6 ms·

Exposing Digital Photography (2015)

232 points by itsyogesh 10y ago

evolve2k 10y ago
> "There’s also a thirteenth module which serves as an assessment of all you know. If you pass this with a score of 80 percent or higher, and you can get yourself a diploma to print and hang on your wall." Anyone know if it's a Harvard Diploma/Certificate that you get? I'm guessing it's probably not.
- leejo 10y ago
  > Anyone know if it's a Harvard Diploma/Certificate that you get? I'm guessing it's probably not. I doubt it, and the certificate isn't free: PDF Certificate: € 21 Certificate Parchment: € 27 Framed Certificate Parchment: € 37 Diploma Parchment: € 96 Framed Diploma: € 115 Also - you need to enable Flash to be able to do the final assessment.
- manarth 10y ago
  From their blurb: "To qualify for your official ALISON Diploma, Certificate or PDF" (emphasis mine). In their Knowledgebase [1], they acknowledge "ALISON courses are not accredited or recognised by any institute" [1] https://alison.com/knowledgebase/entry/44/ https://alison.com/knowledgebase/entry/44/
lmnt 10y ago
Is this really new? The course page [1] lists that it was published in 2013. [1] https://alison.com/courses/Digital-Photography https://alison.com/courses/Digital-Photography
alexp_789 10y ago
Is it just me that finds the constant panning and zooming really distracting?
pvdebbe 10y ago
Sounds excellent. In essence, this course doesn't teach you photographing but rather, how to maximise what you get out of a digital photograph. Definitely taking it, such a short course anyway. I wonder if the actual photographying is taught in any (free) online courses? I've enjoyed the little nugget called "FART for Fantastic Photos" [0] by Ken Rockwell, especially how it in its simplicity reminds one to focus on the subject, that's what matters in the picture. Kinda hope there would be courses that take the same idea but for 10 hours or so. [0] http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/fart.htm http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/fart.htm
- yread 10y ago
  SEX for composition is also good http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/composition.htm http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/composition.htm
- jfernandez 10y ago
  > Sounds excellent. In essence, this course doesn't teach you photographing but rather, how to maximise what you get out of a digital photograph. Definitely taking it, such a short course anyway. I had a similar thought when I was browsing the content. If anyone knows any classes that get closer to the idea of teaching concepts around composition, intent etc. I'm also interested! It's been a struggle to find something in this middle ground between 'this is a digital camera' all the way to a full on BFA. FWIW, I'm in NYC and open to in-person classes too if anyone knows anything in the area.
  - Xunxi 10y ago
    https://www.coursera.org/specializations/photography-basics https://www.coursera.org/specializations/photography-basics you can audit individual courseware for free if that helps
  - OliverJones 10y ago
    Ask around in your local arts scene. Many professional photographers offer short courses to small groups of people. I agree this HES course's, umm, focus, is about camera engineering rather than how to use the camera. They could have mentioned how to use nice glass for composition. For example, mobile phone cameras are great. The best reason these days to schlep a CAMERA camera instead of a phone is the lens. Do you want a big aperture (narrow depth of field)? Bring your CAMERA. Do you want a super long lens for making pictures of faraway stuff. Bring your CAMERA. Some CAMERAs have another cool hack. You can put them in to black-and-white mode and their viewfinders show black and white. That's a great way for an amateur photog to learn to see light unconfused by color.
benesch 10y ago
This appears to be an (illegitimate?) republishing of a course that Dan Armendariz has taught at the Harvard Extension School since 2008. (The course number has since changed from CS E-7 to Digital Media E-10.) You can find the fall 2015 materials available online for free, better-organized and without advertising, at http://digitalphotography.exposed http://digitalphotography.exposed. If you find these materials helpful, or want feedback on your work, consider enrolling in the course through the Extension School [0]! Part of your tuition inevitably supports the Harvard bureaucracy, but Dan and his teaching fellows's stipends are directly tied to the number of students who enroll in the course, and they've kindly made the entire course available for free. You can also apply that course credit to an Extension School degree, which is worth more than whatever certificate of completion Alison is providing. [0]: https://www.extension.harvard.edu/academics/courses/exposing-digital-photography/24825 https://www.extension.harvard.edu/academics/courses/exposing... Edit: I suppose I should note that the instructor for the current Extension School offering appears to have changed in the last year, so your mileage with the current version of the course will vary.
