Welcome to Photo 201 (Toronto Classroom)

Photo 201 is the pinnacle learning experience for advancing your photography skills. The ultimate goal of this course is to guide you toward mastery of your camera’s manual shooting mode, empowering you to take full creative control. Each class is two hours long, spanning four consecutive weeks, with Photo 101 course as a highly recommended prerequisite. The foundational skills in aperture and shutter speed control from Photo 101 are essential to fully benefit from the advanced techniques introduced in Photo 201.

Throughout this course, each lesson uncovers a critical component of exposure mechanics, helping you understand how your camera processes light. You’ll explore questions like: How does the camera manage light? Why does it sometimes overexpose or underexpose? By answering these questions, you’ll gain the knowledge needed to take over essential functions, making manual mode second nature.

Homework assignments are a core part of the learning experience, focusing on low-light and night photography to enhance your understanding of manual mode’s benefits. A tripod is required to complete these assignments successfully. Weekly assignments are uploaded to our shared FLICKR group for review, helping you stay on track and grasp key concepts.  We hope that you will agree that this is one of the very best photography courses in Toronto. 

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 In Photo 201, you’ll advance your photography skills and gain mastery over manual settings to capture images with precision and creativity. This course covers:

• Aperture & Shutter Control: Review the essential controls of aperture and shutter speed, learning how they contribute to creative effects and balanced exposure.
• Exposure Triangle Mastery: Dive into how aperture, shutter speed, and ISO work together in the "exposure triangle" to achieve proper exposure in various lighting scenarios.
• ISO Essentials: Understand the role of ISO in exposure, learning how to adjust it for low-light conditions and challenging lighting situations.
• Metering Modes & Exposure Behavior: Explore your camera's metering modes for greater control over difficult scenes, and gain insights into the 18% grey methodology to understand why cameras may over- or underexpose.
• Manual Mode Mastery: Take full control by turning off automatic settings, achieving consistent exposure, and mastering manual mode for creative techniques like painting with light, long exposures, and capturing fireworks.
• Using the Light Meter: Learn how to use your camera’s built-in light meter effectively in manual mode to achieve accurate exposures every time.
• Flash in Manual Mode: Discover how to integrate flash into your manual shooting to control both foreground and background exposure with ease.

 This course is designed for users of digital interchangeable lens cameras, including DSLR and mirrorless models. To get the most out of the course, please bring your camera along with a tripod (a full-size tripod is recommended, though a tabletop model is acceptable). If you’re unsure if your make/model is suitable, use our contact form to inquire. We'd be happy to help!