Photography Course
Beginner's Guide to Studio Photography
Photography MK is bringing the first in-studio photography course to Buckingham and the surrounding areas.
Overview
More about the course
This four-part course has been designed to allow beginners to learn the basics of studio photography.
Each workshop will last for three hours, covering four different subject matters regularly captured in the studio: still life, portrait photography, food photography and product photography.
There are four places available on this course.
Session 1
Learning the Camera & Studio Lighting
In this first session, we learn how to get the most out of your camera in a studio, while looking at lighting options in the studio.
- Moving out of automatic mode
- The exposure triangle
- Understanding depth of field
- Using a modelling lamp
- Hard lighting vs Soft Lighting
We will learn the basics of setting up your image catalogue in Lightroom, while also covering some simple blemish removals in Photoshop.
Output: Still life images
Session 2
Introduction to Portrait Photography
In the second workshop we will look at different lighting techniques for portraits photography. More studio equipment will be introduced along with best practices.
- Single lighting
- Double lighting
- Backgrounds
- Diffusion
- Under chin reflector
During post-processing we will learn how to colour correct portraits using a few additional tools in Lightroom, as well as some retouching techniques in Photoshop.
Output: Portrait / LinkedIn profile
Session 3
Introduction to food photography
Building on the techniques learned already we will look at composing and shooting food photography using different lighting setups and an overhead tripod.
- Composing a scene
- Making the hero stand out
- Complimentary textures
- Overhead shooting
- Hard vs soft lighting
Whilst editing we will learn about layer masks and adjustment layers to modify the images we shoot in a non-destructive manner as well as batch editing images.
Output: Food photography composition images
Bonus: You get to eat the food after we have finished shooting!
Session 4
Introduction to Product Photography
In our final session we will get a little more technical with product photography. By the end of the session, you will learn to appreciate the effort that goes into compositing product photography images!
- Lighting the background
- Lighting the product
- Using reflectors and masks
- Combatting reflection
- Choosing light modifiers
- Focus-stacking
We will learn how to composite images in Photoshop and combine multiple techniques to pull the images together to make a stunning image.
Output: E-commerce product image
Who is this course for?
The course is designed for anybody who is looking to further their interest in photography. It would be of particular benefit to independent business owners, e-commerce store owners, marketing people, and anyone who wants to learn more about studio photography.
What will I take from the course?
The course will explain:
- Key functions of the camera in manual mode
- Explain different studio lighting setups
- Composing scenes and shots
- Option for capturing the images
- Post-production and editing techniques
You will learn about the following software and workflows:
- Adobe Lightroom
- Adobe Photoshop
- Capture One
What do I need to bring?
No prior knowledge of photography is required, however familiarity with a camera would be helpful. You do not need to bring a camera – we will be shooting with one of our cameras to ensure full compatibility with all the studio equipment.
The following will be required:
- Laptop – should have sufficient hard disk space and a minimum of 8GB RAM to ensure it handles Lightroom and Photoshop (anything from within the past 5 years should be fine)
- Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop – there is a free trial on the Adobe website.
- Capture One – not required until the final session, but there is also a free trial on their website.
How much does it cost?
We are still finalising the price at the moment, but this is likely to be around the £250-300 mark for 12 hours over the four sessions. We will be offering an early bird discount of 15% for those who register their interest early.
How do I register interest?
We are planning on running the course in July 2025. At this stage we are keen to gauge interest and find what dates work. Space will be limited to 4 people to ensure sufficient time is provided to each person attending.
Simply use the below for to register your interest for this course and we will be in touch with more info by the end of June.