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Digital Photography Workshop - From start to finish including Photoshop - Kansas

Thursday, August 16, 2007 at 9:00 AM - Sunday, August 19, 2007 at 6:00 PM (CT)

Wichita, KS

Ticket Information

Ticket Type Sales End Price Fee Quantity
Standard Rate   more info Ended $390.00 $0.00
Early Bird Registration   more info Ended $350.00 $0.00
usphotographers.com Member Rate   more info Ended $312.00 $0.00
Add membership   more info Ended $30.00 $0.00
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Event Details

Please read ALL of the details below, they are important. 

This workshop will last 4 days and includes everything to get you from ground zero thru doing digital editing with Photoshop. 

SEATING IS LIMITED TO 8 PEOPLE
Members of usphotographers.com can sign up 1 month before anyone else.

Day One

Photography

So you've got a camera and you're disappointed with the results.  Or maybe you're just thinking about going digital and you want to make sure you know what to do with it.

Well if that's the case, this seminar is for you.  I'll lead you through basic photography to make sure you understand how to make a correct exposure and what to do with composition of the photograph.  We'll talk about all the features you need to understand to make consistently good quality photos.  That sounds really simple, and that's because I'm confident that you can be taught to take great photographs. All you need is the desire to do so, and we can do the rest together.

This seminar is geared towards providing you with the basics of photography from the ground up as they relate to Digital (and Film) cameras. Here's some of the many topics we'll discuss:
  • How to select the right ISO and why.
  • How and why to set white balance or select the right film.
  • How to hold your camera and aim it to compose the photograph you're after.
  • How to change the settings (f-stop, shutter speed, etc.) on the camera to achieve the effect you desire in your photos.
  • How and when to use a flash.
  • How to use the Sun to make better outdoor portraits.
  • How to use commonly available materials to produce studio quality portraits, almost anywhere.
  • How to take great photographs in some of the worst conditions.
  • How to come home from your vacation with photos that you'll want to share with everyone.
  • How to position yourself for getting professional looking results with a basic camera.
  • How to buy the camera (if you don't have one) that best fits your needs and photographic interest.
  • How to overcome common problems with focus.
  • How to use your flash to turn good pictures into great photographs.
  • How to manage your digital images and prints, so you can find them when you want to reprint them.


This photo was taken with a Canon 20D digital camera
These are just some of the topics we'll discuss. We'll discuss various cameras to help you understand every topic more thoroughly. You'll have plenty of opportunity to get your questions answered in a way that will be meaningful.

We're going to talk about photographing your friends and family, your pets, your car, your house, nature, and just about anything that you might want to photograph. If you have a camera I encourage you to bring it along so you can get practice on your own camera as we move through these topics. 

This seminar will last about 8 hours with a lunch break at noon for 1 hour. Please come prepared with a notepad as you may want to take notes on some our discussion.  I will also provide material for you to take with you to help in remembering what you've learned.

Day Two

A Kansas Field Trip

 
 This field trip is intended to give my students the opportunity to go out in the field with me to learn more about photography while they apply what they learned the day before. I will plan on a location or locations to shoot, but depending on the weather, we may just run off to do some storm chasing. It is, after all, Kansas, so the schedule can't be cast in stone. 

These trips are planned to be unplanned.  I'm not going  to lock us into a specific target location, but instead we will head out to wherever I think it will be a good day for shooting.  The schedule is not planned to be a 12-hour day, but depending on the circumstances, it could be.  To be more specific, I don't have any intention to be specific about these trips.  My plan is to take people to the places that I like to go and give them the opportunity to learn more about how to shoot.  We may even discover some new places together.

You'll need to be prepared for weather extremes, and keep and eye on the weather the week prior to the trip.  You should also be sure to bring a supply of what you want to drink.  I recommend water and I'll usually carry enough for everyone, but I've run into people who want pop or coffee, so just be aware that we may be many miles away from a Quick Trip or other convenience store.  You need to be sure that your batteries are charged and you've got plenty of extra batteries and memory cards or film.  It would not be at all surprising for somebody to take over 300 shots on one of these trips.

 If you like attention, you'll like these trips because I will take no more than 8 people on each one-day trip.  I will be available all day to help you set up shots and to make suggestions on how to get the shots you're after.  Because I've been to most of the places that we'll go, I may be able to show you how to get the angle you really want on a subject regardless of time of day.  To some degree, our destinations will depend on who has signed up for the trip, and in some cases, that might mean that the trip will be a little more "local" if it will satisfy the needs of the group participating (like the Zoo or Botanica).  By the way, entrance fees for places like that are not included in the fee.  One thing that I can pretty much guarantee is that none of these trips will ever be alike.

