Photo Bootcamp - Full-Time Course
Pricing: Was R37 500 | Now R35 000
A Deposit of R5 000 is payable in order to secure course attendance. The remainder of the course fees will be payable post arrangement with our Cape Town School of Photography course consultant. Your payment can also be structured with Mobicred. Please speak with our consultant for further information.
Our intensive four-month course is structured to develop technically capable and creative photographers, who are able to explore and define their goals, situate their work within a broad meaningful context, and establish a foundation from which to build their careers. The course curriculum is content driven and student-centred, drawing on the participation of both the individual and the group.- 5 x Three-hour classes per week for twelve weeks followed by two three-hour consultation sessions a week for four weeks
- Participants will need to complete homework projects in their own time
| Course Start Date |
4 March 2024 |
| Class Times | TBC |
| Course End Date | 21 June 2024 |
| Graduation and Exhibition | TBC |
Coursework will consist of assignments, group critiques, class discussions, practical exercises, tutorials and individual mentoring sessions. Students are encouraged to be experimental with their project assignments, rigorous in their resekarch and exploration, and professional in their conduct. At the end of the course students will leave with a comprehensive understanding of the practical aspects of photography, sound visual literacy skills, and creative problem-solving skills which can be applied in a broad range of photographic contexts. Past students who have successfully completed their studies at Orms Cape Town School of Photography have pursued careers in advertising, publishing, fine art, and as freelance photographers.
Subjects:
Practical Photography
The guiding principle of the practical photography course is developing an understanding of the photography that views it as a process, with all stages and decisions of that process having a direct influence on the outcome of the photograph. Students will be taught a comprehensive skillset, covering topics ranging from basic camera operation to digital asset management, Image processing and retouching, location and studio lighting, printing and colour management. The goal of this course is to help students become effective and efficient photographic problem solvers, able to produce technically sound, and visually interesting work in a wide variety of situations.
Business and Professional Practice
For up and coming photographers establishing themselves as working professionals requires an understanding of the ins and outs of the photographic industry. We take a two tiered approach to developing this understanding by focusing on business development and professional practice. The aim for Business development is to equip and enable students: to identify their potential target audiences, investigate and formulate their own future business concepts, basic introduction to financial planning, marketing, marketing messaging and sales, to work in line with their selected photography genres and styles of photography.
Professional practice exposes students to various facets of the industry, different routes into the industry, and established resources they can draw on for their work. Through activities such as guest speakers and visits to studios and galleries students gain insight to life as a professional photographer to help them plan their own photographic journeys.
Darkroom and Analog Photography
The darkroom serves as a space to explore the roots of photography, and lays the groundwork for understanding many of the rudimentary technical concepts that underpin modern photographic technology. Nowhere else is the process aspect of photography more apparent than in the darkroom. Students will explore conventional film photography, processing and printing, as well as related techniques such as photograms, the photomontage, pinhole photography and scanning.
Visual Literacy
Our Visual Literacy course uses a combination of lectures, discussions, critiques, films, gallery outings and other events dedicated to establishing your understanding of the photographic medium within the broader context of image production. Consider therefore the visual languages ubiquitous with the news, scientific research and popular culture to name but a few examples. During the course you will learn to make informed decisions with regard to the analyses and interpretation of the image as a signifier.
Course Outcomes - What You'll Take Away:
- Learn how to use your digital camera
- Learn how to work in the photographic studio
- Learn Analogue photography and how to work in the darkroom
- Develop your own photographic style and visual language
- Learn Image management and editing in Lightroom
- Introduction to and practice in working in different genres of photography
- Learn how to read and interpret photographs visually and in the context of their making
- Learn how to print and present your own work for web, exhibition, and other applications
I wanted to say that we were very happy with the course and felt that it was good value for money. It was a little more intensive that we thought it would be (I suppose the fact that it was called a ‘Bootcamp’ should have been a clue!), but that was actually a good thing and they got through a lot of information and skills in a short time period. The lecturers were all good at their jobs, professional in their communications with the students as well as being caring and kind. Camdyn has gained a lot of confidence in himself and his abilities even though he struggled with the pressure of deadlines and meeting his own overly high expectations of himself. We were also very impressed with the caring atmosphere at the school especially from Heather.