ecommerce

2-1/2 hours
Maximum number: 20

*Early Registration: $50/person (up to 7 days before class date)
Regular Registration: $60/person

In this first class you’ll get comfortable with Adobe Lightroom,learn how to set it up and start cataloging and processing your images. We will be using the most current version of Lightroom.

• Intro: Why is Lightroom such a big deal? • Should I be shooting RAW? • Will I still need Photoshop?
• Setup: Basics of workspace, panels and menus • Setting up your preferences
• Loading your files: Importing photos from a drive or device • Basic file naming and tagging • What about DNG? • Understanding the Lightroom database concept
• Organizing your images: What to do with existing folders of images • Moving from another program like iPhoto or Picassa
• Editing and collections: Making your first cut with Flags • Refining your edit with the color and star rating systems • Using the Compare and Survey modes for those tough editing decisions • Working with collections
• Basic processing: Non•destructive editing and why it’s such a great thing• Basic adjustments: exposure, contrast, white balance, cropping • Quick black and white conversions • Using basic presets • Syncing and batch processing (one of the coolest things about LR!)

2-1/2 hours
Maximum number: 20

*Early Registration: $50/person (up to 7 days before class date)
Regular Registration: $60/person

In this second Lightroom class we build on the basics of 101, move deeper into the editing and use of your images. While not required, it is highly recommended that you attend the first class before taking this one.

• Getting out of Lightroom: Exporting files • Presets for Email • Color space and resolution settings
• Workspace: Customizing the interface • Working with dual monitors • Keyboard shortcuts
• Stacks and virtual copies: Working with image stacks to keep things organized • Using virtual copies as a creative sandbox to try different processes, cropping and conversions
• Catalogs: Backing up your precious data • Multiple catalogs • Synchronizing catalogs between computers
• Processing: Using the local adjustment brush and gradient filter • Spot cloning • Vignetting • Tone curves and color controls • Sharpening and noise reduction  • Camera profiles • Creative B&W conversions
• Corrections and special effects: • Automatic lens correction for distortion and color aberations • Split toning • Grain simulation

2-1/2 hours
Maximum number: 20

*Early Registration: $50/person (up to 7 days before class date)
Regular Registration: $60/person

In this third Lightroom class we cover the rest of the modules and focus on getting your photos out into the world, whether on the web, in print or uploaded to a shared photo site. While not required, it is highly recommended that you attend the first two classes before taking this one.

• The data side of photography: Keywording • Metadata • Finding your photos
• Tethered shooting: How to shoot with your camera connected directly to your computer for automatic import into LR
• Stepping out: Opening files in Photoshop and other programs • Color space and resolution settings
• Color: Precision color profiling
• Showing your pictures online: Using the Web module to build galleries • Flash templates • FTP from inside LR or in another utility • Watermarking your images for protection.
• Slide shows: Making a client presentation or just showing pictures to your family • Customizing your slide show • Creating an MP4 movie with a sountrack
• Putting it on paper: Working with the Print module • Print packages and custom layouts • Printer settings and profiles • Printing yourself or sending to a service
• Showing off: Using the Publish plugins to connect to Facebook, Flickr, Smugmug and a host of other services

Taking Better Pictures of Kids
Full Day Workshop

*Early Registration: $225/person (up to 7 days before class date)
Regular Registration: $245/person

Saturday, 9am-5pm at The Spot Studio (then on location and back again)
Maximum number of students is 12, minimum number to make a workshop is 6

This workshop is for you if you are a parent wanting to take better pictures of your own kids, a photographer looking to start your own portrait photography business or if you simply want to learn some great skills for taking better portraits of young humans.

This workshop is for those who are already familiar with their cameras and  comfortable with the P-A-S-M (Nikon) or P-Av-Tv-M (Canon) exposure modes and using different autofocus modes. If you’re a beginner (or have been shooting for a while but still aren’t comfortable with these concepts) you can take our DSLR-1&2 evening classes or the Beginner DSLR Full Day Workshop first or some other equivalent training.

This full day workshop will teach you how to take your basic DSLR skills and apply them to create stunning images of children. The techniques apply to any age subject but the focus here will be kids from the toddler through teen years. It is a combination lecture and hands-on shooting workshop with live models. It will be taught by Margie Woods Brown, a local children’s, wedding and portrait photographer. For more information check out Margie’s Bio and Margie Woods Brown website.

