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UdemyPhotographyPaid courseIntermediate levelCertificate

Take your digital photography skills to the next level! (Udemy.com)

Move from a beginner to an intermediate photography level by mastering more advanced technical and creative techniques.

Created by: Villiers Steyn

Last updated September 2021

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What you will learn

  • What gear to buy when you upgrade your photographic equipment.
  • How and why to take RAW photos instead of Jpegs.
  • Exactly how Aperture, Shutterspeed and ISO work together to give you the perfect exposure.
  • How to calculate depth of field and ensure sharp focus.
  • How to use a hot shoe flash, both on top of your camera and remotely.
  • A host of creative techniques, including painting with light, moon and star photography, as well as HDR imaging and subject isolation..
  • The value of Lightroom Classic CC in the post-processing workflow of any serious photographer.

How it compares

Against the other 275 rated Udemy courses in Photography on CourseDuck:

  • Rating4.8 out of 5higher than 91% of them
  • Reviews331#119 of 276 by number of reviews
  • Length1.9 hoursshorter than 66% of them
  • Last updatedSeptember 2021earlier than 54% of them

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Course Description

<< One of six digital photography courses by Villiers Steyn >>


Now that you’ve mastered the basics of your DSLR camera it’s time to take your photography skills to the next level without wasting any time!   

This course was designed as a follow-up intermediate digital photography course to another Udemy course of mine called Digital Photography for Beginners with DSLR cameras, but anyone with a sound basic photographic knowledge and a DSLR camera will find value in this course. 

Learn how to turn good photographs into great photographs!   

  • Learn what to consider when you upgrade your camera gear.

  • Understand how different camera settings work together to ensure perfect exposures.

  • See the value of a hot shoe flash, which can be used both on the camera or remotely.

  • Push your creative limits by photographing everything from sun stars to the Milky Way.

  • Get introduced to Lightroom – the best photography software on the market!

Photographers never stop learning…   

Switching over from Automatic Mode or Program Mode to Aperture or Shutter Priority is just the first step in becoming an excellent photographer. As a beginner, you would have been introduced to a lot of new settings, like ISO, exposure compensation, f-values amongst many others, but the key is to understand how these settings work together to give you perfect exposures. And that is one of the main goals of this course – to help you understand the relationship between the camera’s most important settings.    

As your photography knowledge increases, so will the likelihood of you wanting to upgrade your entry-level camera gear, so this course discusses different photographic equipment, including camera bodies, lenses, teleconverters, filters, bags and accessories, as well as hot shoe flashes.   

Armed with the right gear and settings, the sky’s the limit when it comes to creativity, and this course covers everything from moon and star photography to painting with light and HDR imaging.   

Last, but not least, you’ll be introduced to every photographer’s best friend: Adobe Lightroom Classic. It’s the most powerful and user-friendly photography software out there and not only allows you to import, view and sort your photos, but also to edit them and export them for specific uses.   


Content and Overview   

This course is divided into five broad components: first we look at photographic equipment and what you can consider adding to your current setup; secondly we look at more advanced camera settings and especially the relationship between different settings and how they work together; thirdly we look at flash photography, focussing on hot shoe flashes, remote flash work and studio photography; next we look at a number of more advanced creative tips and techniques that will help you to take images that you’ve only ever dreamed of taking before; and lastly, we look at post-processing of your photos in Adobe Lightroom Classic.  

Lectures are short and concise (usually between 3 and 10 minutes long) and consist of either video clips (where I talk to you directly), screen casts (where I show you examples, diagrams or recorded workflow in Lightroom), or a combination of the two.   


THIS IS WHAT YOU WILL LEARN FROM THIS COURSE:   

      What camera equipment to buy next:   

  • Upgrading from entry-level to mid-range level gear.

  • When to use teleconverters / extenders.

  • Which filters      to use for which conditions.

  • What other small photographic accessories to keep in your camera bag.

  • How to choose a new camera bag once you’ve upgraded your gear.

      The relationship between the camera’s most important settings:   

  • Jpeg      vs RAW files (advantages and      disadvantages of both).

  • Choosing the right shooting mode for the right situation.

  • Master aperture      once and for all by looking at an Aperture Scale.

  • The Exposure Triangle (how Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO work together).

  • Metering mode vs Exposure compensation (which one is best?).

  • Calculating depth of field (so you know exactly how much or how little is in focus).

  • Stay in focus by mastering auto focus modes and focus points.

  • Auto ISO (choose a lower maximum ISO).


    How to use a hot shoe flash:   

  • How a hot shoe flash works and enables you to light your subjects up      creatively and much better than your camera’s pop-up flash.

  • How to use a hot shoe flash remotely with the help of transmitters and transceivers.

  • The basic difference between hot shoe      flash photography and a studio setup.

      How to become an even more Creative photographer:   

  • How to isolate your subject.

  • How to capture movement and light with long exposures.

  • How to photograph the full moon and the Milky Way.

  • How to create sun stars.

  • How to paint with light.

  • How to overcome high contrast with the help of HDR imaging.

