The Photography Institute Reviews 

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.

You truly do get value for your money. This course has taught me a lot about cameras and the art of photography. The tutor I was assigned provided thoughtful, constructive feedback on my assignments, which really helped me improve. Overall, I had a very positive experience and would recommend this course to anyone looking to grow their photography skills.

I’m loving taking these classes! The tutors are awesome and answer all your questions fairly quickly! I’ve also learned so much!

Observance was the major key for me to learn a lot in this company. It benefitted me to follow instructions on what was needed to achieve better marks for my modules.
Thanks to the tutor and staff I've gained exposure on how things should be done as a student. Getting feedbacks of each module that I've done and the one I've done recently(module 10), truly shows that there's accuracy in mentorship and guidance and I'm truly grateful for that.

Freedom to work at own pace.
Confidence and encouragement to explore alternative avenues of photography.

PI offers the opportunity for people who cant afford a once-off payment to enroll via monthly debit orders, which make it more accessible to more students who would like to enroll. the tutors are very helpful. study material are very well presented and if there are certain parts you get stuck, the tutors are very fast to assist you in understanding the work. overall it is a privilege to study through PI and their exceptional service. studying through PI truly upped my game and all the new knowledge gained through this course truly helped a lot.

The course covers such a wide variety of photography aspects, the webinar's are amazing, tutors are absolutely great'!

Every module opens up a new world into photography. So many 'aha!' moments for me during every assignment. Assignments challenge new ways of thinking and applying new techniques learned. Tutor feedback is honest and insightful.

I am almost done with the professional photography course and have been absolutely loving it the whole way through! It’s great that you can complete the course in your own time at your own pace and that your tutor will give you feedback and mark your assignments within 5 days. This was a huge plus for me! Moving on to the content, really really great! Complex topics are being broken down into simple, digestible blocks and it’s easy to understand. I love that you get to keep all the material and can always go back and re-read it. The best thing though is, it is not just theoretical. A lot of first hand knowledge and experience is explained which makes it so much more tangible. I like this form of study and do not need a classroom or live classes to connect. And lastly the assignments. After every module you have assignments that test your understanding of the teaching. You can really put your knowledge into practice and take photos based on the brief and explain it. Overall really great course! I feel so much more comfortable behind my camera.