- melling 10y ago
  In response, someone posted a legitimate Stanford course: https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/comments/5o350c/since_that_suspicious_harvard_course_got_so_much/ https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/comments/5o350c/since_t... I added it to my photography list on Github: https://github.com/melling/DesignNotes_MobileAndWebApps/blob/master/photography.org https://github.com/melling/DesignNotes_MobileAndWebApps/blob...
- dr_zoidberg 10y ago
  The link seems to have been changed to the one you provided[0]. I guess this was posted to another page, hosted by someone else taking credit for the videos and resources of the course? [0] I was originally a bit lost at your comment and then connected the dots.
Rugsandbeyond 10y ago
where can i get the complete details of this course?
PuffinBlue 10y ago
This particular site generated a lot of discussion in the /r/photography sub-reddit. General consensus was that this site is a spammy wrapper/republishing of another course. Here's a comment with more info and links to the legitimate/original course that this site is pertaining to provide: https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/comments/5nxj2h/harvard_has_released_a_free_12_module_online/ https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/comments/5nxj2h/harvard... Further, here's a link to another credible course (currently the top post in the /r/photography sub-reddit) should you wish to expand your options: https://sites.google.com/site/marclevoylectures/ https://sites.google.com/site/marclevoylectures/ And to the discussion about said course: https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/comments/5o350c/since_that_suspicious_harvard_course_got_so_much/ https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/comments/5o350c/since_t...
dr_hooo 10y ago
The site doesn't seem to be legit - there was a big reddit thread on r/photography yesterday: this post [0] sums it up, and actually links to the actual Harvard course. [0] https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/comments/5nxj2h/harvard_has_released_a_free_12_module_online/dcf6es6/ https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/comments/5nxj2h/harvard...
- sctb 10y ago
  Thanks, we updated the link to the real course page from http://thenextweb.com/insider/2017/01/16/harvard-university-launches-free-online-photography-course/ http://thenextweb.com/insider/2017/01/16/harvard-university-... which pointed to https://alison.com/courses/Digital-Photography https://alison.com/courses/Digital-Photography.
brudgers 10y ago
Related: Mark Levoy's digital photography course: https://sites.google.com/site/marclevoylectures/home https://sites.google.com/site/marclevoylectures/home
imaginenore 10y ago
How did this garbage get to the top of HN? The photographs, on average, aren't even that impressive. Only some are good.
DannyB2 10y ago
You should not expose digital photography. At least not before it has been developed, or that would ruin the film.
greenhatman 10y ago
That TLD will make any domain look like click bait.
jdcarter 10y ago
For those interested in very hands-on advise on using artificial light, the Strobist [1] blog is amazing. David Hobby is a working photojournalist and does fantastic work on-site. It's one thing to control light in the studio, but quite another to bring your flashes to a random site and improvise. Hobby used to have a DVD set for sale which was probably the best money I've ever spent on photography stuff, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to be available anymore. (It appears he's got some videos on Lynda.com, however.) I understand technical aspects of photography quite well but I learned a ton about creative, improvisational lighting from Hobby. [1]: http://strobist.blogspot.com/ http://strobist.blogspot.com/
- pierrepoutine 10y ago
  I second this. David's site opened my eyes to the importance of colour correcting the light coming out of your (off-camera) flashes for artistic effect, and a rough understanding of colour theory is what helps give images that extra "pop"
- vvanders 10y ago
  Light Science & Magic[1] is another fantastic one which has a ton of practical studio lighting in great depth and a good high-level overview of a lot of the physics that drives it(polarizing filters, etc). [1] https://www.amazon.com/Light-Science-Magic-Introduction-Photographic/dp/0415719402 https://www.amazon.com/Light-Science-Magic-Introduction-Phot...
archildress 10y ago
I was a bit surprised that the lesson on software tools focused on Photoshop instead of Lightroom. Photoshop is cream of the crop for precise image adjustments, but Lightroom is such a great photo management software plus visual editor. Don't get me wrong - Photoshop is great. But Lightroom is one of the most user friendly digital asset managers (DAM).

