PHOTOGRAPHY COURSE LONDON, Old Street, London

I’ve done a few lessons/workshops/tutorial with the Photography Course London (PCL) guys and have enjoyed each one.

I started out as a complete beginner with photography, every shot I ever took with my DSLR was in full auto mode – I didn’t think anything more about it – but through various lessons and workshops, the PCL guys have really opened my eyes to the world of photography. Now I never use Automatic mode but actually decide on how I shoot depending on the subject or the effect I want to go for. It’s makes photography just much more fun!

The Lessons/ Workshops are done in a very relaxed manner – the tutors are passionate and experts in their fields and every student that I have met on a workshop has been great too – I find the workshops educational but also a fun day out in equal parts!

Very easy to book and the communication was excellent. The location was easy to find and the venu was comfortable and well equipped. The course itself was very well structured and just the right size to comfortably cater for all students.

I feel that the course content was exactly as I had expected – I knew the basics of photography, but more from the point of view of composition. I needed to learn the theory from beginning to end and this is exactly what I got. I learnt things about my own camera’s capabilities that I never knew existed!

I think possibly the most enjoyable part of the course was the practical side – the homework and the hour we spent as a group taking night time shots on Old Street roundabout.

I think the course was very good value for money, particularly as I booked it with the pre-Christmas discount!

I recently took part in the intense foundation/ beginners course and found it to be very informative and useful. The course covered everything I was hoping to learn about my DSLR as a beginner who has had a bit of a go and it was useful that we learnt how to do each thing on our various models, meant I didnt have to go home and struggle to work out where each button was on my camera.

Though the course took lots of concentration where it was an intense one day course, since then I have been out trying the techniques and have managed to remember it all and now feel confident that I dont need to use the automatic setting when taking pictures. If I go on to do a more advanced course I would most certainly consider using Photography course london first.

This was a really good day of training.

Both the approachability and teaching style of the tutor (Cleveland Aaron) made the day informative, fun and enjoyable.

Working with a small group of students (who were all brilliant!) gave more opportunity for being hands on, which I think we’d all have benefited from.

Our portrait model (Leanne) was also good. Her personality was as lovely as her face, and she was both helpful and enthusiastic.

I came away with a better understanding of directional lighting, light metering, the importance of mood setting, and fresh inspiration from a tutor who is clearly passionate about what he does.

I’d certainly recommend this course for anyone keen to develop their skills in Studio Lighting for portraiture, and will be considering what other courses I’ll be doing throughout the year.

Nic

This was a fantastic course. Lots of fun and very informative. I was lucky enough to have Jon Mortimer as an instructor and he was excellent, very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. The only reason I haven’t given it 5 stars is because we didn’t manage to get outdoors and test our new skills – I think it could have been a little bit more hands on. Overall though it was excellent – I learnt so much and my photo’s are so much better!

I recently did a course in studio lighting and I really enjoyed the course, I thought my tutor was more of an old school photographer who tried to get me to think ’outside the box’ and helped me to focus on what I was trying to say in a picture. I think too many courses focus on just the right camera settings and as a beginner it is easy to get caught up in this as well. But he made me see things from a different perspective and brought home the fact that composition, lighting and your point of view are paramount to a brilliant photograph. I truly enjoyed it, more than what I expected.

Level 1, Level 2 and 1-2-1 tuition.

I went from almost a total beginner to being able to take photos at a high profile maritime event in London and this is all thanks to the PHOTOGRAPHY COURSE LONDON. The tutors were excellent and explained everything very clearly & were always ready to take any questions from the class. The classes are very small & personable and I learnt a lot from Vicki the tutor. To finish off the level 1 & 2 courses I had 4 hours 1-2-1 tuition with Holger who was a very knowledgeable pro who has clearly been in the field for years and he really helped me understand a lot about the Canon 430ex speedlite & he gave me tips & also the confidence I needed to take photos at my companies event. I would recommend these courses to anyone as I feel like I have climbed a mountain in the past 3 weeks, it’s been a real pleasure and if I need any further training I would definitely go back to this company.

Very happy customer :)

Attended DSLR level 2 course recently – I found the theory well structured and well explained – furthermore during all the practicals the tutor was on-hand with help and advise – great day with a small group of photographers – recommended – D

I booked a 3 hour session @ £60 per hour with studio lighting instructor, who cannot be named for this review to remain published.

