Photography Class for a teen?

[LisaR]

Where would a teen go to learn more about photography? My 14 y/o seems to have a real eye for capturing some incredible images. While I don't think she will become a professional, it would be nice if she could take a class and learn some technique. She is dual enrolled at the community college and they offer a photography class for non-majors but they require a camera that starts at $500. I can't imagine spending that for a 16 week class. Any ideas on where else I could look for a class?

 

[fluffycow333]

I don't really know, but my school offers a photography class and I am taking it this semester.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Parks and Rec
Local area art classes for people
Look in area community classes
YMCA

 

[wdwmom2]

I would probably start by going to a local camera shop and see what they may offer or if they have any suggestions.

Also, I believe my local vocational-technical school offers evening classes.

 

[LisaR]

I would probably start by going to a local camera shop and see what they may offer or if they have any suggestions.

Also, I believe my local vocational-technical school offers evening classes.

I didn't think of going by a camera shop. I will see what we have available. Thanks!

 

[princess.chell]

Does her school offer any classes?
If there is a Calumet Photo near you they hold really good classes.

 

[AllisonK]

Does her school offer any classes?

I was going to suggest her school as well. My friends and I took a black and white photography class in high school (using 35mm film) and we learned everything from how to shoot the photo to developing them. We loved it. We all needed to provide our own cameras but we all ended up borrowing them from friends/family for the semester. Even though it was a film photography class we all became better digital photographers as well.

 

[LisaR]

Our local high school does not offer any photography classes.

I only found 2 photography stores listed in our area. One offers classes but they are meant to teach you how to use your SLR camera. If she had an SLR camera, she could just take the class at the college. Maybe I will have to break down and get her the camera for her birthday.

 

[wenrob]

Where would a teen go to learn more about photography? My 14 y/o seems to have a real eye for capturing some incredible images. While I don't think she will become a professional, it would be nice if she could take a class and learn some technique. She is dual enrolled at the community college and they offer a photography class for non-majors but they require a camera that starts at $500. I can't imagine spending that for a 16 week class. Any ideas on where else I could look for a class?

She could probably rent a DSLR (I'm assuming that's what she needs?) but for 16wks that would probably get pretty pricey. Is photography something she's passionate about? Or is she just good at it? If it were my DD and it was something I didn't think was a passing fancy then I might consider buying the camera. However, I have a bunch of cash wrapped up in my own camera so my opinion may be a little biased, lol.

There are quite a few books and websites out there that while not hands on are full of tons of useful info. Everything I know I've learned from reading and doing on my own. If she really want to learn lack of classes won't hold her back.

 

[LisaR]

She could probably rent a DSLR (I'm assuming that's what she needs?) but for 16wks that would probably get pretty pricey. Is photography something she's passionate about? Or is she just good at it? If it were my DD and it was something I didn't think was a passing fancy then I might consider buying the camera. However, I have a bunch of cash wrapped up in my own camera so my opinion may be a little biased, lol.

There are quite a few books and websites out there that while not hands on are full of tons of useful info. Everything I know I've learned from reading and doing on my own. If she really want to learn lack of classes won't hold her back.

She is an artsy kid. Her acrylic art work has just recently taken off and she has always had an eye for color and noticing things in a unique way with both art and photography. She has designed a few websites and always gets complements on them. However, she is pretty certain she wants to major in something English related (linguistics, literature, writing, etc).

Is she passionate? I'm not sure. If she has free time, you are more likely to find her reading a book or writing a story. However, she takes pictures multiple times a month and many are things she "sets up." She likes to rip up sheets of paper and write some quotes on them, mess the paper in a pile and photograph it. She takes pictures of pages in a book that she has folded over so certain words are standing up (really hard to describe). She will lay out jewelry or throw a pile of buttons on the floor and take a million different angles. She took some pictures at Disney a few weeks ago that were so cool. She took pictures of different lamp posts and shot from the ground up so you can see the sky or of the iron gate looking down to the ground. Her pictures of Morocco were awesome. If I posted them here, you would never know any of the pictures were from Disney because she never goes for the obvious pictures. I just find it all so unique and a lot of people have been pointing that out more and more to us. I figured if she took a class, it may inspire her even more. So, I guess for now it is just a hobby. Since she doesn't have any formal training, it is possible that it could turn into more once she realized what other possibilities exist or it could remain nothing more than a hobby.

 

[Belle Ella]

Is it possible that the community college's photography class has a an SLR that she can "check out" to shoot actual assignments? When I took my first actual pgotography class at our CC there were a couple avaialable to us to check out for the day or the weekend if we didn't have one of our own. It was a great help in my final decision to purchase my own SLR.

 

[princess.chell]

There are dSLRs out that are relatively cheap, well compared to what I'm looking at (going to art school for photography next year and looking at a $1700 camera). Canon's lowest level dSLR is $570 and a good camera. Nikon's is $500. I am a Canon girl, born and raised. There are other brands; Sony is the next in line brand wise, Olympus as well. You could always buy used as well if you want to buy her one.
Since your daughter has an art background with composition and color, she most likely would only need exposure help and "how to use a dSLR camera" help. The best book for exposure is "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. The camera manual could be her best friend to.
If you need anything head over to the Photography Board on here for more help, or just PM me and I can help you too.

ps. I'd love to see some of your daughter's work.

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

I would look into a used camera or try creigslist. I found a local guy selling a olympus e10 for 150!!! You could also look into trading someting you dont want for a camera.

 

[Just Jan]

My daughter took photography classes in high school. She also got a very nice award at graduation for her work She also taught photography at a summer camp that her high school offers (this is a camp that many international students attend). So, lol, now that my little brag is over, look into a summer camp too. Many area coleges offer camps during the summer.

good luck

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Do you have an art museum?

