Photography that counts toward your Skills Section
Four AAP-approved photography courses for the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Self-paced, with a personal assessor, CPD-certified, and ready for Bronze, Silver and Gold. We've been teaching since 2012 — over 100,000 photographers through our doors.
Taught by Stephen Walton & Emily Lowrey★★★★★ 4.7 from 100,000+ members
Each iPhotography course meets the DofE Skills Section requirements. Pick one course, work through it at your own pace, sit the end-of-module tests, and your assessor's report lands in your eDofE account when you finish.
Counts toward Bronze, Silver and Gold.
All four iPhotography DofE courses meet the Skills Section hour requirements. Bronze needs three months, Silver six, Gold twelve — our self-paced courses fit any of them.
About an hour a week, self-paced.
Watch a module, head out and shoot, log the hours on eDofE. No deadlines, no live classes, no clashing with school or weekend plans. Stop and start whenever life gets in the way.
Tutor-assessed and CPD-certified.
End-of-module multiple-choice tests with a 70% pass rate — retake as many times as you need. Final scores feed into your CPD-certified Course Completion certificate. Your assessor's report goes straight to eDofE.
Our recommendation
New to photography? Begin here.
If you're not sure which course to pick, start with Photography for Beginners. It's the one most DofE participants take — the cleanest fit if photography is brand new to you.
Photography for Beginners.
Eighteen modules teaching you how cameras work, how to read light, how to compose a photograph, and how to edit what you've taken. Twenty hours of teaching, self-paced, with nine tutor-assessed photo assignments built into the course.
Pick the course that suits your level and interest.
Each of these four courses is approved for the DofE Skills Section. Pick the one that matches the camera you've got, the genre you're drawn to, or the level you're working toward.
BronzeSilverGold
Course 01.
Photography for Beginners
The full beginners' course. Cameras, light, composition, the genres of photography, and the basics of editing. Built for anyone starting from scratch.
Photographing people, pets and everything in between. Light for faces, posing without making it look posed, candid moments that still feel like portraits.
A bundle of beginner, intermediate and advanced Photoshop courses — for editing, compositing, and creative digital art. Photoshop 2017 or later required.
Everything you need to finish your Skills Section.
Whichever of the four courses you choose, the essentials are the same — a friendly place to share your work, a tutor's reply when you submit an assignment, and a certificate at the end you can be proud of.
PDF graduation certificate
CPD-certified Course Completion certificate. Yours to keep, print and share with your DofE assessor.
DofE Completion Assessment
Your assessor's report submitted to eDofE within 72 hours of finishing — no chasing, no paperwork at your end.
Photo Feedback Gallery
Upload your photographs to the club gallery. Tutors drop in regularly to comment on photographs that catch their eye.
Media & Download Library
A library of training videos, eBooks, presets, cheat cards and reference guides. Yours for as long as your account is kept active.
Your DofE assessor
A real person, on the end of an email.
Every DofE participant at iPhotography has a named assessor — that's Stephen. He'll write your assessment report, submit it to eDofE, and is the person to email if you have any questions along the way.
Your assessor
Stephen Walton
Head Tutor & AAP Manager · iPhotography
Professional photographer since 2005, art-school trained, with over a decade running a high-end portrait studio. Stephen wrote most of the iPhotography course content, replies personally to assignment submissions, and is the DofE-registered Assessor for every participant who joins through this page.
Assessment is short, fair and built into the course. You don't need to send anything off to your DofE Leader yourself — we update eDofE on your behalf.
1
Take the modules
Watch each module at your own pace. Practise the technique on your own photographs. Upload any of them to the gallery if you'd like a tutor to take a look.
2
Sit the end-of-module tests
Each test has 10–30 multiple-choice questions. You need 70% to pass. Don't worry — you can retake as many times as you need, and we keep your best score.
3
Graduate the course
When you finish all the modules, your final scores are averaged into your CPD-certified Course Completion certificate. Yours to print and keep.
4
eDofE updated for you
Your assessor's report is submitted to your eDofE account within 72 hours of graduation. Nothing for you to chase — we take care of it.
What members say
Real reviews from real members.
