Limerick Senior Photography course

kfish2oo2

So its exam season in LIT and I don't think I'm doing very well. I've been trying to come up with a contingency plan in case I do fail spectacularly. Repeating is not an option as I would have to pay foreign student fee's (which are exorbitant to say the least), so I looked around at numerous courses and I think the Photogrpahy course in Limerick Senior College is my best bet. I love taking pictures and I already have a DSLR (Cannon 500D), tripod and remote shutter release, with some new lenses on the way. I've tried to contact the college but so far all I get is an answering machine, so I was hoping someone here could help me out. What I'm wondering is this:

What are the costs involved? I know the course fee's are around the 300euro mark, but is that total or per semester? What would I expect to be buying for the course (film SLR and film, printing paper etc).

What are the hours like, work load and how is the course structured? (Lectures in the morning, practical work in the afternoons? etc)

What kind of portfolio will I need?

Is there a round of late interviews and if so when? (since I won't know whether I passed or not till mid-summer)

And finally, what are you thoughts on the course in general? Would you recommend it?

If anyone can help me out, I'd be extremely grateful

gloobag

Don't waste your money. The internet is bursting at the seams with info on how to take a photograph.

Figure out what area of photography you want to break into (portraits, weddings, landscape, wildlife etc...), do some research on the internet and go practice, practice, practice.

If you want to be a so called "professional" photographer, you're starting down a very long road into an extremely over populated market where the financial payoff is nowhere near as good as you might think.

Don't let that put you off though. You could be the next Ansel Adams for all I know

p.s. There is a very active photography forum here on boards y'know. I guarantee you'll probably learn more there than in some stuffy classroom.

Best of luck

krudler

Limerick Senior courses arent worth the paper they're printed on (which you probably have to pay for yourself) theres a photgraphy forum on here that you'd learn more from. I did a "film production" course there once that was a joke. dont waste your money

Blazer

I did the evening course there in Digital photography last year and found it excellent.
I had a Canon 40D that I basically used it on auto and was too lazy to learn myself how to do it so I did the course. Well worth it..
I presume that the day courses are as good as the same girl teaches the full time course.
If you're a starter photographer then you might as well do the basic course etc to get to grips with it.

This is the one I did..and it was worth every penny.

http://www.lcfe.ie/EVENING-PROGRAMMES/Hobby---Leisure-Courses-(1)/Photography-Digital-(FETAC).aspx

angeleyes

Just finished the two year course at LCFE. Glad I did it but it was hard work.

Mr E

I did the evening course a couple of years ago and thought it was good but had some issues. For a 10 week course, there was too much emphasis on post production (photoshop) compared to practical experience with the camera.

I think we did 4 straight weeks of photoshop, where half of that would have been enough.

Good course though, and the lecturer really knew her stuff.

tommyh1977

Hi All
Here is my two cents worth, i just completed the evening module in LCFE for digital photography and found it to be exceptional value for money. While i agree there was in our case 3 weeks for Photoshop, not everyone is very clued up on PS so in my case some really needed the 3 evenings. I cannot think of any other evening course in Limerick that would have you shooting using studio flash 5 weeks in!!! I would love to pursue the day course but as a self employed 34 year old i think it would be too much to juggle work, family and education. However i am going back evenings in September to do Photographic Techniques.