Overview
An exciting range of photographic courses are offered to keen amateur photographers who desire to expand their knowledge and improve their photography skills. During your photography tour of Melbourne you will shoot and explore many of the iconic sights and capture the colours this amazing city has to offer. Travel in comfort in one of Melbourne's historic trams and get on and off at each of the photo shoot sights or be more adventurous and join in the bicycle tours with a delicious, light brunch. Complete your knowledge with a post imaging course and find out how to use photoshop to fine tune your images. All of our photographic tours have a maximum of 6 participants.

Full Day Tour (participants enrol in session 1 and session 2)
Session 1 - Day Photography - Meet opposite Federation Square at St Pauls Cathedral
The first half of the full day course starts with students being taught the skills and techniques required to capture dynamic photographs and then how to make a photograph work in any environment.

Although most digital SLRs look much like film SLRs, the additional controls on these cameras offer new challenges and exciting possibilities for the modern photographer. Issues such as file format, resolution, colour space and white balance are all new for photographers working with digital SLRs. The purpose of this one-day hands-on workshop is to explore all the controls and possibilities and exploit them to enhance your subjects and scenes. The aim is to get the most out of your digital SLR camera so you can focus on improving your photographic skills and making better images.

Session 2 Half Day Low Light and Night Photography - Meet opposite Federation Square at St Pauls Cathedral
New participants are invited to join the tour for the second half of the course This takes in a sunset shoot where you learn all the techniques required to take successful photos in low light and at dusk. This tour concludes with a wide collection of night shots taken in the city along the Arts precinct, Federation Square, Flinders Street and the Yarra River. This is always an exciting and challenging test for all photographers- well worth the effort to master. Your photographic knowledge will be expanded during this session.

Dandenong Ranges
Visit the majestic Dandenong Ranges and see the natural beauty the area offers. This tour concentrates on landscape photography and includes macro photography in the mountains and national parks. During the day we visit the famous Puffing Billy steam train, the Dandenong Ranges National Parks, the incredible 1000 steps, and the small townships of Ferny Creek, Sassafras, Olinda, Monbulk and Kallista. This tour caters for nature lovers and those interested in plants and animals.

This tour can be combined with the Melbourne City Highlights Tour with accommodation in Ferny Creek in the Dandenong Ranges.

 

Over Night Accommodation in Ferny Creek
Combine the Melbourne City Highlights Tour with a day in the Dandenong Ranges and stay over night in a beautiful home stay right next to the the Dandenong Ranges National Park. Your accommodation includes a private room - double bed, air conditioned and heated, a private bathroom, sauna and spa and a cooked breakfast. You can start your day with a walk up the famous 1000 steps and then relax in the sauna before part taking in breakfast.

Sunday Morning Cycle and Compact Camera Photography Tour - Brunch Included

Maybe you are more active and want to engage in a little light exercise as you ride your bicycle around the Yarra River and through the marvellous gardens that surround the city, stopping to take a variety of photos. You will be shown the finer points of how to use all the settings on your compact camera and you will learn new perspectives on how to compose pleasing photos for your slideshows, web or photo albums or maybe get your images ready for a photo book.

The bicycle tour starts at 9am on a Sunday morning and involves riding your bike between the photo shoots. You will be given individual attention at all of the stops and be guided through the techniques. Around 10.30 am you will enjoy a light brunch at a cafe - a chance to mix with the other participants and swap stories while having a short rest. The tour concludes with another cycling and photo session before we return to the starting point. Participants are expected to be familiar with their bicycle and be of average fitness.... this is not a strenuous activity and plenty of time will be allocated to taking photos.

 

Topics covered in the full day course

Camera menu and body set up
Get the best out of your digital SLR camera and learn how to use all of the manual settings. We cover

• exposure
• bracketing
• -ev and +ev
• aperture
• white balance
• shutter speed
• choice of lens

Image Composition
Taking a photograph is more than pressing the shutter release on the camera. Many different aspects need to be considered before you take a well composed image.

• depth of field
• colour balance
• rule of thirds
• landscape or portrait
• movement
• correct use of light
• angle of line of sight

Understanding the Histogram and the correct use of filters and polarisers
Learn how to understand and read the histogram on your camera and how a ND graduated filter and polariser filter works in the field.

How to create digital panoramic images
In the session you will be shown the principles of capturing multiple images you can create a digital panoramic photograph. The common errors and pit falls will be explained.

Low light setting and Night time Photography
You will revisit some of the photo sites from the afternoon shoot and learn how to compose and take the same photos with the correct settings for low light photography. This challenging session introduces you to night photography and how to use a tripod.

After the course
The notes in your handbook can be revisited for future photo shoots and you can bring your photos to the post imaging course for digital manipulation and refinement.

Photographic Knowledge Required
This workshop is intended for enthusiastic photographers using digital SLR cameras. Each participant is expected to bring a digital SLR camera with a fully charged battery and one or more lenses, memory card(s), the camera’s instruction manual and USB cable.