Travel Photography Course

■ Interactive, dynamic, fun. 'Hands on' shooting and telling your travel story

■ The ideal Travellers Photography course for time pressed persons

■ Learning about camera handling, types of lighting and creative composition

■ Portraiture, landscapes, still life, motion, architecture, nature, wildlife

■ Reflections, heat and dust, snow and cold, the essence and soul of a region

■ Fun and innovative learning with like minded fellow individuals

■ Active 'hands on' learning at photogenic and interesting indoor and outdoor locations

■ Well structured, practical workshops covering a variety of subjects

■ Small groups of no more than 6 persons

■ Post production tips using Lightroom Classic

■ Expert tuition from the professional photographer Andrew Thomasson

THE COURSE STYLE 

■ A practical 'hands on' course with a series of workshops designed to emulate scenarios you will encounter in your travels

■ We use a variety of great Canberra and surrounding locations to give you a feel for diverse scenarios.

■ Nature and flowers in the Botanical gardens are good practice for shooting in Costa Rica.

■ Shooting the white, bright Parliament House give you skills in shooting snow covered scenes.

■ We recognise its impossible to cover everything in one day. To that end you will receive a set of detailed notes to support what you learn and to cover points we may miss. See FAQ section for further details on these notes. 

 

■ No previous photographic experience required

■ A smartphone, compact, mirror-less and/ or a DLSR camera ( see FAQ's for more information)

■ Memory Card(s): we recommend at least a 8 GB card for each day of shooting

■ Charged camera battery and a spare if you have one

■ A wide-angle is useful for landscapes. A telephoto for wildlife

■ Your travel itinerary and camera instruction book (alternatively we access camera operation details on the day using a smartphone)

 

Time	10am to 5pm
Location	Questacon - King Edward Terrace, Parkes ACT
Meeting Point	Questacon - inside near where you purchase entrance tickets

Why do this two day Travel Photography Course?
■ A must for any traveller, this travel photography course is designed to inspire you and deliver the skills you will need to develop a beautiful and stunning reportage style and the art of storytelling.

■ You want a fun yet informative learning experience in the camaraderie of fellow travellers. Over two days you will get to photograph some of Canberra and surrounding regions ( like Braidwood) most photogenic locations

■ You want to get more out of your camera's features and learn more about photography in general. You learn much faster with 'hands on' instruction from a professional photographer & tutor

■ You need to learn how to use your camera properly before hitting the road or getting on a plane. To understand how various settings and modes will deliver the results you want. For instance, capturing fast moving wildlife is ideal in Shutter priority mode. Aperture priority is essential for macro and landscape photography. You need to know about exposure compensation in white, bright snow & beach scenes, about focussing points to isolate a koala nestled in a gum tree. A quality smartphone will deliver outstanding results and be unobtrusive in a crowded Indian market, a drone is perfect for capturing Australia's stunning coastline.

■ Experience matters: compiled by working professional travel and tourism photographers. We are authoritative, consummate professionals in both shooting and teaching travel and tourism photography - NOT 'armchair' experts.

■ Expertise: this one day course has been created by Andrew & Serena who have trained tens of thousands of students through their one and two day Travel Photography courses running in throughout Australia. They are also authors of the worldwide selling Online Travel Photography course. Andrew & Serena have racked up 122 joint countries they have travelled to and photographed. They are consummate travel photography experts.

■ Knowledge is power: You are spending a huge amount for a trip of a lifetime - a cruise to Antarctica, an African wildlife safari, a cultural tour on the Silk Road. You have some good gear. You need to know the essentials about how your camera works, how you can take full advantage of its features, about travel photography across the board, about the conditions you may encounter - the weather, restrictions and local laws, the best time of day, the best time to go, an idea of what you want to photograph. This course will fast track you into the world of travel photography.

What are some of the indoor & outdoor locations we photograph at?

■ We endeavour to go to most or all of the following destinations:

■ Around Lake Burley Griffin, Old & new parliament houses, Questacon, National library, Braidwood or the hamlet of Gundaroo

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Is this course suitable for me?
■ It is Suitable for everyone. Over 31 years, we have had 1000's do this course around Australia from every walk of life, travelling to amazing places and of all ages. It is for any traveller at whatever skill level you are at. The detailed notes are pertinent for any traveller- using any imaging device. Practical workshops at various locations demonstrate 101 tips and tricks pros use - like shooting reflections and starbursts. The tips on light and composition are relevant for any photographer.

■ People who want to earn money as a freelance travel photographer.

