CaptureIt: The Art of Smartphone Photography (21+)

About this class

Participants who are interested in photography but have no prior experience can learn the fundamentals of photography in this course using their own personal phones. This course will examine the key photographic processes and artistic elements related to making images through a mixture of lecture, demonstration, and hands-on tasks. These include camera phone operation, composition, lightning, editing and honing one’s photography vision.

Learning aspects:

• The essentials of photography
• Composition
• Different Lens Settings and their Uses
• Focal Length in Phones
• Depth of Field
• Capturing Movement
• Understanding Light
• Night Photography
• Portrait and Food Photography
• Editing on the phone

Class Outline

Week 1: 2 Hours | Introduction | Indoor: VCUarts Qatar Campus | Time: 6 pm – 8 pm

• The first class will cover photography basics, the differences between digital cameras and phone settings, and key elements like composition, lines, patterns, lighting, repetition, and the rule of thirds. Participants will learn about different types of photography, how to use phone camera tools, and will begin taking photos using these techniques.

Week 2: 2 Hours | Street Photography | Outdoor: Souq Waqif/Msheireb | Time: 6 am – 8 am

• The second class will explain focus and depth of field (DOF) and how to achieve them using the phone’s manual mode. We’ll also explore street photography, including techniques for capturing moments and stories, taking still and moving images, and effectively using light.

Week 3: 2 Hours | Portrait Photography | Indoor + Outdoor : VCUarts Qatar Campus | Time: 6 pm – 8 pm

• The third class covers the different kinds of zoom lenses available on a camera phone, including wide, telephoto, and macro, and how to use them effectively. In portrait photography, students will learn to be creative, use portrait mode, and work with both natural and artificial light to create stunning images.

Week 4: 2 Hours | Night Photography | Outdoor: Doha Port/Lusail Boulevard | Time: 6 pm – 8 pm

• The fourth class will teach the students how to take photos in low light and explore night photography techniques, including capturing moving cars and creating “bokeh” effects for beautiful nighttime images.

Week 5: 2 Hours | Food Photography | Outdoor: Place Vendome – Hanoverian | Time: 6 pm – 8 pm

• The fifth class will explain focus points on the phone camera and dive into food photography. The students will learn how to use a lightbox (both home and studio setups), leverage the surrounding environment, and shoot in various locations like restaurants, homes, and offices. It will cover how to set up shots and explore different angles for the best results.

Week 6: 2 Hours | Revision + Editing | Indoor + Outdoor | Time: 6 pm – 8 pm

• The seventh class will cover macro photography (if available on phones), where the students will learn to capture intricate details up close. They will recreate several images based on previous weeks’ lessons, mastering all available tools on the phone’s camera. We will discuss various photography styles and developing a unique signature style for each student. It will aso cover mobile editing apps and teaching basic techniques like cropping, exposure adjustment, and color correction.

Materials needed

Please note: VCUQatar reserves the right to cancel classes for which not enough participants are registered. Already paid fees will be refunded.

Please do not purchase materials until VCUQatar has sent final course confirmation.

Items to buy/have for this class

Participants are required to buy their own materials beforehand and bring them to every class

• Smartphones (it would be preferable to have smartphones with settings such as: Portrait mode, Panorama and Manual Settings.)
• Recommended phones:
• Iphone 12, 13, 14, 15 pro/pro max
• Samsung Galaxy S24 23 ultra/plus, Z fold 5 A55, A35

Occasionally, additional materials may need to be purchased and brought in as directed by the instructor.

Where to buy your materials

Most of the materials are available from any art supply shop, for example:

• Cass Art (Fire station): Community Classes students get a 15% discount upon presenting the registration ticket
• Jarir Bookstore: on Rayyan Road or Salwa Road
• Color Note: on Al Nasser Street
• Ibn Al Qayyim: at Markhiya Roundabout
• Al Rawnaq

Schedule

Start: Wed, 6 Nov, 2024
End: Wed, 11 Dec, 2024
Lessons: 6
Days: Wednesdays
Time: 6:00 – 8:00 pm – Please note that the timings of the class to over topics might change. Please check the highlights in the class outline.
Location: Different Locations – Participants need to be present at the location. No transportation would be provided.
Cost: QAR 1500

Instructors