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Things you learn in photography class that can be used in motion pictures

rockerrockstar

rockerrockstar

I once heard or read some where that a photograph course could be good to take to help get a good look in your movies.

So what would you learn in one of those classes that would help make your shots or features?

I looked up some things on composition and the rule of thirds was one thing. I am sure there are others too. Lighting probably would be taught too.
 
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A Cinematographer is a Director of Photography.

Classes like those can help you learn a lot of the technical basic things behind getting an image. Perspective, focal length, composition, different accessories for lenses and what they do, lighting, calculating exposure, using light meters, different lighting methods and what they are used for, how to manipulate the quality of light thru distance, filters, diffusion, cookies, gels... etc etc.
The list is quite long and a lot of the things are common between photography and film. In film, it's often on a larger scale, though.

More importantly, as an aspiring professional director, i think it is important for directors to take different classes as well. I think it helps directors understand and get a general overview of what the crew is doing. It would then allow for a director to communicate with the crew better and even challenge the crew with ideas. I myself have taken different types of classes in the past to become a better director. I took an acting class in 2004 which has helped me understand their different methods which ive then used to manipulate actors and get emotion out of them.
 
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It helps with the basics for sure. The rule of 3rds, basic composition, etc. are all in photography classes. Cinematography adds movement and time to the same equations.
 
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My girlfrient is graduate student in photography. I asked her exactly the same question, and she said that technical side of photography is covered just in one course, and most people already know the basics (composition, lenses, 3point lighting etc)..
Personally, I think the only reason to go to that type of the school is to get an idea WHY to use the camera and its features, vs HOW.
 
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As a photographer in HS and an aspiring video guy later, I didn't truly start to wrap my head around video until I made the connection to my photography background. I highly recommend seeing if there are any photography courses you can take... avoiding learning is an excuse ;) One who is serious should be seeking out every opportunity to learn everything they can.

Use the parts that fit into your own "thing"... but learn it all in case you need it at some point.
 
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I spent 4 years studying photography in late high school, early college before really focusing on filmmaking - and I think it's some of the best training I ever got as far as cinematography is concerned. I learned composition, not just things like the rule of thirds but also how different lenses and lighting setups impact composition. I learned how all the camera variable impact the image - shutter speed, aperture, film speed, etc. I learned about dynamic range, and how to manipulate it through lighting and exposure, film stock, and post-processing, as well as types and styles of lighting including reading and using a light meter to achieve specific lighting ratios. I also learned color correction in the darkroom - using filter packs to manipulate color, contrast and dynamic range during printing of both B&W and color photographs.

All of this gave me a base of imaging fundamentals that translated easily into cinematography, and towards the end I transitioned into digital photography and was able to apply much of what I'd learned to things like color correction and related post production work. Of course this was in the early days of digital photography (and really early digital video), so now you could learn much of this more directly working with digital video. You probably could also learn all of this from a book or online tutorials pretty quickly, but I think there is still some value to taking classes for it - there's a big difference between knowing something you read and mastering something through application and practice.
 
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