■ Experienced photographers who want to learn new skills, about new imaging technologies such as drones, about the specific scenarios they will encounter on their travels.

■ You should be physically able to walk 4-7km on this course. Talk to us about anyone with special needs and we will try to accommodate them.

What happens if it's raining?

■ We do not give refunds for inclement weather. Bring a raincoat and/or umbrella as some of the best photos are taken in the rain. We have a number of indoor shooting location options.

■ We offer a 'repeat for free' weather guarantee. If the weather is really bad we will do a few hours and you then receive a gift voucher to come back at another time. You can also 'gift' your credit voucher to another party.

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How many people will be on my course?
■ A maximum of 6 persons for a highly personalised learning experience. This ensures plenty of one on one attention.

■ We do cater for larger groups bringing in other tutors and splitting the groups into teams. Talk to us about your special requirements such as a 'team building' Travel Photography course for a government organisation, company, your travel or camera club and for private groups.

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Terms and Conditions when you book this course
FAQ's + TERMS & CONDITIONS

Payments
Paying for your course in full upon booking will confirm your attendance. Places are limited on all courses.

Refunds
We reserve the right to cancel and reschedule any course, due to inadequate enrolment, bad weather, instructor illness, an 'act of God' or a force majeure such as a pandemic. As an example, a photography course has to be cancelled or deferred to another date and time due to Covid 19 border closures and lockdowns which is beyond the control of Focus 10 Pty Ltd and other related parties. We also reserve the right to cancel any course if there is insufficient demand, especially if it means that our costs would be higher than our income. Please therefore do not leave it until the last few weeks if you are interested in a particular date, as you may find that it has been cancelled. As our costs for each training event remain the same no matter how many delegates attend, like any pre-booked tickets for the theatre, concert, flights etc, we are unable to give a full refund in the event of non-attendance, regardless of the circumstances. If withdrawal occurs within the 14 days before the course starts we will try to put you on an alternative date if places are available. Please note that we cannot be liable for any other costs incurred by yourself, so please check with us before booking any non-refundable accommodation or transport.

Workshop Photography:
We reserve the right to take photographic, (both still and video) records of any of our workshops/courses which may be used for promotional purposes, submissions, advertising and records. We grant permission for participants to use any images captured by them during this workshop for self-promotion only. Participants may not make any financial gain from any images captured during this workshop/course.

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Do I have the right camera gear for this course & my forthcoming travels?
■ In your detailed notes you receive upon booking- we give lots of recommendations on the best camera gear, camera bag and accessories to consider before embarking on your trip.

■ Any full or cropped frame DSLR camera, mirrorless camera, quality compact or smartphone is ideal to do this course or for travelling in general. Full frame cameras with their bigger sensors will give better results if for instance you are on a Red Centre landscape oriented holiday where you need fine resolution for wall art enlargements.

■ A wide angle lens is most useful. (Say a 12-24mm) add in a telephoto lens 70-300mm for wildlife or a mid range lens 24-105mm for all round street photography. A 50mm f1.8  is small, cheap and great to have in your kit. Or just do this course with your kit 18-135mm kit lens.

■ Its imperative you think carefully about your travel camera gear. A quality compact with a decent zoom may be all you need. A great smartphone is the ideal companion for the older traveller or backpacker wanting to travel light. Conversely if you want to take fantastic wildlife shots on an African safari or polar expedition - you will need reliable, strong gear and some long telephoto lenses. A snapshooter skier will love a compact like the Sony RX100 series - brilliant photos, reliable, light and fits nicely in a ski jacket pocket.

■ Choose the right gear based on portability, what you like to shoot, whether you aim to be a hobby or a professional photographer and price point.

■ We suggest you aim to have a few imaging devices for increased versatility and we think every travel photographer should try to pack a quality compact. There are many other fantastic, high quality compacts on the market.

■ Look at getting into aerial drone photography - especially for destinations with stunning coastlines and landscapes.

■ Use a newish smartphone with excellent imaging capabilities for everything. They excel for Panoramic shots and video clips and the best imaging device is the camera which is always with you - your smartphone.

■ Build up a system as requirements and your budget allows.

■ Wherever you can and depending on how serious you are - Invest in the best lenses, filters and a lightweight, quality tripod - these should last you a long time under heavy use.

■ Don’t put 'all your eggs in one basket' - better to use lots of smaller memory cards than few bigger ones in case of loss or dysfunction of cards.

