April 9, 2011

NYIP, Unit 4 Portraiture

I'm almost through NYIP Unit 4 which is about lighting, portraiture photography, and wedding photography.  The audio CDs are up to date, but the five text booklets are older  (1983 - 1995) and the references to film cameras is a little distracting, especially when there is no corresponding information for digital cameras.  This unit does include a booklet on updates that addresses how digital cameras have changed portraiture photography, and building a professional photography website.

Much of the audio is on wedding photography because apparently this is a good way to begin a career in professional photography (or maybe "a common way" is more appropriate than "a good way".    The conversation covers many different aspects of wedding photography, including how to dress appropriately (hint: wear comfortable shoes) and what equipment you'll need (hint: you might need a step ladder).

Digital Photography School has an article discussing 10 Ways to Take Stunning Portraits and 18 other portrait photography tutorials.

Epic Edits' 16 Inspirational Portrait Photography Techniques is an out-of-the-box look at portraits.

I have not read the book Fine Art Wedding Photography but it got great reviews on Amazon.com (and other sties).


Later in the day: I took the Unit 4 exam and got an A, but I'm not happy that I missed 4 of the 50 questions.  Some of the questions and answers were worded a little tricky (it's multiple choice).  You are able to download the exams and fill in the answers using the texts then complete the exams on-line to submit them.  Sometimes none of the answers seemed right.  If they had worded the choices on the test the same way they were worded on the answer sheet (where they graded the test) they wouldn't have been so confusing. There were a few answers that were worded so differently I'm not sure they were the same answer.

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