Advanced Course Grad Stories

I’d been in the military for almost a decade when I found photography.  I was also a mum, and life in general was fun but busy and full with all. the. things.

So who would’ve thought I’d have time for something extra on my plate… it seemed crazy.

Yet the funny thing was, photography didn’t feel like an extra thing at all.  Instead it felt like it was a gift, that opened up new parts of myself I didn’t know I had…  it re-energised me, and helped me see the world in a whole new light!

After years of structured, serious-level work, I didn’t realise what pure joy it would be to allow my creative side to flourish.

And for so many of us, that’s how photography speaks to us… it’s a creative outlet, it’s something that’s just for us, and it has the double benefit of letting us capture our families and memories through beautiful imagery that we can pass along to our children and their families too.

But we need to create those opportunities for ourselves, to prioritise our own passions, and allows ourselves to do something that’s just for us.

And the Advanced Photography Course is the perfect chance to do all of that. Our course is designed to step you through a range of creative and expressive photography techniques that allow you to shoot in ways that make you feel. 

The course will guide you to stretch your creativity, find your unique style, and flourish and grow as a photographer!

But hey.. we’re visual kind of people at Click Love Grow…

So we want to show you what our Advanced Photography Course can do for you, and the best way to do this is to let our grads tell their stories.

So all this week we’re interviewing fabulous grads from CLG… after all, the proof is in the pudding, right?

Today I’d love for you to meet Mel! (*waves*)

Melissa Bantick lives near the beach in Melbourne, Australia with her partner, their two children and a fur baby.

Her daughter is four, inquisitive in the natural world and like all little girls (and my little guy too) loves Frozen. Her son is 18 months old, loves cuddles and is the family clown.

She works as a Nurse in a big busy intensive care unit and since she graduated from our Advanced Photography Course in 2018, photography has provided a creative outlet away from work.

Read on to learn exactly how our Advanced Course has affected her life…

1. What led you to do the Advanced Photography Course?

In the past I have completed short photography courses but after each I always reverted back to shooting in auto.

I took the Enthusiast Photography Course in June 2018 and from that first week I have NEVER put my camera back into auto.

I had enjoyed the Enthusiast Course so much and had seen such a significant improvement in my photography, so the Advanced Course was a natural step.

2. Did the course meet your goals?

Absolutely!

The Enthusiast Course had provided with me with the foundation of understanding exposure, but the Advanced Course was the really fun part!

It opened up a whole world of creativity.

I learned how to use exposure and combine it with light, colour, composition and movement to capture those little family moments in much lower light and with more feeling.

3. How did the course impact your photos?

In so many ways.

Firstly my understanding of light – I am constantly looking for pockets of beautiful light (it becomes a bit of an obsession).

I now think about the settings I might need to achieve the look I am after… do I want to capture a little bit of movement, what depth of field will suit the composition.

I learned to shoot RAW and the skills I acquired in post processing has had a significant impact.

I am still working on composition, unfortunately my little people never quite seem to quite get my creative memo!

4. Where has it taken your photography?

My photography goal has always been about taking better pictures of my family.

I really wanted to capture those daily moments in a way which will cement our memories of how they grow.

A lovely portrait is nice, but for me it’s the moments at home as a family I most want to capture… playing in the fairy garden, watching the tadpoles change into frogs, eating ice cream, swinging from the clothes line.

5. What was your favourite part of the course?

I have a degree in adult education, so I think I’m pretty hard to please with education based stuff.

But I really liked the structure and the way Lou delivered the lessons.

The high and low key lessons really helped me understand how to use my camera to capture light and shade. I enjoyed every week!

6. Would you recommend the course to others?

If you love photography, think you have the basics and can see an image in your mind but you just can’t quite make it happen then this is your course!

Not only do you get a fabulous course, but you also become a member of an amazing supportive community who can continue to support your creative or business goals.

7. We’d love to see a before and after photo!

If you’re already shooting in manual mode, on our Advanced Photography Course you will learn to shoot with confidence in any scenario, and push yourself creatively to find and develop your style through intensive 1:1 critique on your work.  Our next course is starting soon… join our wait list to get an email when we go on sale!