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Group Workshops

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About CapturEDU

Melbourne Photo Spots

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Online School

About CapturEDU

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Progress

CapturEDU Online: Start

Complete & Continue Next Lesson Learn More

Module 1 · Meet Your Camera

12 Lessons

How any camera makes a photo

Find the controls on your camera

Phones, compacts, DSLRs and mirrorless

Five settings to change on day one

Batteries, cards and changing lenses safely

Four cameras, set up from the box

The eyes-closed control drill

Sensor size and crop factor

Skill challenge: The Eyes-Closed Drill, timed

Field Card and Assignment Card

Cheat sheet: Meet Your Camera

Quiz: Meet Your Camera

Module 2 · Hold It Steady

12 Lessons

Why photos come out blurry

Grip, stance and pressing the shutter

Brace on whatever's around you

Image stabilisation, explained

Tripods without the fuss

Dusk handheld, a moving child, a dim museum

The slow-shutter ladder

The handheld speed rule, worked out

Skill challenge: The Slow-Shutter Ladder

Field Card and Assignment Card

Cheat sheet: Hold It Steady

Quiz: Hold It Steady

Module 3 · Quick Wins in Auto

12 Lessons

Let the camera help: Auto and P

Half-press: focus, then shoot

Tell the camera where to focus

Brighter or darker with one dial

Turn around: put the light on your subject

Get closer, then closer again

Five everyday scenes, before and after

Ten better photos on your street

Skill challenge: Ten Better Photos on Your Street

Field Card and Assignment Card

Cheat sheet: Quick Wins in Auto

Quiz: Quick Wins in Auto

Module 4 · Seeing Light

13 Lessons

Light is the subject

Hard and soft light

Front, side and back light

Window light at home

Shade, cloud and harsh sun

Golden hour and blue hour

A portrait, a still life and a street at three times of day

One object, five lights

Why bigger light is softer light

Skill challenge: One Object, Five Lights

Field Card and Assignment Card

Cheat sheet: Seeing Light

Quiz: Seeing Light

Module 5 · Exposure Made Simple

12 Lessons

What exposure means

Three controls, one picture

Stops without the maths

Same brightness, different look

Which control to change first

Bright beach, dim café, sunset sky

Three roads to one photo

Sunny 16 and exposure values

Skill challenge: Three Roads to One Photo

Field Card and Assignment Card

Cheat sheet: Exposure Made Simple

Quiz: Exposure Made Simple

Module 6 · Aperture: Blurry or Sharp Backgrounds

13 Lessons

What aperture does

Reading f-numbers

Blur the background: the four levers

Sharp from front to back

Aperture priority, step by step

Check what's sharp before you leave

A portrait, a flower, a landscape

The background-blur ladder

Depth of field and hyperfocal distance

Skill challenge: The Background-Blur Ladder

Field Card and Assignment Card

Cheat sheet: Aperture: Blurry or Sharp Backgrounds

Quiz: Aperture: Blurry or Sharp Backgrounds

Module 7 · Shutter Speed: Freeze or Flow

13 Lessons

What shutter speed does

Reading shutter speeds

Freeze the action

Blur on purpose: water, crowds, traffic

Panning: sharp subject, streaked background

Shutter priority, step by step

A dog running, a waterfall, a cyclist

Freeze it, blur it: the shutter ladder

Very slow shutters and ND filters

Skill challenge: Freeze It, Blur It

Field Card and Assignment Card

Cheat sheet: Shutter Speed: Freeze or Flow

Quiz: Shutter Speed: Freeze or Flow

Module 8 · ISO: When the Light Fades

11 Lessons

What ISO really does

Noise, and why blur is worse

Set up Auto ISO once

Indoors and at night without flash

A birthday party, a gig, a city at night

Your camera's noise test

Base ISO and noise reduction

Skill challenge: Your Camera's Noise Test

Field Card and Assignment Card

Cheat sheet: ISO: When the Light Fades

Quiz: ISO: When the Light Fades

Module 9 · Take Control: A, S and M

12 Lessons

Who decides what: the modes

Choosing a mode for the moment

Manual mode without fear

Manual with Auto ISO

Exposure compensation in every mode

A school concert, a beach, a backlit portrait

One scene, four modes

Save your set-ups: custom modes

Skill challenge: One Scene, Four Modes

Field Card and Assignment Card

Cheat sheet: Take Control: A, S and M

Quiz: Take Control: A, S and M

Module 10 · Metering and Exposure Compensation

12 Lessons

What the meter aims for

Snow, white dresses, black dogs and backlight

Exposure compensation: how much, and how fast

Where the camera measures: metering modes and AE lock