What you’ll learn in the workshop:

• Which combination of exposure and shooting modes make up a magic recipe for photographing kids
• How to use available light to create stunning images
• How to select backgrounds and environments to bring interest, emotion and fun into your photos
• Whether to pose or not to pose (or both!)
• How to find flattering and interesting perspectives
• Which lens(es) to choose
• Effective and age appropriate techniques to create a rapport with your subjects

8am-10pm: We will meet at The Spot Studio for a discussion covering basic concepts and how to prepare for a photo shoot of kids. We will review the basic exposure and focusing modes and Margie will show some of her portraits, illustrating the tips and concepts that we will be covering.

10:30am: On location (to be announced). We will meet on location and spend about 45 minutes scouting for the best light and backgrounds and going over the basic concepts of using available light and shade to our advantage. We will then be joined by our young models and their parents and will spend about 2 hours shooting. Margie will be shooting alongside you and answering your questions to help you to get the images you want.

1:15pm-2:30 You will hand over your memory cards so Margie can download them for the afternoon session. Lunch will be on your own.

2:30-5:00 We’ll meet back up at The Spot Studio for a review and discussion of the shoot and a live edit of everyone’s images. The day will end with a group slide show showcasing your new skills.

What you’ll need:

• A DSLR with a full battery and empty memory card and a basic understanding of how to use your camera and its settings
• The DSLR-1 and DSLR-2 evening classes, Full Day Beginner Workshop or equivalent level of experience is a prerequisite
• Any lenses or accessories you want to use
• A handheld reflector if you have one
• An umbrella if it looks like rain as well as sensible clothes and shoes you can easily move around in

What’s not included:

• Cost of lunch
• Parking (if necessary)

2-1/2 hours
Maximum number of students: 20

*Early Registration: $50/person (up to 7 days before class date)
Regular Registration: $60/person

Panoramas are those wide format images you’ve admired that seem to invite you right into the photograph. They are easy to produce using any digital camera and today’s amazing software tools.

Because several images are being seamlessly stitched together, even panoramas made with a compact digital camera or smart phone can often be printed at large and dramatic sizes. It doesn’t require specialized hardware and the results are impressive and satisfying.

This class is for all types of cameras, including DSLRs, pocket cameras and smartphones. Through a combination of live demonstrations and existing panoramic work, you will learn:

• How to select good scenes and subjects for panoramas
• Which lenses are best for different situations
• How to shoot the series of photos
• The difference and benefits of single row vs multi row
• Camera settings for best results
• Tips for shooting handheld panoramas
• When to use a tripod
• When to consider specialized equipment and the options available
• What software is available for processing, both free and paid options
• Printing and displaying your panoramic images

What you’ll need: This is not a hands-on shooting class so you don’t need to bring a camera, but do bring something to take notes with!

Natural Light Teen/Senior Portraiture

*Early Registration: $225/person (up to 7 days before class date)
Regular Registration: $245/person

Saturday, 8am-5pm at The Spot Studio
Maximum number of students is 12, minimum number to make a workshop is 6

Senior Portraits are becoming more important to teens looking to showcase their individuality and style as they finish high school and move out into the world. Staid, traditional portraits are becoming a thing of the past and creative, unique senior portraits are now the style. This opens up a wide range of creative options for photographing seniors and teens but also adds to the challenge of dealing with locations, available light and camera techniques. This workshop is for you if you are a parent wanting to capture better natural light images of your own teens, a photographer looking to start your own senior portrait business or if you simply want to learn some great skills for taking better portraits of teenagers.

This full day workshop will teach you how to take your basic DSLR skills and apply them to create stunning and stylish natural light images. The techniques apply to any age subject but the focus here will be the teen years and senior portraits. It is a combination lecture and hands-on shooting workshop with live models. We will be shooting in and around Deep Ellum for this workshop, but will be discussing many other location and style options for creating a unique experience and final product for your teen subjects. We will touch on business and marketing, but the main thrust is how to create better portraits that reflect the unique personality of your subject. It will be taught by Margie Woods Brown, a local children’s, senior, wedding and portrait photographer. For more information check out Margie’s Bio and Margie Woods Brown website.

This workshop is for those who are already familiar with their cameras and  comfortable with the P-A-S-M (Nikon) or P-Av-Tv-M (Canon) exposure modes, ISO, f-stops, depth of field, shutter speed, motion blur and selecting and using different autofocus modes. If you’re a beginner (or have been shooting for a while but still aren’t comfortable with these concepts) you can take our DSLR-1&2 evening classes or the Beginner DSLR Full Day Workshop first or some other equivalent training.

