ceallachain Loc: Cape May, NJ

Any one aware of any colleges, community or 4-year, that provide beginner photography courses. Certifications or with a degree in the Sarasota, FL area?

tnwaltz Loc: Sarasota, FL; Chattanooga, TN

Check with the Ringling School of Art. They were offering classes last year and I feel certain they will be of assistance to you.

BuckeyeBilly Loc: St. Petersburg, FL

Try these links:

Click on "Photo and Computers" http://artsarasota.org/classes#PHOTO

http://www.hackcollege.com/school-finder/schools/florida/sarasota/photography/

Someone in these groups should be able to refer you somewhere:
http://www.meetup.com/topics/digcam/us/fl/sarasota/

Try this one if you have the discipline, it's self-taught and FREE! Click on "Tutorials" at the top and be patient. There's enough information on here to last you a year or more. You'll be taught everything you need to know about photography:
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/

CSand Loc: Fayetteville, Georgia

Google "ed2go". These are adult education courses offered very reasonably online. I have taken several and have been really pleased. Great deal of information that you can print out. Much less expensive than courses you would take elsewhere. Beyond photography courses they offer many you may also be interested in. These are through the University of Georgia so perhaps Florida has ed2go as well. Wish you well, Sandy

GENorkus Loc: Washington Twp, Michigan

Classes are a great place to quickly learn about photography. Unfortunately too many of the public tend to just want a handholding place to learn their camera operations.

Yes I know this answer is not what you asked but why not join a local camera club?

Also, why do you need a certificate?

With a good club you get the benifit of long term learning, often with good talk of what interests you, a continuing place to learn non outdated information (not including the basic information which never goes out of date), you can make friends with similar interests, can provide wonderful advice, and it's a great place to keep you motivated over the long haul.

Please don't think I'm totally against classes. You could do both class and club!

Often collages offer "after hours" studies for little or no cost. Try looking into that. You can inquire at a chamber of commerce too.

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

If you want to go the college route, do it but know what you're getting into before you sign up. I worked on an assignment with some students from a local community college; they spent 2 full class sessions on how a digital camera works and it took up a whole chapter in the digital text book they used. Knowing the mechanics of how the camera works and captures images is important, but you can take perfectly great photos without ever knowing how your camera works.

I asked them about the exposure triangle; they had a blank look on their faces; their instructor had them shooting in auto mode and, by time I met them, they were well into the class. If I were teaching that class, I would spend 1/2 hour on the mechanics of the capturing the light and moving to what affects the amount of light your sensor captures and the various camera settings on the camera, with the emphasis on Manual, Shutter, and Aperture priority modes.

We shot in a low light situation and I used my TTL flash. They hand held their cameras in a low light situation, taking photos of models walking a runway. How many good photos do you think they took? I offered to let them use my two extra TTL flashes; they said no because their instructor didn't want them using flash. As a note, I normally use my totally manual flashes, off camera.

You get the picture (or should I say "photo" ). Know what they'll be teaching in the class and if it's something you want.

SSam Loc: Sierra Vista, AZ

ceallachain, I'd like to emphasize the suggestion of GENNorkus. He suggested you consider joining/establishing a photo club. This short video will give you an idea of the advantages of participating in a photo club.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWvdAOojL5M

Sam

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

From what I've seen of college course, you'd be better off watching youtube videos. Sure, you may have to sort through a few, but there are a lot out there that will start and establish a good foundation of the basics. From there you can go just about anywhere.
--Bob

ceallachain Loc: Cape May, NJ

Thanks to all who responded. Some of you wondered about my reference to certificates or college courses. Those were only meant to be starter points for a probable beginner class in the Sarasota area. Many times on the Hog I've seen suggestions that taking a Community College class might be a good starting point. So, being a snowbird with time on my hands I thought that might be a good idea to really learn the exposure triangle etc I'm just looking for an instructor led environment. Mainly because I really don't have the discipline to just read or watch a DVD/Video. With respect to clubs, many of them have people in them that are far ahead of where I'm at and much more competitive than I need to be. All that said, beginner classes in the Sarasota area and where I might I find them????