On a phone: tap, slide and lock

A snowy park, a white dress, a black dog, a window portrait

Fool the meter, then fix it

Spot metering and the mid-tone method

Skill challenge: Fool the Meter, Fix the Meter

Field Card and Assignment Card

Cheat sheet: Metering and Exposure Compensation

Quiz: Metering and Exposure Compensation

Module 11 · Focus That Lands

13 Lessons

What sharp really means

Single and continuous autofocus

Choosing the focus point

Eyes, faces and tracking

Focus and recompose

Manual focus and peaking

Why is my photo blurry? A checklist

A toddler, a bird on a branch, a glass window

The focus gauntlet

Skill challenge: The Focus Gauntlet

Field Card and Assignment Card

Cheat sheet: Focus That Lands

Quiz: Focus That Lands

Module 12 · Composition Basics

12 Lessons

What composition is for

One subject, nothing extra

The rule of thirds, and when to break it

Lines that lead

Watch the background and the edges

Change your angle

A busy market, a quiet park, a family table

Twenty frames of one subject

Skill challenge: Twenty Frames of One Subject

Field Card and Assignment Card

Cheat sheet: Composition Basics

Quiz: Composition Basics

Module 13 · Lenses and Zoom

12 Lessons

Focal length in plain words

Wide, standard and telephoto

Zoom with your feet

Pick the focal length for the photo

Your kit lens can do more than you think

A street, a portrait, a mountain

One scene, three focal lengths

Perspective comes from distance, not the lens

Skill challenge: One Scene, Three Focal Lengths

Field Card and Assignment Card

Cheat sheet: Lenses and Zoom

Quiz: Lenses and Zoom

Module 14 · Colour and White Balance

11 Lessons

Why colours look wrong

Auto white balance, and when it fails

Daylight, shade and tungsten presets

Custom white balance with a grey card

A kitchen at night, a snowy day, a sunset

One scene, five white balances

Skill challenge: One Scene, Five White Balances

Field Card and Assignment Card

Cheat sheet: Colour and White Balance

Quiz: Colour and White Balance

Module 15 · Check Your Shot

12 Lessons

Don't trust a bright screen

Reading the histogram

Highlight warnings (blinkies)

Zoom in to check focus

The five-second review

A white dress, a black dog, a bright sky

Review twenty photos like a pro

Exposing to the right

Skill challenge: The Five-Second Review

Field Card and Assignment Card

Cheat sheet: Check Your Shot

Quiz: Check Your Shot

Module 16 · Indoors and Low Light

12 Lessons

How dark indoors really is

Window light first

Settings for dim rooms: Auto ISO and its limits

Hold still, gather more: bracing, stabilisation and fast primes

Phone night modes: what they really do

Colour and focus in dim light

A toddler at home, a birthday party, a restaurant, a church

An evening indoors, without flash

Skill challenge: An Evening Without Flash

Field Card and Assignment Card

Cheat sheet: Indoors and Low Light

Quiz: Indoors and Low Light

Module 17 · Files and Backup

12 Lessons

Set your image quality once

Getting photos off the camera

Folders and names that sort themselves

The 3-2-1 backup

Phone photos, storage and cloud sync

A trip, a family phone, a scattered collection

Build your system, then test it

Skill challenge: The Restore Test

Field Card and Assignment Card

Cheat sheet: Files and Backup

Quiz: Files and Backup

Module 18 · Your First Edits

12 Lessons

Your first edit: five sliders

Crop and straighten

A first black and white

Fixing white balance in the edit

Exporting for screen, social and print

A light touch: how far to go

Three photos, edited start to finish

Edit your best six

Skill challenge: Edit Your Best Six

Field Card and Assignment Card

Cheat sheet: Your First Edits

Quiz: Your First Edits

Module 19 · Your First Photo Walk

10 Lessons

Planning a walk

Walk-around settings

Working a scene

Choosing your best six

A 90-minute walk, frame by frame

Your walk, shared

Skill challenge: The 90-Minute Walk

Field Card and Assignment Card

Cheat sheet: Your First Photo Walk

Quiz: Your First Photo Walk

CapturEDU Online: Start

Complete & Continue Next Lesson Learn More

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Module 3 · Quick Wins in Auto

Quiz: Quick Wins in Auto

Complete & Continue Next Lesson Learn More

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CapturEDU respectfully acknowledges the Bunurong Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation as Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we live, work and photograph, and pays respect to Elders past and present.

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