Learn Photography Canada Blog

Great news!  Thanks to one of our amazing photography class instructors, Michael Desjardins; Learn Photography Canada alumni in Vancouver and surrounding area can now receive preferred discounts at the outstanding camera retailer, Lens & Shutter.  Hooray!  

Lens & Shutter has been around for a number of years in BC where they specialize in knowing all there is to know about photography and camera gear!  Interested in a new lens?  They're the go-to place.  Need something small like a UV filter shutter release? You can't beat their know how and expertise.  Check out Lens & Shutter here.

Learn Photography Canada delivers hands-on, interactive, and fun one-day photography classes and photography courses in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

Learn Photography Canada is on the lookout for amazing photography instructors for our Calgary photography classes!  

Learn Photography Canada is famous for providing interactive, hands-on and fun photography classes to photo enthusiasts in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. Currently are looking to hire a part time photography class instructor in Calgary to teach our introductory Digital I beginner SLR photography class.

Hours will vary, but most of our one-day weekend classes occur once every 3-4 weeks and last for 8 hours.   You will also receive some private tuition sessions with a minimum time of 3 hours.

The ideal candidate as follows:
- great (and we mean great) communicator
- ability to work weekends and evenings
- strong understanding of digital SLR photography
- ability to multitask and delegate
- quick learner

Helpful but not necessary
- past or current experience as a professional photographer
- have a vehicle
- experience with portrait photography, Photoshop, Lightroom and/or gimp

Photography Classes are located in the downtown core of Calgary, and Fort Calgary during colder months.

Learn Photography Canada has further teaching and development opportunities for the right candidate if a good match is proven. 

Please submit resume and cover letter to enquiries@learnphotographycanada.ca

We look forward to hearing from you!

Learn Photography Canada delivers hands-on, interactive, and fun one-day photography classes and photography courses in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

Learn Photography Canada is thrilled to have some of the best photography class students in the world!  A perfect case in point was this past weekend.  We were in the city of Camrose!  Now we know that normally we repeat (over and over) the fact that we do photography classes in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver!  Well this weekend we changed things up a bit and visited the small town of 17,000.

You see, a few weeks back we had a wonderful Digital I beginner SLR photography class student who took the session in Edmonton!  She was so enthused that finally, after many years of having her SLR camera; she finally understood how to get the best results from it!  SOOOO enthused in fact (and taking great pictures by the way), she went home to Camrose where she told everybody there about the course, and backed it up with her great pictures.  Interest grew and we were lucky enough to have such an amazing student put together a photography class where about 10 people came out to learn about photography!  Amazing!

 We would like to extend a special thanks to this student.  With any luck, we will be back in Camrose in July for a follow up Portrait Photography and Composition & Travel special mixed class!  To this very special student - thank you so much!  
In two weeks, Learn Photography Canada will be off to Drayton Valley, a small community that is west of Edmonton to do another Digital I photography course!  Learn Photography Canada loves doing photography classes in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, and we also pride ourselves to bringing our hands-on and accessible photography classes to teach the love of photography to smaller locations as well!   

So thank you to our special Camrose photography student and other individuals that help us organize photography classes outside of Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver!  We love doing them so keep them coming :).

Learn Photography Canada delivers hands-on, interactive, and fun one-day photography classes and photography courses in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

Learn Photography Canada is committed to providing excellent in photography courses and classes in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.  You've heard this many times, but we believe in giving customers our 110% every time!!!  Because of this, we expect the same from the vendors that we do business with every time all the time.  We have been seriously impressed with some and have even put them on our blog, such as Tessarae Creative!

To this end, did you know that Learn Photography Canada is part of an incredible business group known as BNI (not to be confused with the Better Business Bureau or BBB which Learn Photography Canada is also a member of :)).

BNI is made up of small business owners committed to providing the best customer service and innovative product.  Our Calgary BNI group is made up of 20 amazing business owners all of whom we believe are at the top of their game!  All BNI members have similar aspirations, and just like Learn Photography Canada; strive for excellence.  Each member endeavors to provide the very best business and customer experience possible.

To join, there is an extensive application process to ensure that only top quality businesses are selected. Learn Photography Canada is thrilled to have been recognized as an excellent business and customer service provider by BNI. Thank you!

Learn Photography Canada is thrilled to be part of this amazing group of businesses.  We believe that every member on the team provides some of the best services in Calgary!  If you're ever in the need for any of the following professions, we would be thrilled to let you know about them!  Learn Photography Canada does not receive any commission of any lead provided to these companies.  We just believe in a good thing and good business citizens helping each other out. 

Just as we are crazy for making sure our photography classes in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver are the best, we also stake our reputation on these most excellent businesses in Calgary (in no particular order).  

