The Photography Institute Avis 

The Photography Institute course was recommended to me earlier this year. I am now undertaking module 6 of the 12 and i am very pleased that I followed up on the recommendation. I have found the easy access to my tutor and really helpful feedback on assignments very beneficial. Whether you are looking to pursue photography as a career or to improve yours skills as an enthusiast I would recommend this course highly.

The course is well structured, easy to follow and contains relevant in-depth content. I love the clear explanations and extra information that is given and also the practical instructions with each assignment. The assignments help a lot to put the theory into practice and after each completed assignment you receive feedback on your work. My tutor (Steven Vote) is always available, and he is kind and gives good feedback on the assignments. He is a great mentor. I am absolutely enjoying this course and learning so much (and being able to do it at my own pace). I can highly recommend this course.

The help Im receiving in this course is absolutely awesome. I really enjoy this course so much and even learned so much about my camera settings. Thank you so much.

Each Module has excellent content to get the best out of your creative journey and advancing your photography.
Tutors are accessible, approachable and turn around marking times are quick.

Great resources and information to complete the Modules and Assignments, up to date knowledge of the industry and advancements, really good student support, I would recommend highly especially if you would prefer to study online due to work commitments.

I really learnt a lot from the course. I had a lot of aha moments. The assignments helped a lot to put the theory into practice. It really helped with putting topics into learning order rather than trying to figure it out on my own. I really enjoyed the structure, the breakdown and the modules ranging from camera use to business.

From my very first interactions with my tutor the whole course so far has been amazing. The depth of the modules is perfect, enough to make you work but not too much that it's overwhelming. Highly recommended and the support throughout has been nothing but brilliant.

I've been taking photos for years but never knew a lot about the technical side. I've learnt so much that I'm now confident to go in to manual mode and actually understand it. I like how I can submit an assessment, read the next module and see what the next assessment is so I can start preparing.

Avoid this institute if you value your time and money.

My wife enrolled in their Diploma of Photography course, and the experience has been disappointing from the start.

One of the first tasks was “Module 0,” which asked questions about her current photography knowledge and skills. Since the questions were clearly written in the present/past tenses, she answered them honestly based on her actual level of knowledge. To our surprise, the assessor, Julian, criticized her responses and said she should have researched the answers before submitting them.

This makes absolutely no sense. If an assessment is asking about a student’s current knowledge, why would the expectation be to research the answers beforehand? Either the assessment is poorly designed, or the assessor fundamentally misunderstands the purpose of evaluating a student’s starting point.

As someone who taught Master of Engineering students at university level for many years, I found this approach both baffling and unprofessional.

The problems don’t stop there. The student portal is unreliable, and often lags. Messages appear inconsistently and sometimes seem to show up randomly, making communication unnecessarily frustrating.

Speaking of communication, there is very little of it. Support is minimal, guidance is lacking, and getting clear answers feels like an uphill battle.

To make matters worse, my wife was encouraged to enrol in the Certificate course first before continuing with the Diploma. This recommendation made little sense because the Certificate content is largely repeated in the Diploma program. In other words, she would be expected to spend additional time and pay additional fees to study material that she would be covering again anyway. Rather than helping students progress efficiently, this felt like an unnecessary detour that benefited the institute more than the student.

Overall, the course has felt disorganised, poorly managed, and far below the standard we expected. We enrolled hoping for a structured learning experience and professional guidance. Instead, we’ve encountered confusion, poor communication, and questionable assessment practices.

Based on our experience, I would not recommend this institute to anyone considering photography studies.

Update after the business response:

The Module 0 questions, according to the institute’s response, are intended to identify whether a student already has the required knowledge and has used it before. If Module 0 is an entry requirement assessment, then “researching” the answers is irrelevant. On the other hand, if the purpose of Module 0 is to encourage students to research the answers, then it cannot reasonably be considered an entry requirement assessment. This contradiction suggests that the institute itself is unclear about the purpose and structure of the course, let alone the students.