Pulled from the iPhotography reviews database. We've left the typos in — that's how you know they're real.
★★★★★
"The course was so easy to follow. The tutors are friendly, knowledgeable and really helpful with feedback. I've gone from being scared of my camera to actually loving the time I spend with it."
TM
Tony Mills
Member · iPhotography
★★★★★
"I've tried a lot of online courses. This is the only one where a real person replied to my photographs. It changed how I shoot, but more importantly it changed how I look at things."
RH
Robin Hollamby
Member · iPhotography
★★★★★
"Best money I've spent on my hobby. The modules are clear, the feedback is genuine, and the gallery is the friendliest corner of the internet I've found."
SY
Simon Young
Member · iPhotography
★★★★★
"I was nervous about being the youngest in the group. Turns out everyone here is welcoming, and the tutors don't talk down to anyone. I'm finally taking photographs I'm proud of."
DG
Debbie Gammie
Member · iPhotography
★★★★★
"Stephen's feedback on my landscape photograph was the most useful 200 words I've ever read about my photography. Worth the cost of the whole course on its own."
JG
John Gallagher
Member · iPhotography
★★★★★
"I took the course over a long winter. By the spring I was photographing things I'd walked past for thirty years and never noticed. That's the real gift."
AS
Audrey Schweikert
Member · iPhotography
Common questions
DofE participants usually ask us this first.
Do I need an eDofE number to enrol?+
Yes — you'll need your eDofE number when you register. Get it from your DofE Leader first, then enter it during sign-up. We use it to submit your assessor's report straight to your eDofE account when you finish, so the Skills Section signs off automatically.
Which course can I use for each Award level?+
Three of the four courses cover all three levels; Light Tricks covers Bronze and Silver only:
Photography for Beginners — Bronze, Silver, Gold
Portrait Photography — Bronze, Silver, Gold
Light Tricks Photography — Bronze, Silver only
Photoshop Digital Art Bundle — Bronze, Silver, Gold
How long will the course take?+
Each course is self-paced. As a guide: Beginners and Photoshop Digital Art take 20–24 hours of teaching content, Portrait and Light Tricks take around 15. Most DofE participants spend about an hour a week, which sits inside the Bronze (3 months), Silver (6 months) and Gold (12 months) windows comfortably.
What camera do I need?+
A DSLR or mirrorless camera is best. An older bridge camera with manual controls works too. A standard kit lens is plenty — we don't ask anyone to buy new kit. Smartphones and compact cameras work for some of the principles but you'll get more out of the courses with a camera that lets you adjust shutter speed, aperture and ISO.
Do I need any software for the Photoshop course?+
Yes — the Photoshop Digital Art Bundle teaches Adobe Photoshop, so you'll need a copy of Photoshop CC 2017 or later. The other three courses are software-light: Photography for Beginners uses Pixlr X (free, browser-based) for editing, and Portrait and Light Tricks use Photoshop for the editing modules only.
What happens when I finish?+
Three things happen, in this order: your CPD-certified Course Completion certificate becomes available as a PDF download; your assessor (Stephen Walton) submits his report to your eDofE account; and you keep your account access for as long as you keep it active — come back any time, review modules, upload more photographs to the gallery.
What if I don't pass a test the first time?+
Retake it. You can sit each end-of-module test as many times as you need, and we keep your best score. Tests are 10–30 multiple-choice questions, and the pass mark is 70%. It's there to make sure you've taken in the module, not to catch you out.
Can I take more than one course for the same Award?+
Yes, but you only need one for the Skills Section. If you'd like to keep going after finishing one, the others are still available to you on the same account — many participants take the Beginners course first and then add Portrait or Light Tricks just for the love of it.
Who do I contact if I have a question?+
Stephen Walton (your assessor) replies personally to DofE queries at tutor@iphotography.com or 077495 24392. He'll be the one writing your assessment report — so feel free to introduce yourself any time.
Ready to start your Skills Section?
Most DofE participants start with Photography for Beginners. Or pick another of the four AAP-approved courses above. Either way, you'll have a personal assessor and a CPD-certified certificate at the end.