Printing and Picture Prints: Acorn Graphics (they have what might be the BEST printer for photographic printing in Calgary) 

Real Estate: Robin Spiers at the Real Estate Professoinals

Residential & Commercial Cleaning Services: Shantelle at Personalized Cleaning Services

Business Coaching: Jarrod at Action Coach

Chiropractor: Dr. Stephanie at Kolanos Chiros (crack crack crack...)

Personal Trainer: Tavish at Athlete Factory (all of the trainers here are AMAZING)

Promotional Goods: Noreen at The Gift Designers (amazing what weird and wonderful promotional pieces they can source)

Signs: Joanne at Speedpro Signs Calgary North

Drycleaning: Dave at Drycleaning at Dave (simple enough)

Automotive Servicing: Eurospec Automotive

Computer IT Systems: Turn Key Computer Solutions

Commercial Lines Insurance: Brian at HUB Insurance

Financial Planning and Retirement: Charlene Romborough

Mortgage Solutions: Rob at Real Mortgage Solutions (if you are considering getting a mortgage you HAVE to speak to Rob first!)

Business Lending: Kelly at Business Development Bank of Canada

Film Production: Share at Vivia Digital Films

Learn Photography Canada delivers hands-on, interactive, and fun one-day photography classes and photography courses in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

Our Photography class instructors have all sorts of amazing lenses in their possession. One kind of lens that often gets overlooked by beginner and amateur photographers are the huge assortment of amazing prime lenses!   These are lenses that only have one focal length (aka no zoom) and while they sound a bit more limited because of a lack of range, our photography class instructors use them all the time!  In fact one of our Learn Photography Canada class instructors chooses to only use prime lenses and does not own any zoom lenses at all!  We love prime lenses and here are a few reasons why :)!

1) Speed

Most prime lenses have the ability to capture more light. Depending on the prime lens, it's quite common to see f/stops in the range of 2.0, 1.8, 1.4 or even the occasional 1.2. Allowing more light allows for less reliance on the ISO engine, keeping the picture quality up and your shutter speed down.

2) Depth of Field

Of course with such large apertures, it's easy to manipulate the depth of field and focus on what you really want to.  Some of the best portrait lenses in the world are known to be primes and include the Nikon 85mm f/1.4 or the Canon 50mm f/1.2.

3) Minimum Focus Distance

As a general rule (but not all the time), prime lenses can get much closer to subject than lenses with zoom capability allowing for some medium range macro work without any fancy equipment setup or modifiers.

4) Quality/Cost Ratio (value!)

Our photography class instructors would argue that the image quality from prime lenses is comparable to the best that zoom lenses have to offer but with much better value!  A common popular top end zoom lens favourite is the Nikon and Canon (each manufacturer makes one) 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens.  Both are known to be excellent lenses but at a cool $2500 (ouch). The Canon 50mm f/1.8 has similarly excellent optics and sharpness but retails for a much less eye-watering $150.  As an added bonus, the prime lens lets in an additional 200% more light.

5) Weight

Ditto above except for weight instead of cost.  It would take more than seven 50mm f/1.8 to come close to the weight of one 24/70mm f/2.8.  SEVEN!  As with anything though, the weight and cost value break down if you go overboard with your prime lenses.  For example, instead of getting a 24-70mm you could go out and buy several primes: 24mm, 30mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm instead.  Value and weight savings go out the (shutter) door (sorry we had to).  Instead - a 24, and either a 50 or 85 will be more than enough for most people.

6) Complexity and Weather Sealing

Zoom lenses have to move all mirror elements in order to achieve the appropriate zoom and focus functionality. The result on most zooms, except the highest quality; is the lens extending and retracting.  This results in the possibility of dirt getting into the mechanics. With no retraction, prime lenses have significantly less chance of dirk and grime getting into the mechanics.

The largest obvious drawback to the prime lenses is that you have to move around a LOT more to get the right picture. Sometimes this can be a hidden blessing, and we find that zoom lenses tend to make our photography class students lazy in composition.  When we force our students to put on a fixed length lens, composition typically improves significantly.  

Another prime lens drawback is the need to change lenses more all time time. This is the real challenge and it takes a good system (and backpack) to make it relatively painless and efficient.  Zoom lenses are always going to be better in this regard.  Something else to consider is that every time you change a lens there is the chance of dust getting into the sensor.

Learn Photography Canada delivers hands-on, interactive, and fun one-day photography classes and photography courses in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

Can you believe that summer is just around the corner?  Edmonton, you might have a harder time believing this after your HUGE snowfall yesterday, but its true! Summer for Learn Photography Canada means outdoor photography walks and photography classes!  Hurray!!!

We've recalibrated many of our photography class locations and tours to improve the content such as Calgary Digital II advanced Photographic techniques, and our Composition and Travel photography course in both Edmonton and Calgary.  Of course, we're serious about supporting our photography class alumni, so make sure that you stay tuned for upcoming outdoor spring and summer photography class alumni get togethers as well.

