Julia Anna Gospodarou

Black & White Photography

£45
Level: Peer






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The difference between Peer & Expert levels

Both Peer and Expert levels provide:

  • Video lessons led by an expert tutor
  • Downloadable lesson notes
  • Practice assignments
  • Group learning in a 20-student online classroom
  • Lifetime access to videos, notes, and classroom

The Expert level additionally includes:

  • Personalized feedback and coaching from your tutor
  • Private messaging with your tutor
  • Certificate of completion
Level: Peer

Course overview

Julia Anna Gospodarou, a multi-award-winning fine art photographer, teaches you how to take artistic photographs in black and white.

As you learn you'll be composing and taking your own black and white photographs in weekly assignments.

Choose Expert option for personal feedback on your photos from Julia Anna Gospodarou.

You'll learn:

  • how black and white photography works as a fine art medium
  • expressing your own artistic vision through black and white images
  • rules for creating images
  • composition for monochrome photography
  • theory of black and white and fine art photography
  • practical guidance on composing and taking photos
  • processing RAW images into fine art prints (and "photography drawing")

This course is suitable for those with a basic understanding of photography, but you don't need to be a camera specialist or to own high-end equipment in order to create fine art photography and to follow your vision. Julia will teach how to use the tools you have to express yourself.

Julia’s course draws on her experience of fine art architectural photography, but the rules and techniques she teaches can be applied to all kinds of black & white fine art photography.

She will also discuss a new kind of photography she practices, which she calls ‘(en)Visionography.’ She argues that in the digital age, photographic images have become less dependent on subject and camera and can be largely the product of the artist’s creativity in the digital darkroom

The Black & White Photography course will give you a fascinating insight into the creative thinking underlying the work of a successful contemporary fine art photographer, and in turn offers inspiration for students who want to explore their own creative path.

You'll need:

  • A DSLR is required if you want better quality RAW images, but any camera that shoots RAW is good (mirrorless etc.).
  • Also you can use film cameras and scan your photographs in order to process them further and submit them in your assignments.
  • A wide angle lens or an over-all zoom lens to give you more freedom of creation, but you can use your favourite lenses too.
  • A tripod
  • A set of ND filters (my recommendation for ND filters would be a 10-stop + 6-stop + 3-stop one) if you want to work with long exposure photography in your assignments, but it is not compulsory.
  • A camera with BULB function is also required if you want to shoot long exposures.
  • Processing software, like Photoshop, Lightroom, Aperture etc., to which you can add your favourite plugins or other software.
  • "From Basics to Fine Art - B&W Photography" by Julia Anna Gospodarou and Joel Tjintjelaar as a way to enrich the course notes and deepen your knowledge in fine art photography.

The course includes:

  • 4 on-demand video lessons - presented by Julia Anna Gospodarou
  • lifetime access to the video, notes and interactive class
  • flexible classes - join and learn when and where you like
  • downloadable lesson notes
  • practical (optional) photography assignments
  • access on your mobile, PC, Mac or laptop
  • small interactive online classroom chat online to students from around the world

Time to complete this photography course:

Every student is different but in general we think the whole course will take around 14 hours to complete including:

  • Video lesson: 2 hours in total
  • Downloadable notes 30 minutes per lesson
  • Assignment: at least 2 hours per lesson
  • Interactive classroom time: 15 minutes per lesson
  • Tutor feedback review (Expert level): 15 minutes per assignment

Ready to get started?

Just add the course to your basket above - choose the 'Expert' option for personal feedback from Julia on your photos.

Any questions? Contact us by clicking on the orange speech symbol - we'd love to hear from you.

Lesson summary

Week 1: Vision and (en)Visionography – the new fine art photography
The course begins with an examination of why we create art and what makes a fine art photograph. Julia talks about the artist’s vision and why it is so important in photography. Then she moves on to discuss the principles underlying her own fine art photography, which she calls (en)Visionography - “writing with vision.” This approach is made possible by digital imaging and focuses on the photographer’s own personal vision, rather than the subject itself, in the creation of images. The aim of this lesson is to encourage students to think about photography in a completely new way and to begin developing their own unique voice.
Week 2: The Guide to Vision - how to find your vision and personal style
Here Julia applies the theories outlined in the first lesson to a course of practical action in her ‘Guide to Vision’. It takes the form of 35 ‘rules’ giving advice on how to achieve your own personal vision. They include her belief you should photograph what you love, not what is fashionable; that you should decide on a direction and stick to it; and that you shouldn’t regard software as anything more than a tool. By the end of the lesson, students will have a series of wide-ranging practical rules to guide them in the development of their work.
Week 3: Composition in black & white fine art photography: composition as a basis for creation
Learning how to compose a photograph is a vital skill. This lesson is a discussion of the principles of composition and its crucial role in creating effective images. It is illustrated with many practical examples and includes a discussion of a range of compositional techniques. Julia talks about ways of effectively placing subjects in the frame and compositions using light & shadow, repetition and patterns. Among other subjects, she discusses using foregrounds and backgrounds, balance and symmetry and ways to create depth in your images. Armed with this practical advice, students will be able to think more clearly about how to approach and frame an image for maximum impact.
Week 4: Photography Drawing: from vision to the final image – black & white processing method
Julia’s final lesson concentrates on her own method of creating fine art images, which she calls Photography Drawing. Using this method, she draws on the basic rules and principles used in classical and architectural drawing, and incorporates them into her processing technique. She looks in detail at using light and shadow areas to create depth and volume in your images and lists the processing steps necessary to complete the creative process. The goal of this lesson is to show students how RAW images can be transformed into the final result: black & white fine art prints.

