Kiss goodbye to auto and get the photos you dream of.

Have  you ever taken a photo and it’s not what you were expecting? Was the focus on the wrong object? Faces washed out, colours off, blurred movement or just plain bad?

You can take control of your camera and learn to take tack sharp, well exposed pictures every time. Manual Overdrive Part 1 will jump-start  your ability to shoot in manual with your DSLR camera.  In three weeks you will get off of automatic and in control.

Why shoot manual?

At the most basic level, a digital camera is simply a sophisticated computer designed to capture an image based on certain assumptions around lighting, contrast and exposure. In perfect, even lighting conditions auto mode can work well to get the shots you are after.  However, life rarely occurs in perfect lighting.

Even the most expensive and high-powered DSLRs can be easily tricked by high contrast, fast-moving and back-lit scenes. In automatic mode, your pictures can come out over or under exposed or with more blurring than you want. Shooting in manual gives you the control to shoot the picture that you want to capture.  Also, it gives you more all-round control of the image, allowing you to take photos in the style you want them to be, be it with razor-sharp clarity or soft background blur (bokeh).

Manual Override is a 3 week Boot Camp. A series of blog posts and assignments will be published onto the course blog throughout the week. Photo sharing and discussion will take place on private Flickr and Facebook groups. You will get personal feedback and support from The Kats to help you stretch your skills.

Next Session: 10th June 2013

Registration Open Now:

£55

Frequently Asked Questions:

I’m not in the UK, can I join the class?

Absolutely!

The course price is in £GBP but as payment is through PayPal you should be able to access it from any country. You can use this currency converter to calculate the course price as a guide although PayPal will use its own conversion so it may vary.

You can connect with other course members through the private discussion group and by commenting on their photos in the Flickr group – time zones will not limit us!

I want to buy a place for someone else, do you do gift certificates?

Yes! You can buy a gift certificate for any of our courses on the gift certificate page (you can also pin our subtle picture if you’re wishing for one!).

I’m away for one week/ I am very busy; will this be a problem?

Not at all. We have designed the course for busy people. You can work through the lessons week by week or take a break as you need. The assignments are designed to fit in with a busy life and can be done at any time during the course. At the end of the course you will have a PDF e-book containing all of the course materials so you can refer back to it at any point.

How do you manage privacy and photo sharing?

We are sensitive to the fact that not everyone wants to share pictures of their children. The group photo sharing takes place in a private Flickr group where you can use an alias rather than you name if you prefer. Photos will only be seen by group members. If you’d prefer not to share photos that’s absolutely fine, it’s not a requirement of the course.

How much time will I need to spend on the course?

You can spend as much or as little time as you want. We will post content over the weekend. There will be prompts and assignments but what you do with them, or when, is up to you. You might have more time to take pictures at the weekend or find that you have more time one week than another. All of that is fine; the course is flexible because we know having children isn’t

Will you give me feedback on my pictures?

Yes – we aim to comment on at least one photo per week from each student. You can ask questions and highlight photos you would particularly like feedback on. One of the real positives of being in a group is that you provide support and encouragement for each other so get commenting and you will get comments.

Should I have got a welcome email?

You should get redirected to the class welcome page as well as recieving a confirmation email.

I’d like to let my blog readers know I’m taking part…

Once you have clicked register and gone through the checkout you will be given a link back to our site. This will take you to a course members page and there is a student badge code for you to grab. Didn’t get redirected? Get in touch and we’ll send you the link.

If this is Part 1 – what is part 2?

Coming in Spring 2013 Manual Overdrive Part 2 is the next step in taking control of that camera. Sign up to our newsletter to be the first to know about this exciting new course.

Got another question or need a longer answer? Use our contact page to get in touch.