Level 1 will help you expand and revise on the skills learnt in the image evaluation course although this is a standalone course without any entry requirements. This course will delve deeper into art elements, design principles and art concepts. We also cover topics such as, public speaking, judging styles (including open and cold judging), giving feedback and scoring systems used within competition judging. There is also a practical component to the level 1 course to further enhance your image evaluation skills. Whilst this course and all other courses are of great benefit to a photographer, they are primarily intended to train future judges.

In Level 2 we start to get serious, whilst there is still an Image Evaluation component the structure becomes more targeted on specific issues such as definitions (an issue that photographers and judges fail to understand properly), copyright and ethical discussions, we have also introduced a number of new technical topics, such as, an understanding of bit and bit depth, understanding depth of field and how to achieve a sharp focus, judging digital images and judging printed images. In level 2 you start to understand some of the finer points of photography including some of the technical aspects and judging an image entails. This is a course for those wanting to further their knowledge in photography and understand some of the legal and technical issues.

In Level 3 we start to look at the individual photographic genres, such as, landscape, seascape, photojournalism, documentary, street photography, still life, underwater and aerial photography. In previous levels we discussed how to evaluate an image using concepts and tool common to all images. At this level we look at what is different in each genre and how it impacts image evaluation.

As the name implies this is the master grade, here you will continue your study into artistic theory looking at subjects like, colour theory and colour models, colour psychology, symbolism and psychological effects. At this level you will also be introduced to basic teaching theory, presentation development and technical writing skills.

Level 4 continues the study of individual genre looking at genre such as, monochrome, abstract, creative, wildlife, image compositing, architectural, judging audio visuals and photobooks. As in level 3 we are looking at the differences between each genre and dissecting the importance of the various artistic aspects of an image.

Level 5 leaves the study of genres behind and instead focuses on artistic theory such as the understanding of bias, art elements, design principles and concepts like Gestalt theory. We also look at art movement and trends within photography and we have a discussion on some of the great painters that influence photography today.