Learning professional photography on-campus can cost you a fortune. Online photography courses are the best and almost equivalent alternative to these classes to save your time and money.
You won’t have a class environment, but what’s better than learning everything quickly and cheaply from the comfort of your couch.
One of the best photography courses is a ‘professional diploma in photography’ conducted by the Institute Of Photography.
Institute of Photography is a platform where anyone can learn from brilliant professional photographers by paying very little. No matter your level of expertise, there is a lot for you to remember on this medium.
Table of Contents
Why choose IOP?
Among the vast amount of available online photography course providers, the Institute of Photography has several salient features making it stand out.
They are certified photography course providers with professional expertise. The team behind IOP courses are the experts in their field – photography.
Besides learning photography with IOP, you can achieve professional-level expertise and specialize in different photography types.
For example, if you sign-up for Diploma in photography, complete your course, and get your diploma in professional photography, there is still a lot of stuff waiting for you.
With the introductory courses, there are many supplementary courses. During the certification, you developed an interest in wedding photography? No worries.
A professional-level wedding photography course is there. Want to learn in-depth about lighting? There is a lightning course waiting for you.
Some other prominent features are:
CDP recognized courses
CDP accreditation is proof that IOP is delivering quality services only. All courses and diplomas are the CDP accreditation provider.
CPD accreditation logo is printed on every certificate of the Institute of Photography. It gives professional recognition to all the courses.
This recognition is well-known as it is provided to anyone after scrutinizing their services and quality.
Accredited CPD training by the photography institute means the learning activity has reached the required Continuing Professional Development standards and benchmarks.
This makes these courses carry more weight in your resume. Also, people with CDP accredited training are preferred by many employers, especially in the United Kingdom.
Everything coming from professionals
Every course available on the Institute of photography platform results from digital photography professionals’ experience and hard work.
According to the official website, most developers have written and assisted people with digital photography for more than 20 years.
Interaction and feedback
Whatever course you choose for yourself, there are professional photographers to coach and do an in-depth assessment of your performance at every stage.
Regular assignments are given to students with assignment feedback after their submission.
You can live chat with your tutor for 2 hours a week besides the daily support and coaching he will provide daily.
There is also an Institute of Photography Forum where all students and tutors can interact 24/7. You can directly show your photographs to the tutor on the forum and get instant feedback and advice.
All students can interact, chat, post, and exchange feedback on each other’s work on the Student forum, just like any social media platform. No other online course provides all this.
Best Ratings
On Trust Pilot, the Institute of Photography has an average rating of 4.9 – An excellent rating!
A complete course in your suitable way – lifetime access
IOP mentions no deadline or period to complete any course. Once you sign-up, you have lifetime access* to any class, and you can complete it whenever you want.
Signing up also comes with a lifetime membership. Members are provided with access to IOP Camera Club, discounts, course updates, industry news, et cetera.
*You need to log in to your account at least once in 365 days; otherwise, IOP will freeze it for inactivity.
Further skill development after course completion
After completing the necessary diplomas, such as Diploma in Photography, the Institute of photography has many other courses to polish and develop different skills.
No one online photography course provider is offering as many classes as IOP.
Diploma in photography
This course is specially designed to be equally helpful for beginners to people who are already working as a photographer for a long time.
Initially, it was a UK-based course, UK’s best-selling online photography course, but being an online course, it is not bound to geographical boundaries. There are numerous satisfied students all across the globe.
Who should sign-up for a diploma in photography?
Anyone can sign-up for it. The course outline is designed so that anyone can benefit from it, from beginners to advanced-level photographers.
Everything is there, starting from the basics of photography, and professional hacks, leading to CDP certification.
The salient feature of the diploma:
- Guidance from a mentor: to assess your performance, teach you, and guide you at every step, a tutor from IOP is available. They help you to develop a better understanding.
- Assignments and their assessment: 13 assignments are part of this course. The tutor assesses eleven of these assignments, and detailed feedback is provided. It is similar to learning in a live class.
- Live session: every week, you can live chat with your tutor. Other than the live chat on the IOP forum for immediate help.
- Direct feedback from the course director: with 13 practice assignments, there are five additional formal assignments in which you have to submit at least seven photographs. These are directly assessed by director Tim McCann to provide you with a detailed review and feedback on your seven pictures’ performance. He is a highly experienced photographer, instructor, and photojournalist with 20 years + of experience in this industry.
- Learning: everything is taught with the help of the following content designed by professionals:
- 180+ modules with a tutor feedback section
- Assignments (13 given by tutor+5 by program director)
- Comprehensive Adobe Lightroom training
- In-depth flash and lightning training
- Weekly/monthly projects
- Video content of 20 hours
- Two hours live session a week
- Live chat for immediate help
- IOP Camera Club Group membership
- Video content: there are around 20 hours of video content provided to students. After signing up, you will have lifetime access to this content.
- No time limit: students have unlimited time to complete the course. Start and end it whenever you like. A student has complete control over timings and breaks.
- Certification: as soon as you complete the course, a Professional Diploma in Photography is delivered to you in the form of a PDF. You can use it for professional references. THE official CDP certificate is delivered to your doorstep within 60 days of finishing the course.
Diploma in the photography course outline
The course is divided into different phases, and there are four other parts to each stage: Read, watch, practice, and interact. Developers invested a lot of effort. Every aspect of each phase is labeled read, watch, et cetera.
Here is how the course goes on:
- An Introduction to Digital Photography
- Understanding the Technology of Digital Photography
- Controlling Light with Apertures
- Depth of Field and Hyperfocal Distance
- Mastering Shutter Speeds
- Advanced Focus Control
- Cracking Composition
- Advanced Composition Skills
- Using Light Effectively
- Advanced Portrait Lighting
- Holiday and Travel Photography
- Landscape Photography
- Special Projects
- Black And White Photography Skills
- Perfect Portrait Photography
- Advanced Portrait Photography
- Image Editing Techniques
- Full Lightroom Course
- Make Money from Photography
- Product Photography
- Fashion Photography
- Assignment Section (marking from 100% total score plus detailed feedback from your tutor)
- Composition
- Landscapes
- Portraits
- Black & White
- Final Assignment (3 photographs)
- Certificate and Feedback
Things you should have before starting the course
To take out optimum learning from the course, it’s better to have the following. A digital camera (manual preferable) and equipment (computer, smartphones, and internet connection) are necessary.
Besides, if you have modern equipment such as lenses, image editing software, DSLR, tripods, filters, et cetera, it will add to your learning process.
Pricing
This best-selling photography will only cost you £45/month or £450/year. After signing up, a lot of content comes with lifetime access.
Conclusion
This is one of the best online diplomas available in the market. Hands down! No one is offering this much at this price with Professional CDP accreditation and life mentoring from professionals.
We highly recommend this course, whether you are a beginner or an intermediate photographer.