What you’ll learn in the workshop:

• Which combination of exposure and shooting modes create the look you want to achieve for your portraits
• How to use available light and shade to create stunning images
• How to select backgrounds and environments to bring interest, emotion and fun into your photos
• How to find flattering and interesting perspectives
• Which lens(es) to choose
• Effective and age-appropriate techniques to create a rapport with your subjects
• How to create a personalized experience and look to compliment each teen’s personality and style
• How to use wardrobe and posing to bring out the personality of your subject and make the images uniquely theirs

8am-10am: We will meet at The Spot Studio for a discussion covering basic concepts and how to prepare for a senior portrait photo shoot. Margie will review the basic exposure and focusing modes and show some of her senior portraits, illustrating the tips and concepts to be used on location.

10:30am: On location in Deep Ellum. We will spend about 45 minutes scouting for the best light and backgrounds and going over the basic concepts of selecting backgrounds, and using available light and shade to our advantage. We’ll then be joined by our young models and will spend about 2 hours shooting. Margie will be shooting alongside you demonstrating, and will be available to answer your questions and help you to get the images you want.

1:15pm-2:30 We will break for lunch and you will hand over your memory cards so Margie can download them for the afternoon session.

2:30-5:00 We’ll meet back up at The Spot Studio for a review and discussion of the shoot, as well as a live edit of everyone’s images. The day will end with a group slide show showcasing your new skills.

What you’ll need:

• A DSLR with a full battery and empty memory card and a basic understanding of how to use your camera and its settings
• The DSLR-1 and DSLR-2 evening classes, Full Day Beginner Workshop or equivalent level of experience is a prerequisite.
• Any lenses or accessories you want to use
• A handheld reflector if you have one
• An umbrella if it looks like rain as well as sensible clothes and shoes you can easily move around in

What’s not included:

• Cost of lunch
• Parking (if necessary)

2-1/2 hours
*Early Registration: $50/person (up to 7 days before class date)
Regular Registration: $60/person
Maximum number of students is 20, minimum number to make a class is 8.

Many people buy new cameras and take classes just to get ready for a trip or to improve their travel photography in general. In this evening class we’ll cover a wide spectrum of questions, issues and photographic techniques that apply to traveling and shooting.

Photographer Peter Poulides is uniquely qualified to teach this class. He started his photographic life in Athens, Greece while attending high school. He went on to shoot for Travel & Leisure magazine for several years, creating more than a dozen feature articles and several magazine covers. He also shot for Travel Holiday, Food and Wine, Smithsonian Magazine and several inflight publications. Some of his magazine work is shown on the About page. Early in his career he was named one of the top 100 travel photographers in the world by Travel & Leisure. His travel assignments have taken him around the world and he still has a long list of locations he plans to visit and shoot on his own.

Beyond being able to share your experiences with friends and family, travel photography gives you the ability to record your unique view of the world. The goal is not necessarily to come back with postcard perfect images of all the sites you visit. That’s what postcards are for! Learn to shoot what you really see, what draws your attention. Maybe it’s people, or food, or traffic signs, architecture, gardens, water or crowds. Travel is a personal experience and your photography should reflect your personality. A few great travel shots, printed nicely, can also solve most gift giving dilemmas!

This class is for all levels of photographers using all types of cameras. Even though most of the shots we review will have been shot on a DSLR, the techniques discussed apply to all formats.

• How and what to pack for a trip
• Airport security issues: getting through without delay
• Battery, power and charger considerations
• Data: how to keep your precious image files safe while you’re traveling
• Software: choosing a program for editing your images and the pros and cons of editing on the road with a laptop
• Tripod: yes or no, what type?
• Bags, slings, backpacks, belts and rollers: how to carry your gear without getting hurt or bogged down
• Telling the story: how to cover a location so that you get a good selection of images that delivers a “sense of place”
• Mindset: how to let photography enhance your travel experience by being patient and waiting for the photo to happen
• Scouting and perseverance: why returning to a location again (and again) might be worth it
• Shaking it up: trying new perspectives, limiting your gear to enhance your creativity, maybe even shooting film once in a while !
• People: how to approach your subjects, when to give up and move on
• Letting your pictures shine: displaying your travel photos when you get home, making prints, creating books and slide shows
• Long exposures: shooting in low light and getting those magic photos that are invisible to our eyes

What you’ll need: This is not a hands-on shooting class so you don’t need to bring a camera,  but do bring something to take notes with!

A perfect companion class to this is Shooting Panoramas.