Hi, I am after some help in looking for / advice on photography courses. I have looked around on here but unable to find anything that directly relates.Seen a few regarding editing.
I have always been a point and shoot but now want to get more into it. Need a less expensive hobby other than Airsoft and Warhammer.
should not laugh at the above statement - but these are drones - is there really a cheep hobby ?
Photography is photography - its been around for over 100 years and very little has changed in the principles of photogrpahy ( the the media it records too and some tech advancements in the camera but things like shutter speeds / ISO settings / aperture / rule of thirds has not changed much over the deckades )
A drone is basically a flying tripod so the rules that are applied to a camera on the ground still apply in the air.
Have a look on YouTube for basically photography tutorials that cover the basics of things like how the F’stop ( aperture ) or ISO or shutter speed will affect the outcome of the shot then play around and take photos of a point of interest and play around and see what works for you. Lucky its all digital and your not having to pay for development of film 
You will end up finding a look / style that works for you - some people like to shoot with aperture priority or some with shutter priority then the real mavrics out there will do both !
Same will apply to the drone when you put the camera in manual mode and you get them settings to play with.
I can thoroughly recommend this
Starts RIGHT at the beginning, easy to understand and no ‘time pressures’. I stumbled across it a few years ago having always been a ‘point and press always on auto mode’ hobby photographer. Within 3 or 4 weeks, I was off auto and never been back since. At the time I did it, a lesson was emailed out once a week over a 5 week block, break for a week or two then another block. I think you can get all the lessons at once now. there is also a companion smart phone app for £4.99 - NOT REQUIRED AS PART OF THE COURSE, which like this site, offers a vast wealth of knowledge and information.
Cambridge in Colour us a great place to start, and it’s free.
Depends where you live, there can be local colleges that offer online or distance learning courses, i find more in england, but in scotland you have a better chance in getting a photo of nessie. Also sometimes udemy has free courses, or look for udemy vouchers which can help. Also check facebook for local camera clubs, all though they might not do courses, going along and talking and making friends can help, for example similar to the drone meet ups. If you are ever up in the north england or scottish borders i will be happy to help. Do you have a Camera? if so what type? and what type of photography are you interested in? this sometimes helps to narrow down help on youtube, for example i have a nikon d600 and i learn the camera basics of that on youtube.
Edit to my earlier post on this topic
**** the course is FREE OF CHARGE ****
Hi @fozzykhf
I was in a similar situation a while ago. Had a cruise to Northern Lights with a big standard camera, results pretty poor, this prompted investment in a prpt DSLR however this was set to ‘Auto’ most of the time.
My local authority (East Riding) ran a number of photography courses so I dipped in my toe, a good move as the pro lecturer was excellent. Ended up attending 3 full courses, each of 8 weeks.
Politics made the authority increase prices (by 75% !!!) so guess what no more courses, thanks to Ms Reeves.
Auto mode, for a point’n’shoot or a drone camera, will make a pretty good job of taking most photographs in most conditions. But not all conditions are amenable to this approach, and you may want to alter settings to cope with this, or to achieve a particular effect such as speed blur, or ‘bokeh’ (using the depth of field to deliberately throw the background out of focus so that attention is centred on the subject, especially common in portrait photography.
It is useful to learn how to consider backgrounds as well; a ‘busy’ background can distract from the subject, and movement. You can use speed blur with a slow shutter speed, but for subjects like fountains or waterfalls I like to use as high a shutter speed as possible to ‘freeze’ the motion, so that every droplet is clearly visible. I don’t like the ‘blurry flowing water’ effect often used for waterfall photos, matter of taste.
Photography courses vary in their approach; some will focus on the creative/art aspects, such as framing and composition, while others will be more orientated to the technical aspects of the field. Whichever you choose, more knowledge will improve your images, and the level of satisfaction you get from exposing and viewing them.
Keep an eye out at jumble sales &c for back-issues of photography magazines. These focus on selling the latest all-singing all-dancing wonder cameras, but will often have features on particular aspects and how to achieve types of images, and they’ll be cheap! Good toilet reading as well…
Video, as I’ve come to realise since taking up drones, is another ball-game altogether! Once the intial amazement at being able to produce moving images from an imaginary tripod 400’ up in the air in a force 5 wind has subsided, you start to realise your shortcomings! I’m still in awe of the drone’s ability to do this, though!
Never done any courses, but the book I found that really helped getting to grips with my dSLR was Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. But beyond that, I think the main thing is get out there and practice. Play around with your setting and see what works for you and your equipment.
@fozzykhf the internet is stuffed full of resources for photography. A lot of them are full of shit or try to empty your pockets. First things first, learn the exposure triangle. The most important thing in photography is light. Learning how to get a well exposed photo is the first step you need to learn. Sure, you can bracket your exposures and merge them in photoshop, but learning this fundamental is a must. Part of this is using exposure compensation, if your camera has the ability, but it’s very important. Next on my list would be white balance. A well exposed photo is ruined by incorrect white balance, yes you can correct thisnin editing, but why mess about at the computer when you can get near perfect in camera. Then you can move onto composition, it’s what makes a good photo really stand out. Doesn’t matter how well exposed your shot is, if the composition is crap then no amount of editing will fix it.
I mentioned Camridge in Colour above, another resource I really recommend is Ken Rockwell. He’s a bit of a divisive guy in the photography world, but much of what he says is absolutely spot on. If you read all his basic tutorials you will have a firm understanding, and a healthier bank balance. It’s not about the camera!
Hi @fozzykhf . Lots of good sites on YT that can help you get started with the basics. Simon d’Entremont has a good channel and, if you look at his earlier videos, he covers exposure, shutter speed, aperture, etc in depth without any of the faff or sales pitch you get with some channels. Depending on the style of photography that interests you (landscape, travel, portraits, events, products, etc) there are many that do tutorials on those techniques. Simon does landscapes and wildlife, for example
Not sure where you are based but, if you are near Edinburgh, I can recommend Stills for relatively inexpensive workshops on using Lightroom (when you are ready to get into post processing), studio lighting, shooting portraits, etc
As and when you get infected with Gear Acquisition Syndrome (you will!), YT channels such as Gordon from Camera Labs give great, impartial advice on camera bodies and lenses (not sponsored by any manufacturers)
Good ole GAS, I remember the days of lugging about 3 cameras, 50 different filters, 20 lenses, 100 types of film, 5 different flashes, 4 different tripods and monopods. Then thinking about all the stuff I’ve still got at home 
All of it bought cos someone in a magazine said I needed it if I wanted to be a serious photographer.
Yeh, my daughter has a bad case of GAS right now. Strangely, the more she acquires, the less I seem to have 
Morning, Sadly with my work I’m all over the UK but never really know where it will be month to month so I think online and Udemy (didn’t even think to look on that). Only camera I currently have is my phone and drone. Only started to use the drone to learn ground surveys and photography never crossed my mind until I started to take some photos.
Thank you I have saved a few of his playlists to watch.