The institute also claims that messages were sent through the portal. Two messages appeared in the “Messages” tab: a generic welcome message and a harsh piece of feedback from the teacher. Both messages appeared 5 and 13 days after their stated sent dates. I checked the portal using a mobile phone, desktop PC, and laptop, and there were no messages visible in the inbox until then.

Finally, if you do not answer three questions in Module 0 correctly, the institute effectively forces you to complete the Certificate course before progressing to the Diploma. This means spending approximately one year completing the Certificate and then another 18 months completing the Diploma — a total of two and a half years for a Photography Diploma. The entire certificate will be repeated in the diploma. There is no RPL!

I should also mention that the entire course consists largely of reading PDF documents. There is no interactive learning portal.

Very informative course with thoughtful assignments for lots of learning and discoveries.

Excellent in depth content... Clear explanation. Great supporting staff.

If becoming a professional photographer is in your sights but don't have the knowledge, then this course would be a huge step in achieving your goals.
Photography Institute's Diploma in Photography is a very detailed and complex course, designed to provide the advanced amateur with the right information to elevate them into the realms of professional photography.
Because of the amount of detail required, I have found it difficult to balance current employment with completion of modules and therefore find myself behind in the course. This is predominantly because of the time I have available to study, not a fault of the course but be aware this is a time-consuming course that must be given a high level of commitment. I plan to extend and complete the diploma.
Excellent information combined with excellent tutors is the key to an excellent learning experience and the Photography Institute's Diploma in Photography is just that. Highly recommended for those wanting to take their photography further

I love how each module builds on the last and continues to set you up for success. Every module provides so much detail, and the feedback I receive from my tutor, George, on my assignments is incredibly helpful!!

I’ve really enjoyed the course overall and appreciate the knowledge and effort that has gone into it. The content is informative and has helped me grow creatively and technically in photography.

One suggestion I do have is that the course could benefit from more video-based learning material for visual learners. Photography is such a visual and practical subject, so seeing concepts demonstrated in real time — such as lighting setups, camera settings, composition techniques, and editing processes — would make the learning experience even more engaging and easier to understand.

I also think having occasional live online classes or interactive sessions would add a lot of value. Being able to attend a class, ask questions, receive feedback, and interact with the instructor and other students could help build a stronger learning community and make the course feel more immersive.

Overall, I think the course has great potential, and these additions could make it even more impactful for different learning styles.

I have had a really positive experience studying with The Photography Institute. The course content is well-structured, easy to follow, and has helped me grow a lot in my understanding and practical photography skills.

A special mention goes to my tutor, Justin Aitken, who consistently provides thoughtful, detailed, and constructive feedback on all my assignments. His encouragement has made a big difference in my confidence and development as a photographer. He really takes the time to guide you and help you improve.

Overall, I highly recommend The Photography Institute to anyone looking to build strong photography skills with supportive guidance throughout their learning journey.

I enrolled in this course to improve my photography skills, and I am definitely seeing an improvement in my technical knowledge and my ability to apply it in different scenarios.
I really like the way modules are structured and how they guide me through different topics. They are written in a very understandable way, but provide a variety of information that allows me to gain the overall understanding. Assignments are also always very interesting!
Personalised and indepth feedback from my tutor is also very helpful and much appreciated. He always responds in timely manner and his feedback is detailed and informative.

Studying with The Photography Institute had been a wonderful experience. I'm proud to have my Certificate in Professional Photography from them. Each module was easy to read through and understand, plus the assignments were easy to complete and stress free. It was a very unique experience with them and the tutors are very friendly and helpful.

The course is well worth it. The technical aspects of image making are concisely unpacked and then explained in great detail. From composition to colour theory - everything is addressed cohesively, conveyed well in George's pithy, anecdotal style of writing. It's accessible, informative, and great fun. I've learnt more than I could've expected from a course at this price point.

Additionally, the quality and depth of feedback are astonishing, with George paying careful individual attention not only to one's progress, but to the golden thread that runs throughout one's own thematic style. Tailor-made, like a great suit.

The course has been an excellent way to learn, improve skills and think about what is important to me, what I really want from my photography. I would recommend it to anyone as a springboard into the wonderful world of photography.
I was very happy to have a dedicated and supportive mentor. I have valued her feedback.