You can see details of the course if you check this link: http://www.photographycourselondon.com/1to1/studio/

I consider myself to be a beginner/intermediate camera user. I have owned a Canon 5d mk2 for over 3 months now and am a very fast learner, have taken many beautiful photos and have since jumped into some studio work with clients. My skills in the studio lighting department were lacking, so I booked a one-to-one course with the recommended ‘studio lighting’ instructor, whom I cannot name if I want this review published..

Upon arrival, the tutor was late by a few mins and was on the phone. He didn’t even bother to introduce himself, instead just pointed his finger at me, gesturing me to wait for the 5 minutes he prolonged his conversation. 
After I formally introduced myself, we walked to his small studio, where he bragged to me about the countless contracts and huge volumes of people who visit him from all over the world.

In the studio, he was complaining about his pay-as-you-go internet and how he did not have enough credit to go online. Nevertheless, I showed him some photos which I had already taken.

For the first hour we were sitting there and he showed me his portfolio, trying hard to explain the importance of light. I already understand this concept, hence the reason why I was there in the first place.
As he showed me his portfolio, mainly of girls, I felt very uncomfortable with the intricate details and methods I learned he had used to make the models more relaxed, in such a way that they became easier to photograph and look seductive. Its not professional and I find it degrading from any perspective.

He also went on about pictures of colleagues’ private collections and how humiliating they were to look at; although the model you will learn of shortly sounded excited by the story; this man was clearly mistaking me for someone on a different wavelength. It was slowly becoming apparent that this was a waste of time and money.

We were then interrupted by a large black man, some 6 feet plus, who heavily limped and sat down behind us just watching. I can only describe this moment as, very uncomfortable. I soon learned that this badly dressed man, who looked very similar to the generic descriptions reminiscent to the recent london riots and looting, was going to be our model. It became increasingly difficult to concentrate as this man, code named ‘CHEDDAR’, which btw is a colloquial term for ‘MONEY’ was always on his phone. He had around 3 or 4 mobile phones constantly ringing, when asked why so many phones, he replied in a monotone voice that it was all for business.

Going into the practical, the tutor told me that he does not use a system to light his subjects. He insisted that he just does what feels right. How can I know what is right if I do not base it on a system? I was expecting him to explain the basic 1 light setup, 2 light setup, etc… Instead he just chucked an ancient studio light on while his model undressed in front of us and put on his shiny pvc jacket.
The tutor was trying hard to explain the difference between contrasts you can achieve with different shutter speeds and constant light outputs. In most instances he was jumping the gun and I had to pull him back and ask him what he was trying to show me. I felt as if he were rushing the lesson; if you could call it as such.

Before not long, with his phone and Cheddar’s phones ringing I soon understood that time was running out. At 2hrs and 50 mins the tutor’s phone rang yet again, this time he left me and his supermodel at a distance while he continued his conversation for 10 mins. At 4pm (approx. 3hrs in), I approached him and he was clearing up his things. He didn’t even bother to tell me anything. He asked me to pay him in cash, yet I was in constant communication with ‘Photography Course London’, who told me to pay into their bank, which I did. The tutor then started talking about how I should send him some pictures when I need some advice and then quickly showed me the exit door.

This course was a complete waste of time and money. This tutor has no structure to his teaching methods; he has difficulty explaining himself and even confuses himself at times. He is clearly going through a difficult time in his life with his pay-as-you go internet and his ‘business’ supermodel Cheddar is obviously no model.


When I spoke to ‘PCL’, I told them immediately after the lesson of my disappointment. The girl I spoke to on the phone burst out into laughter, then told me that she would pass on the message to her superior.


The next week I was sent a rude email explaining how the tutor is an excellent teacher and how he even committed an extra half hour to teach me. What a complete lie.

I can honestly say that I wasted my time and money without a doubt. My advice to anyone who is interested in learning from a professional institution would be to do a good search on QYPE on similar reviews and spend that little more time on GOOGLE.
I have since bought a few books on studio lighting and already accomplished 3 successful and professional paid photoshoots.

Do not waste your time and money into Photography Course London.. You will be strongly dissatisfied, left a bitter aftertaste as have I.

