by Julie Lineback
Keep it simple. That’s the one thing that Steven Broome, associate director of creative services in University Communications and Marketing, wishes he had known when he started taking photos. Today, he tries to share that lesson with his students in the photography classes he teaches for continuing education.
Things started out simple for Steven, who as a young shutterbug saved his allowance money and trekked to the local K-mart to buy a 110 pocket camera so he could document his 4th grade class field trip to Lion Country Safari.
Things are different now. It’s understandable to see how some people become confused and bogged down with information overload regarding cameras, equipment and software.
“It’s very easy to fall into the mindset that makes you think you need a lot of equipment to produce beautiful images,” says Steven. “That’s just not true. You need a basic amount, but beyond that all you need is your ability to recognize what’s available to manipulate it to suit your needs.”
“Over the years I’ve spent a lot of money on gadgets that were an absolute waste,” he continues. “I think the most important idea I try to get across to my students is that they don’t need all that stuff to make great photography.”
Steven has been teaching the photography course for continuing education since the mid-‘90s when the previous instructor recommended he take the lead.
“I thought it sounded like fun and gave it a shot,” he recalls. “The first time one of my students had that ‘a-ha!’ moment—when they suddenly understood something that had previously eluded them—I was hooked on teaching.”
The courses, Photography I: Getting the Most from your DSLR and Photography II: From Idea to Image, are designed for people who are finding it difficult to understand how their cameras work and are disappointed when they don’t turn out as expected. The goal of the class is to help students understand their cameras as tools to help capture those images they envision.
“There’s a lot of technical information that has to be covered that can be a little tedious, but I try to keep it very light-hearted,” Steven concludes. “I have a weird sense of humor, but the students get used to it eventually. And the more class participation the better. We laugh a lot!”
Keep track of 2014 photography and other classes offered by the department of continuing education at www.westga.edu/conted/index.php.
