Photography training and teaching

Digital Photography Courses and lectures

Keith Cooper teaches aspects of photography in Leicester, Leicestershire and the UK East Midlands. As a qualified adult tutor (City and Guilds 7307) and university lecturer he appreciates the varying needs of learners. Photography courses from Northlight Images can cover a very wide range of material at whatever level of complexity you want. Keith also provides bespoke personal training to individuals and companies on photography and digital image manipulation.

Many corporate clients want to take their own photographs for internal and web use. Keith offers training to help you get the most out of the equipment you already have and can help you decide whether it is truly adequate for your needs. At Northlight we are not worried by the prospect of people doing their own photography -- we know that our clients value the creative insight and technical skills that come as standard in all our commercial photography.

We have more specific web pages (with prices) covering:

Photography training for estate agents

Product photography courses.

Typically we charge £400 (+VAT) per half day and £750 (+VAT) per day for our customised training courses*. This is a total cost and can include up to four people. We also run seminars for larger groups (up to 12) at the same cost.

*Note - Outside of Leicestershire we may add on a charge for travel expenses.

Contact details :

Northlight Images, 86 Harrow Road

Leicester, Leicestershire, UK. LE3 0JW (Maps)

Telephone +44 116 291 9092

You can e-mail us:

This photo of Keith was taken during one of his digital photography courses in Leicester, in this case how to light and shoot products for your web site.

You can take better pictures-
-Learn from a professional photographer

photography training - product photography

Our training courses are designed to fit -your- precise needs.

How to take better pictures inside houses The picture to the left was taken on a recent photography course for Estate Agents - showing how to take better looking photos inside empty houses.

Making use of mirrors - giving an impression of an empty room

Several online versions of Keith's photography courses are available on this site.

An example from his introductory digital photography course covers Basic Image manipulation with Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.

If you already have basic skills in Photoshop, then the whole of the course is available in two half day one-to-one workshops (using Photoshop or Elements).

Say, for example, you have some film photography knowledge and want to learn more about using your skills in a digital environment? A typical day's course might include

Understanding the relationship of image size and resolution

Considering bit depth

What is colour?

Organising your images

Shooting RAW or JPG

sRGB versus Adobe RGB

Camera RAW workflows

Optimising images

Automating routine tasks

Over time we hope to add more online tutorials based on many of Keith's courses.

product photography training

Product Photography - training carried out on site for a major UK retailer.

VR photography for interiors and exterior use and VR photography training

Northlight provides a comprehensive range of professional Virtual Reality (VR / QTVR) and panoramic photography services - This is specialised work and require a not inconsiderable investment in equipment and VR software (such as Stitcher Pro).

We can provide training in this specialist area - please contact us directly for more information.

Digital imaging Lectures / Presentations / Seminars

Keith provides lecturing and seminar services for commercial organisations.

Seminars are customised to meet your organisation's needs and can cover topics as diverse as:

Digital sensor design - CMOS/CCD - sensor characteristics and performance

Colour management (theory and practice)

Characteristics of digital images

Optics and image correction

Printer technology - printer resolution, image resolution and sharpening

How to take better holiday pictures...

Keith is also available to speak at Photographic clubs and societies. Particularly popular are his discussions on digital black and white photography and demonstrations of colour management, where he illustrates some the benefits of monitor and printer profiling with examples from his Spyder Pro and iO review. There is more info on the Lectures/Presentations page.

Keith often gets asked what cameras to buy -- it's a tricky question with so many now on the market, but he has put together a short guide that may be of help in deciding what you want to know.

My first digital camera?

Teaching / Tuition

Keith provides personal tuition to individuals and companies.

An example from one of his introductory/intermediate level digital photography courses is:

Cameras

Principles
Types
Capabilities and limitations
Taking pictures

Building your collection

Projects
Exhibitions

The computer

Software/hardware choices
Getting your image into your computer
Checking the image

Composition

The so-called ‘rules’
Looking at collections of photos
The single most useful tip in taking better snapshots

Basic printing

Making the print
Presenting your prints

Portraiture

Lighting
Flash
The wedding

Scanning

Making use of old photos
Film scanning

Record/still lives

Objects and lighting to use

Image manipulation 1

Software (Photoshop and Photoshop Elements)
Cropping
Brightness/contrast

Image manipulation 2

Colour balance
‘Fixing’ problems
Airbrushing people out of photos
Special effects

Holiday snaps

How not to send people to sleep

Business Uses

Pictures for the web
What's needed for brochures
Making sure they print what you want
Product photography

Printing 1

Setting up for printing
Sharpening
Resizing and resolution
Framing and mounting

Printing 2

Why what you see on the screen is not what you get on the print
Colour Management
Colour and Gamut
Print longevity
Choices of materials
Specialist inks and Black and White printing

Our courses are modular in nature and are tailored to meet your individual needs, based on modules such as those listed above.

Our training and presentations are usually delivered at client sites in the UK and can vary from half day introductions to extended courses.

We do not provide standard courses, since there is no such thing as a standard client!

Keith also contributes to many of Northlight's Apple Macintosh training courses, particularly with aspects of Adobe Photoshop for photographers. He also provides advice and guidance on colour management issues to several local organisations.

Other areas of our site that may be of interest...

NEW -- Create your own customised A3 size wall calendar from a choice of 90 of Keith's images. Choose your own images for your own custom printed calendar - 12 months starting any month of the year - many all new images not yet in our main gallery.

Digital Black and White. Keith was recently interviewed about digital black and white photography for a magazine article. We have an expanded version here covering some of his thoughts, techniques and tips for those thinking of trying black and white.

As well as our Commercial Photography services and Training there is a growing collection of photography Articles and Reviews on the site aimed at helping you get the best out of your own photography. We also have a growing collection of Photography related information and links that we hope you find useful.

New site features and some of Keith Cooper's latest work are always covered in the What's New page.

Visiting Leicester or wondering where it is? We have views from the Leicester traffic cameras.