Become a professional photographer

Complete Pro Photography Course

Sydney | 3 consecutive days | Special Interest | Intermediate to advanced | $1190 | 5 Oct 2023 | 5 Oct 2023 | 5 Oct 2023

This 3 consecutive day Complete Pro Photography course in Sydney teaches you to shoot at a professional level. You will learn how to shoot magazine and book style cameo and macro images, quality studio and outdoor portraiture and specific subjects to lift your technical and artistic skills to new highs. We place a strong emphasis throughout on how to utilise various camera systems to deliver the result required. We will be using gimbals, drones and advanced imaging techniques.

A series of workshops will cover landscapes, wildlife, lifestyle, pets, portraits, architecture, food, product, action and more. Your instructors are professional commercial, travel and wedding photographers allowing you to draw upon their depth of knowledge.

■ A clear path for the intermediate to advanced photographer

■ Become an all-rounder hobbyist or a part or full-time professional photographer

■ Learn to shoot creative images across a wide range of photographic genres

■ Streamlining your workflow using Lightroom Classic

■ Certificate of achievement and creation of a portfolio

Benefits & Features

■ A clear path for the intermediate to the advanced photographer

■ Become an all-rounder hobbyist or a part or full-time professional photographer

■ Learn to shoot creative images across a wide range of photographic genres

■ Composition, streamlining your workflow & ideas for future directions

■ Active 'hands on' learning at photogenic indoor & outdoor locations

■ Well structured, practical workshops covering a variety of subjects including landscapes, people, food & drink, travel, action, sports, wildlife & nature, pets, smartphones plus more

■ Certificate of achievement and creation of a portfolio

What you'll learn

■ DLSR, mirrorless and compact (with manual controls) advanced camera functions*

■ Different ways to get the right exposure

■ Balancing available (ambient) light and flash

■ Channels & parameters, white balance

■ The best modes (ASPM) for different photography scenarios

■ Practice photography disciplines with creative, challenging workshops

■ Unusual viewpoints & tilting / lens and linear perspective / HDR / filters / Speedlite flash, rear & 2nd curtain sync

■ Ongoing custom tailored advice on gear, accessories & best buys

■ A series of structured workshops will cover landscapes, portraits, food, architecture, photo reportage, action, still life and more

* Recognising its impossible to learn everything over 3 consecutive days, this advanced course is supported by detailed notes ( see FAQ questions for further details)

Course Requirements

■ This course is suitable for intermediate amateurs and hobbyists to serious semi-pro photographers alike.

■ Any full or cropped frame DSLR camera, mirrorless camera, quality compact is ideal.

■ Full frame cameras with their bigger sensors will give better results if for instance you are on a Namibian landscape oriented holiday.

■ A wide angle lens eg 16-35mm (on a full frame camera) ,10-22mm (on a cropped sensor camera); a 24-105mm on (full frame mirrorless camera), a telephoto lens eg. 70-300mm or 70-200mm; a mid range lens eg 24-105mm or 28-70mm. A 50mm f1.8 is small, cheap and great to have in your kit.

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

■ Although its handy - you do not need an external flash for this course.

■ We highly recommend you bring a smartphone on this course.We can also share images around using Bluetooth.

■ You will need a tripod for this course.

■ Memory Card(s): we recommend at least an 16 GB card for this 3 day course.

■ Your camera instruction book ( or use your smartphone for this information)

Time & Location

Time	10am to 6pm
Location	18 Argyle Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Meeting Point	Munich Brauhaus / beside outside tables near small fountain & red phone box

FAQ's

Why do this Complete Pro Professional Photography Course?
■ A must for any aspiring photographer aspiring to become much better, this photography course is designed to inspire you and deliver the skills you will need to develop into a semi pro to professional photographer.

■ 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 and tutor.

■ You need to learn how to use your camera properly - how various settings and modes will deliver the results you want. 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 monk in a crowded market scene.
A quality smartphone will deliver outstanding results in many shooting scenarios and a drone is perfect for capturing Australia's stunning coastline.