232 points by itsyogesh 10y ago

> "There’s also a thirteenth module which serves as an assessment of all you know. If you pass this with a score of 80 percent or higher, and you can get yourself a diploma to print and hang on your wall." Anyone know if it's a Harvard Diploma/Certificate that you get? I'm guessing it's probably not.

leejo 10y ago
> Anyone know if it's a Harvard Diploma/Certificate that you get? I'm guessing it's probably not. I doubt it, and the certificate isn't free: PDF Certificate: € 21 Certificate Parchment: € 27 Framed Certificate Parchment: € 37 Diploma Parchment: € 96 Framed Diploma: € 115 Also - you need to enable Flash to be able to do the final assessment.
manarth 10y ago
From their blurb: "To qualify for your official ALISON Diploma, Certificate or PDF" (emphasis mine). In their Knowledgebase [1], they acknowledge "ALISON courses are not accredited or recognised by any institute" [1] https://alison.com/knowledgebase/entry/44/ https://alison.com/knowledgebase/entry/44/

lmnt 10y ago

Is this really new? The course page [1] lists that it was published in 2013. [1] https://alison.com/courses/Digital-Photography https://alison.com/courses/Digital-Photography

alexp_789 10y ago

Is it just me that finds the constant panning and zooming really distracting?

pvdebbe 10y ago

Sounds excellent. In essence, this course doesn't teach you photographing but rather, how to maximise what you get out of a digital photograph. Definitely taking it, such a short course anyway. I wonder if the actual photographying is taught in any (free) online courses? I've enjoyed the little nugget called "FART for Fantastic Photos" [0] by Ken Rockwell, especially how it in its simplicity reminds one to focus on the subject, that's what matters in the picture. Kinda hope there would be courses that take the same idea but for 10 hours or so. [0] http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/fart.htm http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/fart.htm

yread 10y ago
SEX for composition is also good http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/composition.htm http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/composition.htm
jfernandez 10y ago
> Sounds excellent. In essence, this course doesn't teach you photographing but rather, how to maximise what you get out of a digital photograph. Definitely taking it, such a short course anyway. I had a similar thought when I was browsing the content. If anyone knows any classes that get closer to the idea of teaching concepts around composition, intent etc. I'm also interested! It's been a struggle to find something in this middle ground between 'this is a digital camera' all the way to a full on BFA. FWIW, I'm in NYC and open to in-person classes too if anyone knows anything in the area.
- Xunxi 10y ago
  https://www.coursera.org/specializations/photography-basics https://www.coursera.org/specializations/photography-basics you can audit individual courseware for free if that helps
- OliverJones 10y ago
  Ask around in your local arts scene. Many professional photographers offer short courses to small groups of people. I agree this HES course's, umm, focus, is about camera engineering rather than how to use the camera. They could have mentioned how to use nice glass for composition. For example, mobile phone cameras are great. The best reason these days to schlep a CAMERA camera instead of a phone is the lens. Do you want a big aperture (narrow depth of field)? Bring your CAMERA. Do you want a super long lens for making pictures of faraway stuff. Bring your CAMERA. Some CAMERAs have another cool hack. You can put them in to black-and-white mode and their viewfinders show black and white. That's a great way for an amateur photog to learn to see light unconfused by color.

benesch 10y ago

This appears to be an (illegitimate?) republishing of a course that Dan Armendariz has taught at the Harvard Extension School since 2008. (The course number has since changed from CS E-7 to Digital Media E-10.) You can find the fall 2015 materials available online for free, better-organized and without advertising, at http://digitalphotography.exposed http://digitalphotography.exposed. If you find these materials helpful, or want feedback on your work, consider enrolling in the course through the Extension School [0]! Part of your tuition inevitably supports the Harvard bureaucracy, but Dan and his teaching fellows's stipends are directly tied to the number of students who enroll in the course, and they've kindly made the entire course available for free. You can also apply that course credit to an Extension School degree, which is worth more than whatever certificate of completion Alison is providing. [0]: https://www.extension.harvard.edu/academics/courses/exposing-digital-photography/24825 https://www.extension.harvard.edu/academics/courses/exposing... Edit: I suppose I should note that the instructor for the current Extension School offering appears to have changed in the last year, so your mileage with the current version of the course will vary.

