

GGG - Getting to Grips with Grads

Blown highlights, detail and missing sky's are a feature many have come to accept, if not expect, but in most cases these are not the only option.  If you have mastered Capture NX you will know you can underexpose and pull out information from the darker areas, but there is also another option for those looking particularly at producing quality landscapes and images of items like steam trains.

A grad or graduated filter, is a rectangular filter, dark at the top and light at the bottom, that slides in a holder on the front of the lens. They come in different strengths, and can be combined, and rotated.

On this course we look at three ranges of graduated filters  Cokin P and Z-Pro and the Lee range. The Lee and Cokin Z-Pro are compatible and can be combined. Most are neutral, but we also look at some that change or add colours. We look at the effect of different camera set ups, and compare when this is the best course or when other methods would be better.

We also look briefly at ways of achieving similar results by combining different copies of a RAW image, how to shoot images this will work with, and the problems this may give. Similarly we look at combining two shots with different exposures, and how these can be achieved easily.

Depending on the weather, part of this course may be outside utilising challenging situations, while at other times we will manufacture the situation in the studio to allow you to get hands on experience with these options.

PAN - Panoramas

If you have had any interest at all in producing panoramas you will have seen there are specialist panorama heads, although the same effect can be achieved by other means. These heads allow you to slide the camera back to a point where the camera pivots on the point that light crosses inside the lens, so that the images can be overlapped exactly. In practice it is rarely that simple, in that you have to set and lock the colour temperature, exposure etc. so that the overlapping photos are exactly the same. There are a number of other problems to overcome, from varying brightness of the sky to items that move.

At a practical level we produce panoramas on this course both from one or more view points overlooking a large area and some on level ground. The locations chosen varies, we have so many picturesque locations really close to us. We discuss, but don't usually practice sunset and sunrise panoramas, and others that will present a problem. We also use both very wide angle and fish eye lens to compare the results that can be obtained by using these and sectioning.

It is possible to combine the GGG and PAN courses in a single day if we don't go out as much, and particularly if you have already done the Capture NX course.

CCM - Colour Calibration and Management

Everyone knows that to get the ideal results the computer screen that you are using and the printer you are going to print out on requires profiles that have been calibrated for them.

While you can use darkroom techniques with test strips to get printable results without profiling and managing properly, the files you produce would not of course print well on other systems or be very suitable for picture library or magazine use.  While we appreciate that some people do use this technique including some who offer limited edition prints, and we do explain it, we do not cover it in depth or practically.

This course starts further back, looking at what colour management is, how we have set up the colour aspects of the settings within the camera, from colour space to the colour temperature of the light we were working in. We look at the monitor and software and how its colour spaces and features will effect the way the image appears, we look at the need to understand and adjust room lighting and the area the monitor is against, or to add a neutral shield.

We look at how we create a profile of a screen and implement it, and similarly how we do the same for the printer, which needs to be done for each different paper and ink combination we use.

This all sounds complicated, but it's not, a task list allows this to be done in sequence, and be got absolutely right by anyone.

To implement this at home you will need to get a device to calibrate your monitor and we explain the various options available. As the screen calibration tools are very cheap and the printer ones not so, and screens require far more regular profiling, you may decide to send printouts away and get profiles created.  To enable you to fully appreciate your work once your system is profiled we will produce one profile from a printout for you after the course, if you chose to get just a screen profile tool.

Once a system is fully calibrated and you have full control, and are implementing all that you should to capture the images you will find that your images 'pop' by this we mean that your prints become so real looking that many will imagine they are seeing the real item in front of them.

Devices for producing screen profiles are relatively cheap and it's likely that you will get one of these yourself so you can regularly check your screen profile. Printer profiling requires a far more expensive option but once you understand the way it works you can choose to have your own or to use a mail in service. Standard profiles that can be downloaded are far from ideal, and while on this course we will show you both the results of using standard downloaded profiles and properly produced profiles.

If you wish you can bring your computer, printer and paper with you and produce printer profiles while with us. We also have a mail in printer profiling service for clients, see Customer Services for details. We can also profile your screen if it is a PC while your here, we don't currently have a MAC version.

3DP - 3D Photography

3D photography is achieved by taking two photographs, that are combined to form a single image. You use special glasses when looking at the 3D images and you get to see what appears to be a full 3D image. Using software to combine the images we can move the screen or paper either back and forward to determine what appears to be in front of and behind the screen or paper level. There are several very good and free programs that will do this.

We look at photographing gardens in 3D as well as the problem of photographing smaller items and some items of specific colours. We also discuss other methods that can be used to produce 3D effects.

This can be a full day course including trips out and a number of practical projects or can be combined with another course.

Other technical areas - if you can't see what you require then please ask. If it's legal, safe, economic and possible we will see what we can organise for you.

Topic courses

This line was originally a section of the main line, so in many places the track runs on one half while we have clear access and walking space on the second half. The wider space makes it far easier to photograph.

Dates for this course need to be set to line up with good opportunities when the most trains are running, so let us know the time of year that you are interested and we will suggest some good dates. We can go further a field than our local line, but as it's one of the best we often have to travel some way to get to another suitable one. Once you are able to master this there are now over 100 preserved steam railways in the UK to photograph.

This course also makes a good final day or part of a day of a multi day course allowing you to put into practise what you have learnt.

COT - Cotswold Villages

We are based in the Cotswolds, and an ideal location to take people to photograph some of the most picturesque village locations in Britain. There are so many ideal locations that we could not cover them all in a week let alone a day, so we vary the schedule to suit the time of year, and time of day we can be there, while also minimising travel time, and maximising variety. If you have particular places that you want to visit please let us know, and if you have any other special requirements let us know. We don't walk far, we use a car so as to get as much photography time in as possible. 

As there is less training on this than other courses, it's not a good choice if you haven't done the HNK or have a fairly good level of knowledge. It does make a good day to add to other courses to allow you to put your training into practice while having the help available.

BUT - Butterflies

Butterfly and moth photography presents several distinct challenges, but can be a speciality that offers particular interest for some, as well as knowledge that can be applied to other situations.

This involves to a degree a combination of close up, telephoto and macro photography, using both available light and flash. We will need to allow you to try out different lenses and know how to set the cameras up ideally to capture these situations. We are not using captive or butterflies that have been put in a fridge, but concentrating on how to photograph subjects in the field, which are unlikely to hang around long. We also identify for you a number of locations you can visit yourself on a later occasion.

We first cover the theory and practice on small items, before going off to find butterflies in number. Depending on the time of year and weather we will select from a number of reserves where we know butterflies are plentiful or if the weather is not suitable we will visit one of three large butterfly houses that are all within an hours drive.

Butterfly photography is easiest in the morning, when they are cold and stay still while warming up. If you want to we can arrange a very early start in summer months to make the most of this. Where we change the start time we still have the same number of hours in the course day. An early start also makes it an attractive course to combine with some landscape photography.

Others - If you don't see what you require, then please let us know, we do occasionally have to say that we cannot undertake training to meet specific requirements. In some cases due to health and safety limitations i.e. underwater photography or cave exploration photography and in some cases just because it requires the hire of very specialised equipment, such as photography through high powered microscopes. In some cases we don't normally offer it, such as aerial photography but will consider situations that we feel are workable.

If you want to achieve some other form of photography or have a specific interest then feel free to ask. If it's legal, safe, economic and possible we will see what we can organise for you.