Ours offers photography classes for kids and teens and I did not come across anything that requires a $500 camera. That is very much not necessary. When you get GOOD with a basic camera and want to learn more is when you upgrade.

 

[wenrob]

Is she passionate? I'm not sure. If she has free time, you are more likely to find her reading a book or writing a story. However, she takes pictures multiple times a month and many are things she "sets up." She likes to rip up sheets of paper and write some quotes on them, mess the paper in a pile and photograph it. She takes pictures of pages in a book that she has folded over so certain words are standing up (really hard to describe). She will lay out jewelry or throw a pile of buttons on the floor and take a million different angles. She took some pictures at Disney a few weeks ago that were so cool. She took pictures of different lamp posts and shot from the ground up so you can see the sky or of the iron gate looking down to the ground. Her pictures of Morocco were awesome. If I posted them here, you would never know any of the pictures were from Disney because she never goes for the obvious pictures. I just find it all so unique and a lot of people have been pointing that out more and more to us. I figured if she took a class, it may inspire her even more. So, I guess for now it is just a hobby. Since she doesn't have any formal training, it is possible that it could turn into more once she realized what other possibilities exist or it could remain nothing more than a hobby.

She sounds like an extremely talented kid!

There are dSLRs out that are relatively cheap, well compared to what I'm looking at (going to art school for photography next year and looking at a $1700 camera). Canon's lowest level dSLR is $570 and a good camera. Nikon's is $500. I am a Canon girl, born and raised. There are other brands; Sony is the next in line brand wise, Olympus as well. You could always buy used as well if you want to buy her one.
Since your daughter has an art background with composition and color, she most likely would only need exposure help and "how to use a dSLR camera" help. The best book for exposure is "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. The camera manual could be her best friend to.
If you need anything head over to the Photography Board on here for more help, or just PM me and I can help you too.

ps. I'd love to see some of your daughter's work.

I second "Understanding Exposure" and would love to see some of her work too. Also the people over on the photography board are awesome. Those guys are an endless wealth of info and have more patience then your typical photo board.

Do you have an art museum?

Ours offers photography classes for kids and teens and I did not come across anything that requires a $500 camera. That is very much not necessary. When you get GOOD with a basic camera and want to learn more is when you upgrade.

While I agree it's not necessary she'd at the very least need something that has manual controls to get the full benefit of the class. A good non-DSLR camera could very well cost $500. I haven't looked at point and shoots for some time but DH's "manual" control on his is very limited.

What kind of camera does your DD have OP?

 

[LisaR]

Thanks for all the great information everyone.

Our art museum does offer a class but they also require a DSLR camera.

Her friend is taking the class at the local college for non-photography majors and is really enjoying it. She has gotten my DD pretty excited about the class.

I would be afraid to buy a used one since I know nothing about cameras. It isn't like I could go check it out and determine if everything is working correctly. DD currently has a point and shoot camera - Kodak, I believe. If I get her a DSLR at our local camera shop, she can take classes for $25 that will teach her all the functions on the camera. Her birthday is in May so she could take some camera shop classes in the summer and sign up for the community college class in August.

I haven't a clue how to post anything she has done. She did not inherit her knowledge of technology from her mother! I was re-reading what I posted about her and I don't want to make it sound like she is some gifted artist. It is just that she rarely shoots the "normal" picture. I am always impressed by the angles she takes a picture from or the creativeness she uses in setting up a shot. She just seems to see things that I would never in a million years notice. We both took a picture of a sign that said Disney. I took the shot of the entire word. She took a picture of only the letter D and she did it from a side angle. While mine portrays Disney, hers is by far more creative and cool looking.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

From your description of her, I don't think she necessarily needs a dSLR in order to benefit from the fun and passion of photography. There are so many ways photography can be enjoyed, especially today in the digital age. Some people simply like taking pictures. Some enjoy the technical piece of cameras and equipment (which is huge today). And some really get into the post processing aspect of it (ie Photoshop, etc). Really getting into it requires developing skills with all three. That's hard to capture in one class.

I'd first try to get a better sense of what your dd wants out of photography before you jump into buying equipment. So many people spend a ton of money and then realize they didn't know enough about what they were getting into and haven't made choices that will suit them long term. For example, buying a dSLR requires buying into a system, which will be the base for all future purchases. Not all lenses and flashes, etc, are interchangeable on all cameras.

I have a daughter like yours. And I'm a photography buff myself. My son is definately into the technical aspect and I enjoy teaching him. He uses my dSLR like it's nothing. My dd, OTOH, doesn't care about the technical stuff. She just enjoys taking pictures. I've spent time teaching her and sure, she's picked stuff up, but really, at least at present, she's not interested in more. So her camera is basically my old camera - a bridge camera. Using it almost forces her to learn settings (if she wants good pictures), but it's pretty easy overall. She can still grow with it. She won a prize for this picture (below) this summer, and it was taken using an even older point and shoot. So photography is something you can get into on many different levels.

My suggestion would be to start with having her read something like Kodak's Most Basic Book of Digital Photography, and getting out shooting with whatever camera she currently has. Learn some basic principles, such as composition and rule of thirds, etc. Then she could move on to Understanding Exposure, if she wants to go further. You can gauge, probably at this point, of whether she's really getting into it or not. I can see it in my son when he picks up photography books as his required reading. DD - no way. Have her participate in the Monthly Assignments and Weekly Photo contests on the Photography Board. She'll learn a lot there. A class in school would probably best capture a little of all three aspects of photography, if that's an option.