Learning Sessions

To a new digital photographer, not only do they have to understand photographic concepts, but they also must master post processing and image management techniques. 

Although taking photographs can be fun and is part of the learning process, often the results don't match what was initially envisaged or expected; this can be a very frustrating and annoying, especially when your wishing to take a good photograph and post to the web or send to friends and family.  It’s easy to blame the camera, however, on most occasions the camera is doing everything correctly and it’s the operator that's not up to par. 

Let's face it, there is a lot to know if you want to take quality photographs, and often you are so bogged down technically that your creativeness cannot be harnessed, or you just give up and place the camera on automatic and hope for the best.

Post processing can be a laborious and painstakingly frustrating experience.  Software is often advertised as being easy to use and intuitive, but more often than not to a newcomer, the assortment of menus and commands becomes a confused web of problems. 

Digital photography can generate an inordinate number of files and it's easy to become confused as to which file is what and where they reside in your computer system.  When you want to view your images the last thing you want, is to spend time searching for the photographs you want to view.  Because of the sheer volume of files, it's very easy to feel overwhelmed unless an image management system is developed and implemented at an early stage.

Yes, all this can be learnt by trial and error –  Initially I learnt this way, but the frustration and time I spent could have been reversed if I had received initial guidance on the how, when and why to do something.

One aspect that thwarts new users to Adobe Photoshop is that there are many way to accomplish a task that results in the same outcome.  Learning the quickest and easiest method not only saves considerable time, but allows you to focus on your photography rather than worrying whether you are doing something correctly.

I am offering tuition in two areas: Photographic techniques & skills and post processing techniques,  image management & skills.

Both learning sessions are designed to be run over a two day period and can be taken together or separately, either as an individual or as part of a small group.  The course is designed to allow personal tailoring to your specific requirements and skill set. 

Learning sessions can be either held in Hobart, Tasmania or at your location. 

The cost per day for individual tuition is $270.00 AUD (plus accommodation & transport expenses if not in Hobart).

If wishing to work in a small group (2-6 people), the fee is reduced to $170.00 AUD per day.  If the group is between 7 and 10 people the fee is further reduced to $120.00 / day.

If wishing to do both learning sessions, a 15% discount applies

Unless negociated, a full day will commence at 900 AM and conclude at 6 PM with short breaks as required. 

Please contact me with your specific requirements.

Photographic Techniques and Skills

This classroom seminar will provide a solid grounding in the technical aspects and fundamentals  of digital photography with an emphasis on camera and lens use, exposure and metering.  Mastery of the technical side will enable you to better realize your creative vision and start taking your imagery to the next level. 

The presentation will start with basic concepts and build on them in a step by step manner to provide an in-depth treatment of several of the most important technical areas of digital photography. 

At the end of the session you will have a greater understanding to how your camera and lens operates and how to control light to acquire a better photograph. 

The following at a minimum will be covered:

• Basics of digital sensor technology
• Camera types and lens types – why use the best & which to use
• Equipment - what is considered essential
• The exposure triangle – shutter speed, aperture & ISO
• ISO implementation for digital
• RAW file content and conversion
• Image noise - causes & how to minimise
• Incident metering
• Reflective metering
• Reciprocity
• Colour spaces - RGB or sRGB
• White Balance
• RAW or Jpeg
• Depth of Field
• Tone and colour and how to read both
• Metering patterns
• Exposure modes (AV, TV, P, Auto. M) & when to use them
• Exposure Compensation
• Exposing for highlight and shadow detail
• Histograms - explaination and luminance or RGB
  
• “Expose to the right” methodology
• Basics of composition
• Basics of macro photography (if interested)
• Basics of wildlife photography (if interested)

Post Processing Techniques, Image Management and Skills

This classroom seminar will provide a solid grounding in how to post process your images from the camera to Photoshop and then to web.  Rather than concentrate on in-depth theory, this will be a hands on approach explaining the exact steps to do something that will enhance your image. 

A personal workflow will be developed consistent to your requirements that will greatly simply the way you download and process your images.  You will learn the easiest and fastest methods to process images that replicates what you actually saw when you took the photograph.  Further, you will  learn the importance of metadata and keywords, and learn how to generate and implement this data early in your workflow, assuring consistency across all your images and image collections, thereby saving you valuable time.

The following at a minimum will be covered: 

• How to use the most important CS tools
• Working in RAW and use of the RAW converter
• File types
  
• Layers, selections and masking techniques
• Sharpening styles and techniques
• Water marking and copyright issues
• Digital filter usage (GND, polarising, UV, etc)
  
• Simple colour management and outputting.
• Explanation and implementation of an Image Management System
• Explanation of and implementation of IPTC data, keywords and other metadata
• Backing up for redundancy, security and peace of mind

At the end of this session, you will be able to bring an image into Photoshop, post process the image and output the image to an end use in such a way that the workflow is quick, easy and the results look outstanding.

The computer programmes referred to will be: Adobe Photoshop (CS4/5), Photo Mechanic (MAC) and Breezebrowser Pro (PC).

A comprehensive work book will be given to each participant which will reinforce information learnt during the course.  Each course is thorough in its content and is designed to make you a better photographer, either from behind the camera or computer screen.

If you are interested in the above learning sessions, or require further information, please either call me on mobile 0437 347 127, text me, or use the contact form to e-mail me. 

I look forward to working with you!