Digital Photography Course -Wednesday evenings

July 8th, 15th, 22nd

I am currently offering a course for you fans of photography to hone your mad skills.  Do you find those beautiful vistas or gorgeous people that you see through your eyes rarely tend to come out as beautiful once they are captured into your camera or put out on print?  Do you ever pick up your camera once it’s time to shoot, but spend so much time fighting with it that you invariably miss that fleeting shot of the sky exploding into fiery hues while the unicorns soar past?  if so, you need this course.

I will dive into many aspects of photography.  You will get exposure to the technical side of things, so that you know the ins and outs of your camera.  Once you’re on the path to having the technology becoming second nature, I will throw you into the more intangible, artistic area of photography, and teach you how to see the world in a new light.

The cost of this course is $40 and all the proceeds go to my good friends, the Coastal Arts Initiative.  So you will not only be getting your photography learning on, but you will be helping out a great organization for young artists.  

Seating for this course is limited, and you can sign up here

The course is comprised of:

  • 3 sessions
  • Wednesday evenings
  • From 7-9pm
  • and open discussions afterwards for anyone who wants to hang around and chat.
  • the dates are July 8th, 15th, 22nd
  • Cost $40 per person (Again, all proceeds go to the Coastal arts Initiative)

Here is a brief course outline, so you have an idea of what you’re going to get learnt.

Session 1 –Exposure and technique - Wednesday, July 8th

Philosophy of photography - Basic Technique

  1. Camera holding technique
  2. Care for your camera
  3. Shooting modes

Exposure

  1. Light theory
  2. Deciphering the in camera light meter
  3. Deciphering the histogram
  4. The three components of exposure compensation
  • Shutter Speed
  • Aperture
  • ISO
  • (A good deal of time will be spent on these three)

Basic Composition

  • Rule of thirds
  • Remove distractions
  • Size to emphasize

Homework Assignment (3 photographs)

  • Switch cameras to manual mode and expose properly for all assignments!
  • Emphasize shutter speed to tell the photographic story
  • Fast shutter speed to freeze action
  • Slow shutter speed to emphasize motion
  • Use the rule of thirds to compose any photograph
  • Search for any photo you took that speaks to you
  • Have all the photographs emailed to Scott the night before the next session or at least on digital media the night of.
  • Extra credit – shoot the same scene while keeping the exposure constant and changing the ISO, Shutter Speed, and aperture settings. (don’t have to submit these photographs)

Q&A afterwards’

Session 2 - Advanced Composition - Wednesday, July 15th

Quick recap of previous session

Show assignment photos

Learning to see the world as abstract

Light values & the base of visual design

  1. Hue
  2. Brightness
  3. Line
  4. Shape
  5. Texture
  6. Perspective (lens focal lengths)
  7. Dominance
  8. Balance
  9. Proportion
  10. Rhythm or mirroring

Outdoor light quality

Using aperture creatively

Assignment (3 photographs)

  • Use the elements of visual design to create 3 different images of the same subject

Session 3 – Photographic elements in the real world - Wednesday, July 22nd

Recap of previous session

Show photos from assignment

Real life applications

Using the things we’

ve leaned in the previous two sessions the participants are guided through the process of making photographs in the areas of:

  1. Portraits
  2. Landscape & Nature
  3. Sports
  4. Macro
  5. (This is kind of a hints and tips session and a good way to tie it all in together)

Exposure to free photo editing software the GIMP & basic tools (www.gimp.org)

Free resources online & book recommendations.

Q&A afterwards