■ Professionalism: compiled by working professional photographers. We are authoritative, consummate professionals in both shooting and teaching photography - not 'armchair' experts.

■ Experience: this one day course has been created by Andrew & Serena who have trained tens of thousands of students through their 74 Photography courses running in throughout Australia. They are also authors of the worldwide selling Complete Pro Photography course.

■ Knowledge is power. You are spending good money investing in photography This course will fast track you into the world of photography.

■ You want a fun yet informative learning experience in the camaraderie of fellow photographers in one of the world's most photogenic cities - Sydney.

Who enrols on this course?
■ Suitable for intermediate to advanced photographers. Our typical client is one who has brought a decent camera (or is looking to buy one). You have some experience in photography or have been dabbling and want to know whether to pursue a career in photography or to just get better and see where it leads too.

■ Intermediate, amateur photographers who want to take better images across a wide range of photography genres.

■ Keen photography hobbyists who want to develop their skills to become a professional photographer.

■ This is the perfect photography course for any person to learn photography techniques for fun and profit - whether you are a want a full time career or just a part time job.

You want to do this course to look at photography areas that we cover which are landscapes, people , studio, real estate , product, food & drink.

The detailed notes are pertinent for any traveller. The practical workshops at various location demonstrate various tips such as reflections & starbursts. The tips on light and composition are relevant for any 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.

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.
However 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' Complete Pro Photography course for a government organisation, company, camera club or group of friends.

What happens if it's raining on any particular day or part thereof?
■ 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. Finally we offer a 'repeat for free' weather guarantee. Join the course anyway. If the weather is really bad we will do most of the course in indoor locations.

■ If you are an out of town attendee we run this course regardless of the weather. If we call the course off you can 'gift' your credit voucher to a friend or whomever.

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

■ If you are going to get into professional photography we recommend you build up a system as requirements and your budget allows

■ Any full or cropped frame DSLR camera, mirrorless camera, quality compact or smartphone is ideal to do this course.
Full frame cameras with their bigger sensors will give better results if for instance you want the highest quality resolution for landscape photography.

■ Its imperative you think carefully about your camera gear. A quality compact and a great smartphone are ideal companions for the older traveller, backpacker wanting to travel light etc. Conversely if you want to take fantastic wildlife shots on that trip of a lifetime 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 or the new lightweight mirrorless Canon M50.

■ A wide angle lens eg 16-35mm (on a full frame camera) ,10-22mm (on a cropped sensor camera); a telephoto lens eg. 70-300mm or 70-200mm; a mid range lens eg 24-105mm or 28-70mm. A 50mm f1.8 is small, cheap and great to have in your kit. Although lenses like the 18-270mm appear to be good as an all-rounder travel lens they may be 'soft' at the wide angle end.

■ A typical professional photographers kit could include:
An EF 16–35mm f/2.8L lens is an impressive example of a wide-angle lens that delivers low-light performance and depth-of-field control for most types of professional photography.
A EF 24–70mm f/2.8L all-rounder type lens is known for its image quality and versatility. It can be used equally well for indoor event photography as outdoorsy landscape photography.
A 70–200mm f/2.8L telephoto lens allows you to get up-close-and-personal with nature or sports, and the modern versions come equipped with powerful image stabilisation and ultrasonic focusing technology. Sports photographers may also want a super-telephoto lens of 300mm or 400mm.
A 50mm f/1.2L prime lens is a photographer’s favourite and a great tool to have in your toolbox. The focal length, when combined with a full-frame sensor, is considered to most closely resemble the perspective seen by the human eye.

■ 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 photographer should have a quality compact in their camera bag.

■ Look at getting into aerial drone photography - especially for landscape photographers wanting to shoot stunning coastlines and landscapes. Check into the rules and regulations regarding drone use in the country or countries you are going to. You can get arrested in quite a few countries for illegally using your drone.