 The schedule is always "To Be Determined".  The trip will depart some time in the early morning depending on the weather and route (I'll advise you on details in the day prior to the trip), but you should plan on being gone all day and possibly late into the evening.  If I think we'll have some good sunrise opportunities, we might be leaving very early in the morning, and of course the opposite may be true if a good sunset might be in order. We'll spend the day on the road shooting whatever comes up and working on things you need help with.

 Lunch (and dinner if we're out late), will be provided, but be aware that we will likely be in the wilderness for many hours at a time.  You may want to pack snack bars (or whatever works for you) for the long times that we'll be out.   In some cases I will prepare lunch for us while we're on the road.

These trips will generally start  from my studio at 2300 E Douglas Avenue, Wichita, KS 67214.

 
 

Day Three

Adobe® Photoshop Basics

With the steady growth in the digital photography industry, the need for Photoshop knowledge is more in demand than ever.  This seminar is designed to get you up and running with all of the basic tools that you need to be productive in this popular image editing software.

Although this seminar is geared towards the beginner, we will cover some topics that are useful to many users who are already involved in casual use of Photoshop.  I will provide you with instruction on all of the basic tools and their use with a variety of examples.  You will be provided with images that we will edit during the workshop so you'll have the opportunity to use these tools as you learn them.  After the initial instruction segment of the workshop we'll spend the balance of the day addressing the needs of you the students.  This will give us the opportunity to better understand the variety of ways that Photoshop is being used in the industry.

Here's some of the tools and topics we'll be covering;

Cropping
Marquee tools
Lasso tools
Rubber Stamp/Cloning tool
Eraser
Smudge/Sharpen/Blur
Paint Bucket
Hand tool
Move tool
Magic wand
Paint brush
Line/Pencil tool
Dodge/Burn/Sponge tool
Text tool
Gradient tools
Eye dropper

Layers
Selections and modifying selections
Adjusting color levels
Merging images into a composition
Resizing images for multiple applications
Using filters to handle issues like dust and scratches
Blurring the background of an image to highlight your subject
Using guides to control edits
Replacing colors
Converting images to other formats


Example of modifying an image and cropping to make a composite
This is just an example of the topics we'll discuss. Our objective is to make sure you leave with a grasp of the tools in Photoshop that are most important to you.  Meanwhile, we'll seek to expose you to tools that will become important to you as your experience in Photoshop continues.

You will have to bring your own computer to this workshop and you'll need to have Photoshop installed and running.  Doors will open 1 hour prior to the seminar start time for computer setup.  Please be ready to start at the published start time.

I will be teaching this workshop with Photoshop Version 7.  The tools that I'm teaching exist in almost all versions of Photoshop including Elements.  However, the location and function of the tools in Elements will vary dramatically from the full version of Photoshop.  You will still benefit from the workshop if you are using Elements, but you MUST have a good deal of familiarity with Elements prior to this workshop.

This seminar will run all day with a lunch break starting around 1:00 P.M..

Day Four

 

•NEW• Adobe® Photoshop Level 2


Compostions & Advanced Creativity

Once you've learned the basics and understand the tools, you need a little more meat in your educational diet to get you moving into real image production. This session will provide you with methods that will help you produce professional compositions and retouched photos.

This session is intended for students who have attended my Photoshop Basics seminar (or class) and have a full understanding of the tools pallette.  Because this session is for more advanced users you will need to have images on your computer that you can work with to produce your own compositions and retouching jobs. 

Here's some of the tools and topics we'll be covering;

  • Creating a screened layer as a matte
  • Merging a variety of print sizes into a composition
  • Creating holes in the matte for the prints inserted
  • Using selection modifications to blend images into collages
  • Modifying selections to create border effects
  • Using Masks for retouching
  • Using Masks to create hand-colored black & white effects

Photoshop Compositions

 Photoshop Hand-coloring sample



We will concentrate on advanced creativity techniques in this seminar and teach you how to quickly create advanced image output.  We will also show you how to quickly and easily retouch photos for maximum production. Our objective is to make sure you leave with the tools you need to be productive with your images, and with the ability to offer more products to your customers.

You will have to bring your own computer to this workshop and you'll need to have Photoshop installed and running.  Doors will open 1 hour prior to the seminar start time for computer setup.  Please be ready to start at the published start time.

I will be teaching this workshop with Photoshop Version 7.  The tools that I'm teaching exist in almost all versions of Photoshop however Elements may be lacking some of these features.  You will still benefit from the workshop if you are using Elements, but you MUST have a strong familiarity with Elements prior to this workshop.

This seminar will run all day with a lunch break starting around 1:00 P.M..

If you would like to sign up for any of these seminars individually go to photoseminars.eventbrite.com for a complete schedule. 

You can also take advantage the Field Trips individually by going to photofieldtrips.eventbrite.com for a listing of available dates.