Looking at photography: colour and composition
Time: 10:30 - 16:30
Location: Kean Street Photography Studio
Choose a start date
- Course Code: VY555
- Dates: 11/03/25 - 11/03/25
- Time: 10:30 - 16:30
- Taught: Tue, Daytime
- Duration: 1 session
- Location: Kean Street Photography Studio
- Tutor: Michael Harding
Course Code: VY555
Choose a start date
Duration: 1 session
Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Centre for more information on a range of topics including fees, online learning and FAQs.
What is the course about?
This course will introduce you to the craft of composing beautiful photographs and exploring colour controls creatively. We'll look at shapes, lines, colours, lighting, framing, the rule of thirds and simple camera controls to improve your results.
What will we cover?
- Framing and cropping
- Understanding and applying the ‘Rule of Thirds’
- Light direction and light quality
- Exploring shapes, lines, patterns, textures, and juxtaposition
- Explore colour, black and white, and shadows
- Semi-automatic and manual exposure controls.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
- Use simple framing and cropping techniques creatively
- Apply the 'rule of thirds' to produce balanced compositions
- Explore light direction and light quality to emphasise physical characteristics of the scene
- Capture shapes, lines, patterns and textures creatively
- Explore colour, black and white, and shadows creatively
- Control semi-automatic and manual exposure confidently.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
The course is ideal for people with some experience of photography; having some background knowledge of basic photographic technique is useful but not essential.
You will need to be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions, demonstrations, hand-outs , and be prepared to take part in online group discussion. You should be happy using numbers and able to do simple measurements and calculations.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
You will be taught through short presentations, demonstrations, practical exercises, group discussions, group image crits and downloadable hand outs from Google classroom. You will be expected to shoot some images between the lessons and upload them to Google classroom for group discussions.
Google classroom login help.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
Please bring your camera (if you have one) to the classes and you may wish to bring a notebook and pen. City Lit has a range of digital SLR cameras, tripods and lenses which you are welcome to use during the hours of the class. We are unable to lend out equipment between the taught sessions of the course.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
City Lit has a wide range of courses covering practical and creative elements of photography, from wildlife or fashion photography, to starting your own photography business. Browse the website or prospectus to get inspired.
Michael Harding was born in Canada, where he studied cinema and photography at Concordia University, Montréal, before moving to the UK. Since then, he has created striking images of architecture, art, people and landscapes for international blue-chip clients for their use in editorial, advertising and corporate applications. Michael’s work has won many industry awards, notably being selected in the Eleventh Association of Photographers Awards and further receiving a Merit Award in the Seventeenth Association of Photographers Awards. His work was selected for a Highly Commended Award in the Deutsche Bauzeitung “Visions in Architecture” European Architectural Photography prize. His work has been exhibited in both the United Kingdom and Canada. Michael has been Chairman, as well as President, of the Association of Photographers (AOP). The AOP is Europe’s most established organisation for professional photographers, working to ensure greater recognition for all professional photographers, as well as working to positively influence legislators in the UK and Europe for the benefit of all photographers.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.