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

■ Invest in the best lenses, filters & 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 external flash will save your camera battery life and give you more versatility in getting the light right. Or take a camera with a built in flash

■ You will need a tripod for this course

■ Memory Card(s): we recommend at least an 32 GB card for this 3 day course

Can I rent a camera? Buy SD cards?
■ Yes - we have cropped DLSR Canon and Nikon Cameras for rent. The fee is $100 for the 3 day course( payable via card or cash) Your camera will have a standard 18-55mm lens ( or equivalent) , a 50mm f1.8 and a 70-300mm lens
Quality 32GB SD cards are available for purchase for $25 per card ( or bring your own SD cards)

Is the course beneficial in building a portfolio? What are some of the places we go to?
With one-to-one guidance from our experienced photography tutors, you can complete a range of creative assignments in order to develop an impressive portfolio
We endeavour to go to most or all of the following destinations. This sometimes is not possible due to extenuating circumstances such as inclement weather , health restrictions and so on but we try our best to include:

The Rocks, The Observatory, Walsh Bay, Botanic Gardens, Woolloomooloo, Hyde Park, Sydney CBD, Darling Harbour.

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Reviews ★★★★★

Thanks for the email Andrew And yes Mate - loved the photos making me look 5 years younger. The make up artist was a good idea.
Been busy pitching new business all week.....have some time tomorrow to have a proper look at all the photos but lots to choose from.

--Craig McCann

I want to thank you very much for the course a last Saturday. It was very easy to learn through this sort of experience. The models were gorgeous! I will be confident enough to do a small wedding and the course manual is incredibly detailed. Thanks.

--Sam Khoudair / wedding photographer

Andrew has been training our staff, photographing for us over 30 years and has led many Australian and overseas photography tours for World Expeditions. A superb photographer with the ability to handle pressure and to deal with the unexpected. Andrew is very personable and always delivers way more than asked for. Highly recommended.

-- Sue Badyari / General Manager

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

We use Focus 10 for all our corporate photography around Australia and SE Asia. Focus 10 always delivers under the pressure to photograph our clients in any setting. |

--David Apps

As director of a company which represents hundreds of professional photographers running courses around Australia its always a pleasure dealing with Andrew and Focus 10. They run highly professional Australia wide photography courses and from the feedback from my clients they do a great job, they are reliable and honest and always do the right thing by their clients - we highly recommend them.

-- Paul Middleton | Director

"I just wanted to say that I really loved this weekend course and learnt a great deal. I appreciate you both sharing your photography knowledge and patience with us. Serena and Andrew were great instructors and injected lots of fun but at the same time kept the course at a great pace and ensured we all got something valuable out of it. I am really looking forward to the Wildflowers and Wilderness weekend in September!"

--Ray Berry / Manager

"The course was really helpful for our forthcoming jaunt around Asia. We'll take a look at the courses online and book something in (probably when we're back from Cambodia as we've only got a couple of weeks till we leave). These notes are terrific as well. I've already made a note to take a print out with me on our trip. Cheers,"

-- Sylvia Nguyen / Change Manager

Need more info? Contact Us

Complete Pro Photography Course Gallery

Why choose Focus 10 Photography?

01.

Hands on shooting
Great locations & projects

Our practical and interactive photography courses are designed to stimulate your passion in all things photography. Whether you want to develop your hobby or to become a professional photographer, we have a course suitable for you. 69 lifestyle and business courses across Australia.

02.

Small groups
Fun, innovative, creative

We believe in perfectly sized groups , lots of individual attention from our professional tutors & enjoying the camaraderie of fellow photographers. Our business & lifestyle courses are all about improving your photography skills in a stimulating, dynamic and fun scenarios - not passively sitting in classrooms.

03.

AIPP accredited
Pro Photographers

You're working with professional photographers who you can trust & whose status has been formally validated & recognised with wide-ranging photographic expertise. Your tutors have instructed 1,000's of people on Focus 10 courses over 29 years & authors of 15 Online Photography courses.

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