Underwater Photography course

[kancho]

Is it worth taking the UW photography course?

[LostnVA]

Sure it would be worth it. Much less bad pictures. Being taught how to best use your new underwater camera to cover many situations. Hovering, light exposure, etc... Sure you can get all that from a book, but just reading a book doesn't give your a professionals ready knowledge while you are practicing it.

just m $.02

Mike

[Puffer Fish]

Originally Posted by kancho

Is it worth taking the UW photography course?

I think it depends on your skill level and the nature of the course.

If you have a good understand of camera basic's (f-stops, ISO, shutter speed effects, for example) and want to take an UW course on UW technic's and such... great idea.... but if that is not the case, then no.

If you don't have a good understanding of camera's.. then it should be a class in photography, not uw photography.

If you don't have reasonable diving skills.. then get diving practice in first.

If you have a compact UW camera, and have decided to go with the DSLR, with dual strobes... then a class in using this major upgrade would not be bad.

There also has to be some match between the type of gear you are planning on using and the focus of the class. Bringing a D300 with dual TTL strobes to a beginning class does not work.

[Scubakraut]

Originally Posted by Puffer Fish

I think it depends on your skill level and the nature of the course.

If you have a good understand of camera basic's (f-stops, ISO, shutter speed effects, for example) and want to take an UW course on UW technic's and such... great idea.... but if that is not the case, then no.

If you don't have a good understanding of camera's.. then it should be a class in photography, not uw photography.

If you don't have reasonable diving skills.. then get diving practice in first.

If you have a compact UW camera, and have decided to go with the DSLR, with dual strobes... then a class in using this major upgrade would not be bad.

There also has to be some match between the type of gear you are planning on using and the focus of the class. Bringing a D300 with dual TTL strobes to a beginning class does not work.

Did you take one? Do classes provide you with a camera and first hand experience? It would also depend on the location I assume. Taking a photography class in a pool is not a great idea neither in a murky lake.

[CompuDude]

Depends completely on the instructor, and how good a match they are to your skill level.

If your instructor is a super high end photographer with a $20k camera rig who loathes point and shoot cameras, and all you want is some better shots from your P&S, you may not have a great time.

Similarly, if your instructor is great with their P&S but you want to understand the finer points of shooting in full manual and RAW, they may not be able to help you to the level you need.

Any way you look at it you'll get lots of decent general advice (basic care that applies to any camera, simple photo tips like the rule of thirds and some ways to help reduce backscatter, etc), but how well it is applied (and how well it applies) to your particular situation will vary widely by instructor.

I was disappointed in my PADI course, but I know others who have taken them with other instructors and raved. I also haven't been impressed by their photos. If you want to really do it right, forget PADI and be prepared to spend a few thousand dollars to travel and take a REAL course from someone like Mike Veitch or Cathy Church.