Today, it is hard to come by genuine reviews. I have learned that it is difficult to publish an honest and bad review and keep within ‘terms & conditions’ set by review sites; hence this is the 3rd revised review I have written in the last week. I postulate that the perverse guidelines set by website moderators is probably the only explanation why there are so many 5 star reviews available for your viewing, in short, it is difficult to get an honest bad review published; I can assure you, this is not one of them..

I recently attended the Studio Lighting workshop with Cleveland Aaron and just wanted to say it was fantastic! I was trepidatious about studio lighting before I attended this workshop but Cleveland’s approach was so personable, fun and completely comprehensible that I left his studio brimming with confidence and fervour! Bring on the lights!

I really enjoyed my three week evening course at Photography Course London. The building is an unassuming little office, with a very intimate setting which is well-suited to the small class sizes (7) which means you get a lot of attention and time for questions. I took the beginner’s class and everyone was of an equal cluelessness (myself included) of the features on their camera, but by the end of the course we all knew how to use our cameras well and the fundamentals of aperture, shutterspeed and ISO. Really useful. Recommended!

I attended Intense Foundation of Digital Photography – Level 2, taught by Jon Mortimer who is an awesome teacher! I felt very comfortable asking questions and got the answers to all of them.

Jon was very considerate, always asking us about the level of our knowledge on every topic we went through and explaining things so simply.

My picture quality improved on the spot.

Very pleased, will recommend the course.

I am fully on Manual now and intend to stay there forever!

I attended a one-to-one Lightroom session with Vicki.

It was fantastic. Well worth the money. All my questions were answered in a very friendly, easy and approachable way.

Highly recommended.

I attended the evening Beginners Course taught by Mikael Eliasson.

I really enjoyed the course and learnt lots of useful information, including: technical pointers on what all the buttons mean on my camera,techniques such as creating depth-of-field effects, panning and long exposures, and generally playing with the shutter speed.

The tutor was very clear and easy to understand and follow.

In summary, this was exactly what I wanted from a Beginners Photography Course: an starter-kit to enable me to use and play with my camera in a more informed way.

I attended the course "Studio Lighting: Portraits" with Cleveland Aaron. He taught the subject in an easy, pleasant and efficient way. He's a very kind and open-minded person, ready to understand the students' needs. We were just five and we had enough time to discuss our doubts and curiosities about lighting and photography in general. I'd recommend this course to whoever wants to improve his/her skills in portraying. Great value for money.

The beginners evening course with Mikael was really enjoyable and very helpful - it covered all the in and outs of the camera with a good balance of teaching and practice in the classroom. There were only 7 of us in the class so we were all able to ask questions whenever we needed to. I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to get more out of their SLR camera than just using the AUTO function. He clearly shows and explains why and how to use the 'A' and 'S' and even the 'M' to create great pictures. In the last lesson, you're outside taking photos of the clerkenwell road using what you've learnt and putting it into practice which was great fun. I'm now going to enrol in another course to learn more - it's definitely whetted my appetite! Thanks Mikael - fantastic teaching!

I attend a 2 hour course every month with Mikael. This suits me perfectly as I have found intensive one day and weekend courses on photoshop either move to quickly or slowly (depending upon the group) and also it is easier to absorb bite siize pieces of information. I like the fact that if I get stuck I can email Mikael for a speedy response. Mikael is good at testing knowledge and I would recommend him highly as a one to one photoshop tutor.

Excellent introduction to this big, expensive new Canon 550D we purchased. The instructor had a very good program ready and was patient and knowledgable. We will now get a lot more enjoyment and use out of this camera.

I took the "Camera Language" course in April with Simon Warren. Overall, I enjoyed the course. While I was worried about not being in a proper classroom (the course is spent walking around London), I felt like it was fine: Simon always managed to squirrel us away onto side streets, where he would explain concepts or techniques to us, and then encourage us to take photographs. As a result, I now have a ton of pictures of London AND a better understanding of how to use my SLR!

I've just completed a day's tuition with Cleveland Aaron and been totally inspired by his infectious passion for all things related to photography. There was no getting bogged down in the whirlwind of tecky geekiness of the machinations of photography. No. Everything was tailored to my needs, emphasis was on strenghs and weakness, possibilities and extending capabilities, Cleveland's honesty was central to this learning process. He had an uncanny knack of building confidence in an extremely simplistic manner.

Terrific value for money and most importantly thoroughly enjoyable, wish I'd stumbled on this course before.

Findlay Mackinnon