Complete Foundation Photography Course
Our 4-day Complete Foundation Photography Course provides a thorough exploration of the technical and design principles of photography, enabling you to master your camera’s manual mode and develop your creative vision.
By combining our Beginners and Intermediate Courses, it caters to both complete beginners and more experienced photographers seeking a systematic learning approach to produce professional-quality images. With a mix of projects, assignments, image reviews and classroom presentations, you’ll learn photography from the ground up in a clear and systematic way.
- With your booking confirmation you will receive a £50 voucher code valid for all Advanced Short Photography Courses (excl. Beginners, Intermediate and Complete Foundation) or the Professional Photography Course.
What is this course about?
In the first part of the course, you will gain a solid understanding of your camera and the technical aspects of digital photography, covering all 5 elements of photography: focus, focal length, shutter speed, aperture and ISO. You will master your camera in full manual mode and learn how to achieve creative effects using different camera settings.
The second part of the course shifts the focus to design principles, teaching you how to compose your images in the viewfinder. You’ll learn the importance of “seeing” in photography and develop skills to recognise and control distracting elements in your images. This section covers essential composition principles such as Object Balance, the Rule of Thirds, Negative Space as well as the concepts of post-production in Adobe Lightroom Classic.
Throughout the course, supported by your tutor, you will participate in a series of practical assignments on location, followed by review sessions. These hands-on experiences will help you to design impactful photo projects and effectively tell stories through your photographs. Additionally, you’ll learn about the significance of contrast in your images, focussing on pattern, colour and brightness.
By the end of this comprehensive course, you will possess the knowledge and expertise to create visually arresting and well-composed photographs that showcase your distinct artistic perspective.
What will the Beginner level cover?
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DSLR & mirrorless cameras
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Camera resolution & print size
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File formats (JPG & RAW)
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Lenses (focal lengths, macro, prime & zoom and what to use them for)
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Autofocus (focusing points, autofocus lock, back-button focus)
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Mastering Manual exposure (ISO, shutter speeds, aperture)
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18% grey card and when to under- and overexpose
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Metering Modes (Evaluative, Partial, Spot Metering)
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Fast & slow shutter speeds, panning
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Great and Shallow Depth of Field
What will the Intermediate level cover?
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Learn to see distracting image elements and how to control them
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Principles of composition (object balance, Rule of Thirds, negative space, frame within a frame)
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Use of contrast in your photographs (colour, patterns, brightness)
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Choosing the right lenses
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Use of Shallow Depth of Field for storytelling
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Developing your own stories by conveying a message
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Optimising your images in Post Production (retouching, adjustment brush, controlling colour, cropping)
"I have heard LIoP a number of times from people in the creative industry. The tutor is a recognised professional who truly cares about us students and makes details understood easily. This is a brilliant institution and highly recommended, and I can't wait to take more courses!"
Suyeon Song
Complete Foundation Photography Course student
"We had four intense but thoroughly enjoyable days with a nice mixture of classroom and location work, being set assignments and reviewing our work. It was thoroughly enjoyable and delivered in a warm, welcoming and professional way."
Ian Kinsey
Complete Foundation Photography Course student
"I did the Complete Foundation Course at LIOP and loved it. I learnt so much and Holger was the perfect tutor. As well as being a successful photographer, he is clearly passionate about teaching and we all learnt so much from him. I really can’t recommend enough."
Mel Gowie
Complete Foundation Photography Course student
What skills will I acquire?
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Master your camera in manual mode
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Broaden your creative bandwidth by exploring the relationship between aperture, shutter speed, focal length and focus
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Express your creativity through using basic design principles
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Craft your images through the viewfinder & the settings
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Put together your own photo projects
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Tell a story through your images
What do I need?
Digital Camera (DSLR or Mirrorless) with Manual Exposure Mode, laptop with Adobe Lightroom Classic installed (can be a free trial).
If you don’t own your own digital camera, you can hire a professional grade DSLR from us for £20/day. Simply email us with your requirements.
Booking options
The Complete Foundation Photography Course can be completed on 4 consecutive weekdays or two consecutive weekends.
Daytime Courses
£495
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, 10am – 4pm
Select a date:
Weekend Courses
£495
2 weekends, Saturday & Sunday, 10am — 4pm
Select a date:
Voucher
£495
All our individual photography courses are available as Open Date Gift Vouchers, valid for 1 year from date of purchase, the perfect idea to share your love for photography.