Foundation in Digital Photography

What you'll learn

The Foundation in Digital Photography Course is perfect for complete photography beginners. Discover the power of your camera by learning about shutter speed, aperture, ISO and other settings as well as composition, portraits, landscapes and mono photography. Content is delivered in carefully crafted and original IOP videos expertly created to make the complex concepts of photography simple for everyone.
At the end, supply what you consider to be your best photograph and have it assessed and scored by an IOP® expert to see what level of skill you have.

      • 10 online units
      • CPD Certified (10 hours)
      • Foundation in Digital Photography certificate**
      • Skills assessment at start and end of course
      • Photo assessment from the Course Director
      • Live chat for immediate help and advice
      • 2 hours of dedicated tutor chat every week
      • Unlimited time to complete the course*
      • Complete online at your own pace

*you must log in at least once every 365 days to keep your account active | **pdf certificate

Unit 1: Skills assessment
INTERACT » Assess your photography knowledge in this initial test

Unit 2: Important camera functions part 1

What is aperture, shutter speed and ISO? What are all those settings on your camera dial? We cover all this and more in this unit.

WATCH » Important camera functions part 1 video
INTERACT » Unit 2 Test Questions

Unit 3: Important camera functions part 2
In this unit, you will learn all about metering modes, exposure compensation, white balance, auto-focus modes, area focus points, auto-exposure lock and flash modes.

WATCH » Important camera functions part 2 video
INTERACT » Unit 3 test questions

Unit 4: Exposure triangle 
In this video, we look at the important relationship between aperture, shutter speed and ISO, giving you the skills you need to control the camera an produce better photographs.

WATCH » Exposure triangle
INTERACT » 
Unit 4 test questions

Unit 5: The Histogram
The Histogram is one of the most under-valued and under-used tools to help achieve a correct exposure and it’s so simple to apply it to your photography once you know how to use it. We make the Histogram easy to understand in this video, opening up a whole new world on your viewfinder.

WATCH » The Histogram
INTERACT » Unit 5 test questions

Unit 6: Composition
In this unit, we discover the fundamental principals of composition. Why does one photo look better than another? We give you simple advice that you can put into practice today to change your photography forever. 

WATCH » Composition
INTERACT » 
Unit 6 test questions

Unit 7: Advanced composition
It’s time to build on the knowledge you have just learned about composition and to start thinking about positive and negative space, tonal range, colour and emotional response. Transform your photography by following the advice in this step-by-step video.

WATCH » Advanced composition
INTERACT » Unit 7 test questions

Unit 8: Final test

INTERACT » Final test questions help to check your understanding

Unit 9: Final assignment

INTERACT » Final photo assignment

Unit 10: Skills assessment
INTERACT » Re-assess your photography knowledge in this skills test

Unit 11: Your certificate

COMPLETE » Pick up your Foundation in Digital Photography certificate

The Foundation in Digital Photography is suitable for:

Beginners
Perfect for those who are completely new to photography, it starts with the complete basics and develops at an easy pace into more complex photographic concepts.

Camera
Any digital camera that allows you to control the manual settings is perfect for this course. Even the most basic compact cameras offer that functionality these days. Look at your camera manual – can you change the aperture, shutter speed and ISO settings? If so, your camera is fine for the course.

Equipment
Any PC, Mac, laptop, tablet or smartphone is suitable for viewing the course and course videos.
A reasonable broadband internet connection (2mb and above).

Non-essential equipment
The following items would be worth investing in, perhaps in the future and as you work through the course, developing your skills.
They are not essential for the course.

  • A DSLR camera
  • Choice of lenses
  • Image editing software like Adobe Lightroom
  • Tripod and filters

Any questions?

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about our Diploma in Photography or other photography courses, read our FAQs

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