melling 10y ago
In response, someone posted a legitimate Stanford course: https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/comments/5o350c/since_that_suspicious_harvard_course_got_so_much/ https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/comments/5o350c/since_t... I added it to my photography list on Github: https://github.com/melling/DesignNotes_MobileAndWebApps/blob/master/photography.org https://github.com/melling/DesignNotes_MobileAndWebApps/blob...
dr_zoidberg 10y ago
The link seems to have been changed to the one you provided[0]. I guess this was posted to another page, hosted by someone else taking credit for the videos and resources of the course? [0] I was originally a bit lost at your comment and then connected the dots.

Rugsandbeyond 10y ago

where can i get the complete details of this course?

PuffinBlue 10y ago

This particular site generated a lot of discussion in the /r/photography sub-reddit. General consensus was that this site is a spammy wrapper/republishing of another course. Here's a comment with more info and links to the legitimate/original course that this site is pertaining to provide: https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/comments/5nxj2h/harvard_has_released_a_free_12_module_online/ https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/comments/5nxj2h/harvard... Further, here's a link to another credible course (currently the top post in the /r/photography sub-reddit) should you wish to expand your options: https://sites.google.com/site/marclevoylectures/ https://sites.google.com/site/marclevoylectures/ And to the discussion about said course: https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/comments/5o350c/since_that_suspicious_harvard_course_got_so_much/ https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/comments/5o350c/since_t...

dr_hooo 10y ago

The site doesn't seem to be legit - there was a big reddit thread on r/photography yesterday: this post [0] sums it up, and actually links to the actual Harvard course. [0] https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/comments/5nxj2h/harvard_has_released_a_free_12_module_online/dcf6es6/ https://www.reddit.com/r/photography/comments/5nxj2h/harvard...

sctb 10y ago
Thanks, we updated the link to the real course page from http://thenextweb.com/insider/2017/01/16/harvard-university-launches-free-online-photography-course/ http://thenextweb.com/insider/2017/01/16/harvard-university-... which pointed to https://alison.com/courses/Digital-Photography https://alison.com/courses/Digital-Photography.

brudgers 10y ago

Related: Mark Levoy's digital photography course: https://sites.google.com/site/marclevoylectures/home https://sites.google.com/site/marclevoylectures/home

imaginenore 10y ago

How did this garbage get to the top of HN? The photographs, on average, aren't even that impressive. Only some are good.

DannyB2 10y ago

You should not expose digital photography. At least not before it has been developed, or that would ruin the film.

greenhatman 10y ago

That TLD will make any domain look like click bait.

jdcarter 10y ago

For those interested in very hands-on advise on using artificial light, the Strobist [1] blog is amazing. David Hobby is a working photojournalist and does fantastic work on-site. It's one thing to control light in the studio, but quite another to bring your flashes to a random site and improvise. Hobby used to have a DVD set for sale which was probably the best money I've ever spent on photography stuff, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to be available anymore. (It appears he's got some videos on Lynda.com, however.) I understand technical aspects of photography quite well but I learned a ton about creative, improvisational lighting from Hobby. [1]: http://strobist.blogspot.com/ http://strobist.blogspot.com/

pierrepoutine 10y ago
I second this. David's site opened my eyes to the importance of colour correcting the light coming out of your (off-camera) flashes for artistic effect, and a rough understanding of colour theory is what helps give images that extra "pop"
vvanders 10y ago
Light Science & Magic[1] is another fantastic one which has a ton of practical studio lighting in great depth and a good high-level overview of a lot of the physics that drives it(polarizing filters, etc). [1] https://www.amazon.com/Light-Science-Magic-Introduction-Photographic/dp/0415719402 https://www.amazon.com/Light-Science-Magic-Introduction-Phot...

archildress 10y ago

I was a bit surprised that the lesson on software tools focused on Photoshop instead of Lightroom. Photoshop is cream of the crop for precise image adjustments, but Lightroom is such a great photo management software plus visual editor. Don't get me wrong - Photoshop is great. But Lightroom is one of the most user friendly digital asset managers (DAM).