Summer photographic walking tours and photography classes also mean an end to our Digital I beginner photography classes at Fort Calgary and Fort Edmonton. We always appreciate how wonderful they are to us and we will still be using them for our photo editing courses, as well as portrait photography classes in Calgary and Edmonton. If you're interested in taking your Digital I beginner photography course at either of these historic locations, make sure that you register today to secure your spot!  For the rest of you, get ready for beautiful summer!!!

Learn Photography Canada delivers hands-on, interactive, and fun one-day photography classes and photography courses in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

Can you believe that summer is just around the corner?  Edmonton, you might have a harder time believing this after your HUGE snowfall yesterday, but its true! Summer for Learn Photography Canada means outdoor photography walks and photography classes!  Hurray!!!
We've recalibrated many of our photography class locations and tours to improve the content such as Calgary Digital II advanced Photographic techniques, and our Composition and Travel photography course in both Edmonton and Calgary.  Of course, we're serious about supporting our photography class alumni, so make sure that you stay tuned for upcoming outdoor spring and summer photography class alumni get togethers as well.
Summer photographic walking tours and photography classes also mean an end to our Digital I beginner photography classes at Fort Calgary and Fort Edmonton. We always appreciate how wonderful they are to us and we will still be using them for our photo editing courses, as well as portrait photography classes in Calgary and Edmonton. If you're interested in taking your Digital I beginner photography course at either of these historic locations, make sure that you register today to secure your spot!  For the rest of you, get ready for beautiful summer!!!

Learn Photography Canada delivers hands-on, interactive, and fun one-day photography classes and photography courses in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

Did you know that one of the most useful filters for creating mood outdoors is the red filter?  Our photography class instructors use them all the time to create (what we would call) the dramatic sky effect.  While it sounds like a terrible sci-fi movie, the red filter has been a trick that landscape photographers have used for years to create beautiful contrasting effects in black and white.

As you can imagine, red filters works like any other filter that screws onto the front of your lens.  And yes - if you take pictures in colour they will obviously be more 'red' than normal (careful you only-raw photographers).  The benefit of the red filter is seen when photographing landscapes with clouds.  Red filters actually filter out all blue visible light wavelengths.  The result of this filtration process creates dramatic skies - essentially a black sky (all the blue sky has been filtered out) against white clouds.  Check out the following pictures that were taken during a very mediocre day at Nosehill Park in Calgary by one of our photography class instructors.

The effect of the red filter is noticeable immediately right out of the camera jpeg and makes for an incredible sky.  

As always, you can purchase a red filter for your camera at most decent camera stores.  Learn Photography Canada Edmonton and Calgary photography class alumni get preferred pricing at Vistek, and ebay is also a good source for finding these items.

Learn Photography Canada delivers hands-on, interactive, and fun one-day photography classes and photography courses in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

As part of our commitment to our photography class alumni, Learn Photography Canada provides informal and free photography meet ups to cover photography topics that are not necessarily covered in one of our interactive, hands-on and fun photography classes.

This Sunday we will be hosting another get together for our Calgary photography class alumni (and for those Edmonton photography class alumni who wish to drive 3 hours each way!) at Fort Calgary.  The photography subject for this free meeting will be using off camera flash to control the quality and direction of light.  Particularly useful for portrait photography, off camera flash provides infinite opportunities for creating mood within a photograph.  James, one of our Calgary photography instructors worked with a small group last weekend (yes he got off topic again) at our GIMP Photo Editing course, on using off-camera flash and the result was a great photograph of our new instructor; Cris.  You can find it on James' personal photography blog here.

Our off camera flash get together will take place at Fort Calgary and start at 1:00pm.  Please feel free to join us for a couple hours!  Some notes about our session:

1) You will be working in small groups using modifiers together.  Please bring any flashes or reflectors that you have!

2) If you do not have a flash, consider renting one from Vistek.  While not necessary, more than 1 flash can dramatically improve the direction and quality of light in a photograph.

3) Consider leaving a donation to Fort Calgary.  While not necessary, they have been very good to us and there is no entrance fee for our group.
Are you Learn Photography Canada photography class alumni?  We would love for you to join us this Sunday at Fort Calgary at 1:00pm!  Let us know you're coming here.

Learn Photography Canada delivers hands-on, interactive, and fun one-day photography classes and photography courses in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

Today is a big day at learn photography Canada! We are starting one serious sale on our interactive, hands-on and fun Digital I Beginner Photography classes in Vancouver!  Don't ask us what it means to have a 'serious' sale, but we are pricing our regularly $215 Digital I Photography course for only $99!  That's an amazing value considering that we will continue to provide the same quality content, small classes and amazing hands on experience that have made us famous in Calgary and Edmonton!  

So spread the word!  Learn Photography Canada Digital I Beginner photography classes on sale now!  Use code 'lovevancouver' in the discount area at checkout.

Learn Photography Canada delivers hands-on, interactive, and fun one-day photography classes and photography courses in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.