      How valuable Lightroom Classic CC is:   

  • How to safely store and import your photos.

  • How to view, filter and sort your photos.

  • How to edit your RAW files.

  • How to export your edited RAW photos for different uses.

Take a moment to view the course Promo Video, as well as those lectures that have been made available as free previews.    

Keep in mind, if you're not happy with the material, there's a 30-day no-questions-asked full money back guarantee! So don't hesitate and enrol today, and take your photography to the next level!   

“Villiers's presentation skills are superb and better than anything else I've attended or enrolled in before. Not only is his technical knowledge of his subject outstanding, but he is also willing to share practical advice accumulated over years."   

Helgard de Preez – South Africa      

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Instructor Details

Villiers Steyn

Villiers Steyn's love for photography started when he was still a schoolboy and in 2008, after completing a Masters Degree in Nature Conservation, he stared his own photography business, Vision Photography.

Villiers has a passion for teaching, and since the launch of his career as professional photographer he has presented his Digital Photography Course for Beginners to thousands of aspiring photographers from all over the world, helping them to master their DSLR cameras and to capture priceless memories of their vacations, friends, families and everything else they enjoy and hold dear. This is what a few of Villiers's happy clients had to say about his beginners' photography course:

“Villiers is an outstanding instructor and his photography courses are perfectly structured. His expert knowledge of photography is invaluable."

Katharine Hill – South Africa

“Villiers is an excellent teacher with a great eye for composition. I can't recommend him enough!"

Martin Milton – United Kingdom

When Villiers is not teaching people how to use their cameras, he works as a professional wildlife photographer and photographic safari guide in South Africa.

“Together with his obvious photographic talent, Villiers' can-do attitude and professionalism made him an indispensable freelance photographer."

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Reviews

4.8

331 ratings on Udemy

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By Judith Webster on 2/22/2023

Good course. The tutor is engaging, explains things clearly and uses good visual examples to aid understanding. Only marked it down slightly because it is building on the beginners' course which I thought was fantastic. I probably learned more in the first course (because everything was new to me). This course strengthened the knowledge I learned previously and introduced new things along the way. I have already bought the Lightroom course. This tutor is great.

By Di de Maudave on 2/13/2022

Villiers Steyn I cannot learn enough about photography from you. Although some subjects are intimidating, you somehow get around the hurdle and explain exactly what to expect and how to approach it. Your enthusiasm comes through in every lecture and inspires one to go out their and get those photos one dreams of. Thank you so much!

By Ralph Jackson on 5/21/2021

I am relatively new to photography. I found the information to be both interesting and valuable. Suggestions on equipment purchases and Lightroom features were of considerable help to the novice. I thought the instructor's presentation was detailed without being overwhelming and very engaging. I will watch this again and again.

By Glenda Patterson on 6/6/2020

Loved this course, its been inspiring and I have learnt much. The course is broad in the subject matter and takes you beyond the basics, and leaves you with a sense of competence. Villiers teachers clearly and logically and I found everything he covered, most helpful. Thank you Villliers for a fantastic few hours of learning!

By Kobus Mouton on 4/1/2020

A few new subjects were covered, e.g. painting with light, HDR, etc. The seven steps to capture the milky way was practical and easy to use. like the actual camera settings for different scenario's and difficult concepts like DoF was explained in a simple way. Enjoyed it, well done and thanks for making this available during the lockdown.

By Chris Cronje on 3/31/2020

Thank you for the course - very interesting. I have learnt a lot - still have to come back to master the technical aspects. Ek het nog altyd groot bewondering vir jou foto's gehad, maar ek het soveel respek vir jou as mens, omdat jy hierdie kursus gratis aangebied het vir elkeen, wat in die die tyd van inperking by die huis sit. Nogmaals baie dankie.

By Chantelle on 4/30/2019

As a beginner photographer I have learnt quite a bit of techniques and how to apply them by understanding how to use the correct settings for the pictures I want to take. The creativity part of the course is my favorite, they have provided me with enough ideas to start practicing with , I would definitely recommend this course as well as the beginners course.

By Raluca on 4/18/2019

This is a very well taught course and the information is selected and presented in a very well organised manner. The additional slides to the course are great and always useful to come back to if you ever want to revise important information. The application about the calculation of the Depth of Field is also interesting. Strongly recommended!

By Johan van Rensburg on 2/11/2019

Course is well presented, concise (without skimping on detail) and easy to follow. The presenter is inspiring in the way he conveys the course in a open and pleasant manner whilst sharing a great amount of detail in a short space of time for such a technical topic.

By Ron Millikan on 2/18/2018

Villiers is a delightful gentleman. He delivers course content in a very approachable way. He includes useful aids and spectacular photos he has taken as examples. The course moves along at a very good pace for photographers that have picked up a lot during their time with SLRs and DSLRs, but need that extra specific bunch of knowledge to more fully utilize all the features on their cameras and to take advantage of advanced techniques. This course will definitely justifies your use of a DSLR rather than iPhone.

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Overall Score : 96 / 100