Photography classes in Chicago for amateur shutterbugs

The Chicago Botanic Gardens are one of the largest urban gardens on the planet, uniquely situated on 385 acres on and around nine islands, with six miles of lake shoreline. Home to more than 10,000 different kinds of plant life, it is unsurprising that amateur photographers would want to take advantage of the gardens to take beautiful nature photographs. The Botanic Garden offers a wide range of different seasonal photography courses, each tailored to the offerings on display at the gardens. Come in spring to photograph the plants in bloom, the summer for beautiful and luscious shots of the gardens and lakeshore or in the fall to see the gardens retreating into Autumn.

Nowadays, the vast majority of Americans carry a camera with them more powerful than even the most expensive professional cameras of decades past. As a result, many amatuer photographers forgo the expense of buying a dedicated digital camera and instead take advantage of their smartphone. If this sounds like you, consider enrolling in an iPhone photography course, where you will learn how to overcome the limitations of your phone camera and begin taking high-quality photos, rather than snapshots. You’ll learn the basics of composition, the different settings available on your phone camera and how to make sure that your shots are deliberate and planned out before you take them. This is a great course to take for hobbyist photographers looking to improve their skills or just anyone who is about to take a trip and wants to improve the photos they take along the way.

If there is some element of the Chicago cityscape you are dying to photograph, you can consider enrolling in a private photography lesson through the Digital Photo Academy. In these all-day or half-day lessons, you and up to one guest will visit the location of your choice (subject to prior discussion with your instructor) and receive focused, personalized photography training. These lessons can be customized to fit your needs, ranging from introductory lessons on the use of a digital camera to advanced composition lessons aimed at getting the finished photographs absolutely perfect.

While most photography these days is done with digital cameras, there is something to be said for working with film. In this darkroom photography course, you’ll learn how to handle a film camera, utilize different settings on the camera to create stunning visual effects and how to develop your photographs in an onsite darkroom. This course focuses on black and white film processing, including providing students with the tools and chemicals they need to develop their own pictures. Students will learn the history and science of photography as they learn how film can be used to create unique and evocative visual effects.

If you are new to hobbyist photography, one of the most intimidating aspects can be learning how to actually make use of your digital camera. These devices are designed to offer a ton of flexibility and creative control for users, but inexperienced photographers might be put off by things like aperture size or shutter speed. In this introductory course, you can get personalized assistance in working with your digital camera as an instructor walks you through all of the major features and most common tools you’ll use. You bring in the camera, so this training is specific to your personal device and this course can be paired with any of the other photography courses offered at The Digital Photo Academy, so you can get step-by-step digital camera training right before your photo safari.

Chicago is one of the most architecturally interesting cities in the country and there are so many places that you can visit to take stunning photographs. Whether you are visiting Lincoln Park, the Gold Coast, Wrigley Field or The Chicago Cultural Center, there are plenty of places to take advantage of the sights to capture memorable and stunning photographs. In these photo tour events, you and a group of fellow photographers will visit one of the city’s best sites for photography and a professional instructor will help guide you through the process of on-site photography. This includes learning how to compose shots, find the right angles and perspectives and how to account for other visitors. This course is a great way for photographers of all skill levels to hone their skills while visiting some of Chicago’s most wonderful landmarks.