■ An on-camera flash unit is useful if you are travelling light

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Can I rent a camera? Buy SD cards?
■ Yes - we have cropped DLSR Canon and Nikon Cameras for rent. The fee is $90. Your camera will have a standard 18-55mm lens ( or equivalent)

■ Quality 32GB SD cards are available for purchase for $25 per card ( or bring your own SD card).

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What are some of the topics covered in the notes I get?
■ Course notes mirror the practical course workshops with detailed with easy to understand, step by step procedures to teach you camera handling skills, about composition, lighting and a myriad of other techniques to become a competent travel and tourism photographer.

■ PREPARATION  - introduction  |  before you go  |  where to go |  when to go |  how to go  |  what to shoot |  on location  |  street etiquette  |  be adaptable  

■ CAMERA GEAR - what gear quick guide  |  full frame DSLR cameras  |  cropped sensor DLSR's  |  prime & zoom lenses  |  quality compacts  |  mirrorless cameras  | medium format cameras  |  adventure cameras  |  smartphones  |  drones |  speedlite flash units  |  tripods, monopods & gorillapods  |  filters  |  batteries memory cards & backup  |  cleaning your gear  |  camera bags  |  accessories  

■ CAMERA HANDLING - shooting modes  |   raw vs jpeg  |  metering modes  |  colour space  |  focusing modes  |  white balance  | iso  |  picture style & control  |  exposure lock  compensation & bracketing  |  adding light into shadows  |  high dynamic range (HDR)  |  using flash 

■ LIGHTING - types  | natural light  |  artificial light  |  white balance  |  time the light 

■ COMPOSITION - leading & converging lines  |  the rules of thirds  |  framing an image  |  reflections  |  look for unusual angles  |   star bursts  |  focusing on detail  |  showing motion  | viewpoint   |  selective focus   |  aspect ratio 

■ POPULAR THEMES TO SHOOT - objects, people, landscapes, buildings & architecture, food & drink, action, wildlife, nature, abstract  

■ BACK AT HOME -  basics of editing  |  editing in Lightroom  |  transferring files-hardware  |  uploading files  |  auto smartphone backup  |  home & office back up  |  showcasing your images  |  social media  | selling online  |  photo books & frames  |  photos as prints  |  tips & tricks  |  summary  |  recommended gear

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Is the course guaranteed to run on the scheduled date & time?
Our policy is that we guarantee the course will run with a minimum of 2 persons. However we often will run it for one person. As in any advertised product or service - events ( such as Covid 19) can occur out of our control. We reserve the right to cancel or defer any course in extenuating circumstances but will endeavour to give you a refund or credit. In the event we have a lockdown of a geographical area and you or the instructor is unable to get the the course location(s) we will reschedule the course date. There is not loss of funds to the client in this case.

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We have worked with Andrew for 19 years now and he is unfailingly reliable and always goes out of his way to help out our business. He have given us training in property photography and is always giving free advice on how we can further improve.

-- Heidi Robertson / Office manager

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"Great beginners photo course Andrew. Thanks very much for helping me find my passion for photography again. I received lots of one and one attention. Cool seagull shoot with chips from Pier 4 and great you knew most of the stall holders in the Rocks market. I loved this course and learnt so much. I will be telling all my friends"

--Annie Prior

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Thank you for one of the best weekends I can remember on your fabulous Margaret River tour. Lots of laughs, learnt a huge amount about photography, a great group, loved the variety of subjects & our Surfers Point sunset champers & oysters shoot was sublime. I will be doing your Goldfield tour next.

--Jen Risoli

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Thanks for the feedback and I am loving your photos. We look forward to catching up again when you are next in Byron Bay

--Sarah Gasparre / real estate photographer

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Thank you for photographing or 43 staff members over the quoted 7 hours. You must be exhausted . Everyone seemed very happy and liked how you showed them the head shots as you were shooting. Can you get them to use by Thursday please? Talk soon

--Irina Fedorova

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Andrew has been our corporate photographer for 8 years shooting all our events, functions and portraits. Focus 10 is reputable, flexible and innovative!

-- Laura 0'Donnell / Marketing Manager

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Focus 10 runs fantastic, informative and always fun courses and tours. I have done 4 of them now - Blue Mountains, Southern Highlands, 3801 Steam train and the most recent to Jervis Bay. Always a laugh and with excellent like minded, fellow photographers!

--Sean Dudding | product owner

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Thanks, Andrew for a great two days in and around Sydney. I'm much more confident in using the camera. Very much appreciated...

--Dianna Hall

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