Choose how you want to learn

Expert-level

Develop your learning further with marked assignments and personal tuition:

  • Start the course whenever you like
  • Tutor access for personalised assignment feedback & coaching
  • Certificate of completion and CPD learning hours
  • Online classroom with up to 20 classmates
  • Lessons with expert videos & notes
  • Group chat & direct message with tutor & classmates
  • Lifetime access to videos, notes & classroom

Peer-level

Get the most from shared knowledge and community study:

  • Start course whenever you like
  • Practise what you learn with your peers
  • Online classroom with up to 20 classmates
  • Lessons with videos & notes
  • Course assignments
  • Group chat & direct message classmates
  • Lifetime access to videos, notes & classroom

meet the expert

Julia Anna Gospodarou

Internationally acclaimed photographer, architect, and educator. Revolutionizing fine art photography.

Read more

Why choose Learning with Experts?

Start whenever it suits you, and immerse yourself in motivational lesson tutorials with expert guidance.
Enhance your learning and personal growth with lesson assignments. Each course includes an optional assignment at the end of every lesson.
Drop a friendly message or respond to your assignment feedback. Our world-class experts are just a click away, ready to help you!
Stay informed about your own progress and those of your peers, and take joy in celebrating achievements along the way.
Chat and share ideas with passionate communities of learners from around the world.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between PEER and EXPERT levels?

At Peer and Expert level, you get access to the same core content and features:

  • Video lesson tutorials led by your expert tutor
  • Downloadable lesson notes
  • Option to practise what you learn with lesson assignments
  • Group learning within an online interactive classroom of up to 20 classmates
  • Lifetime access to videos, notes and classroom

If you choose Expert level, you get all of the above plus the following:

  • Personalised assignment feedback and coaching from your expert tutor
  • Opportunity to interact with your expert tutor through a private messaging system
  • Certificate of completion.
What is an online classroom?

Our online classroom has been developed to allow you to learn from our experts in a sociable environment alongside up to 20 other students. After each video tutorial led by your expert, you will be encouraged to practice what you have learned with optional assignments - these can be seen by the other students in your class, who are free to share their own thoughts and questions with you.

You will be encouraged to take part in an ongoing class discussion where you can discuss ideas, post images or work, and comment on each other’s assignments. It’s a great way to learn from other like-minded people who share your passion from all over the world.

This means not only do you benefit from people who are outstanding in their field, but also from a close-knit group of like-minded people whom you can learn alongside. Group learning has shown to greatly improve not just the experience of studying, but also how well you retain the knowledge, and we have built our classroom experience around this fact.
When can I start my course and how long will it take?

You can start your course any time within 12 months after receipt of your purchase confirmation email. Once you start, you’ll have lifetime access — meaning you can revisit the lesson videos and notes whenever you want.

Our courses are designed so that you can study at your own pace, some prefer to binge learn while others like to spread their studying over a longer period of time - it’s completely up to you. To give you a rough time frame, each lesson video is approximately 30-40 minutes long, and we recommend that you spend around an hour on each assignment.
How often can I speak with the Expert?

If you opt for the Expert version of your course, the time you have to interact with your tutor is limited to course length. You will have one week per lesson to chat to your tutor and to have your assignments marked, and during this period you can ask them as many questions as you would like.

To find out the length of each course, head to the product page and look at the Course outline to see how many lessons it contains. e.g. a four lesson course assumes that you will have completed the assignments within four weeks.

Your tutor interaction period will start as soon as you enter the classroom. If you find that you are struggling to complete the assignments in the allocated time or you wish to put this function on hold, just get in contact with one of the team via the support button and we will help you out.
Support and full FAQs

If you need any help with a course, be it one you’ve started already, or one you are looking to purchase, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Support email address, or view the full FAQ’s here.

You can also use the orange speech bubble on your page to start a conversation with us.

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Awards and accreditations

Trustpilot