Photography Lessons

Digital Photo Editing Lesson with Stacy - prom couple before and after

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The past few weeks I have been teaching former Morean Arts Center photography student, Stacy, how to develop a Mac digital photo editing workflow.  She is new to Mac as well, so I have been showing her some of my top tips for using OS X as efficiently as possible (hint, use Expose every day).  She also got the same apps I have so she could learn my exact photo editing workflow which starts in Aperture 3, then Color Efex Pro 3, then finally Photoshop CS5.  

Stacy made this photo of her daughter and her boyfriend on their junior prom night.  No flash was used, only natural light.  Here is the process for how the photo was transformed:

Aperture 3 workflow:

  • white balance slider increased toward cooler (blue)
  • shadows slider increased
  • mid-level contrast slider increased
  • dodging brush used on all skin areas

Color Efex Pro 4 (she has 4, I use 3):

  • Polarization filter applied
  • Pro Contrast filter applied

Photoshop CS5 (approximate steps):

  • Quick Select Tool used on all skin areas
  • Dodge Brush used selectively
  • Healing Brush used for blemish removal
  • Clone Stamp Tool used for more complex blemish removal and slight skin softening in general
  • Dodge Brush used in highlights mode to brighten eyes & teeth
  • Clone Stamp Tool used to lighten under the eyes
  • Quick Select Tool used on water
  • Contrast adjustment made selectively to water
  • Quick Select Tool used on sky
  • Highlights adjustment made selectively to sky
  • Saturation adjustment made selectively to sky
  • Unsharp Mask filter applied

None of these individual techniques is advanced.  To a properly trained Photoshop professional they might even seem crude.  However, what each technique lacks in complexity, the complexity comes from knowing when and how to use each one to accomplish a photo retouching goal.  At each stage of editing the photo looked better.  Through experience it can be learned how to keep adding yet another stage to one's editing workflow to make a photograph reach its full potential, or in some cases, save a photo that would otherwise be culled.

1-on-1 Digital Photography Lesson with Sony Camera in downtown St. Petersburg Florida with Harvey

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Harvey photographing a pelican coming in for a landing during our digital photography lesson in St. Petersburg FloridaI have been teaching 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lessons in downtown St. Petersburg for almost four years now.  In that time I believe I have only twice before taught someone with a non-DSLR camera.  My reasoning for that is that there is a uniformity to DSLRs even across brands allowing me to quickly show a person how to shoot in manual mode.  Non-DSLRs have no such uniformity and it took quite some time just figuring out how to change the aperture on Harvey's Sony digital camera.  Although it took more time than usual, I was able to figure out how to use the camera in full manual mode and thus began teaching my 5-step process to Harvey.

He kept asking me, like many people do, "which settings should I use for this and that," which I can never answer because unless I am looking at the same subject and light, I cannot really say.  This is why I stressed to him and to others that I teach a process that allows you to determine which settings to use on your own.  Of course there are basic default settings one can start out with in typical shooting situations, and those can be found in my photography tips section, but I cannot answer questions that contain the words "always" and "settings."

Eventually Harvey became a bit more comfortable, and accepting, of shooting in manual exposure mode.

Canon T4i 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson in St. Petersburg with John

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John with his new Canon T4i during our 1-on-1 photography lesson in downtown St. Petersburg FloridaOn a surprisingly crisp Florida morning in May I met John in downtown St. Petersburg for a 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson.  His interest in photography has been growing leading him to purchase a Canon T4i making the transition from point-and-shoot to the DSLR world.  He had also starting reading up on photography before we met so he had familiarity with photography terms, but just needed help seeing how they all relate and also simply how to set them on his DSLR.  

After I showed him around his Canon T4i we walked around the waterfront area practicing how to use the meter to get a baseline exposure, and then how to read the histogram after making the shot to see how the results really came out.  I showed John how to control DoF with aperture and focal length and then concluded the lesson with a little shade versus direct sunlight portrait practice.  

1-on-1 Sony A390 DSLR Photography Lesson in St. Petersburg Florida with Josh

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Josh focusing his Sony A390 DSLR during our 1-on-1 photography lesson in St. Petersburg FloridaJosh received a gift certificate from his wife for a 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson which he cashed in this past Saturday.  I met him in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida on a fine spring morning.  It was my first time to get hands on with the Sony A390 DSLR.  Josh had been using it mostly on auto-modes and as happens with such exposure modes was not getting consistent results.  From the start of our 2-hour photography lesson I had him shooting in manual mode to start to take control over his images and be able to get well exposed and sharp shots in any shooting conditions.

There are many things to learn about DSLR photography, from just very practical things like how to safely and properly change lenses.  Then there is how to review images accurately in the field and also how to simply hold a DSLR in the most stable position.  I teach all these things in addition to how to use make a photograph in manual mode.  We also packed in how to control depth of field (DoF) and how to make portraits in the shade.  It was a photography knowledge filled lesson!

Night Photography Lesson with Jim in downtown St. Petersburg Florida

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Jim practices handheld night photography shots using a 50mm f/1.8 lens in downtown St. Petersburg FloridaIt has been nearly two years since I first had a 1-on-1 Photography Lesson with Jim.  That one was out in Sawgrass Lake Park.  Our second lesson was very different.  We met in downtown St. Petersburg in the late evening for a specialized night photography lesson, focusing on handheld shots using a 50mm f/1.8 lens.  Jim is a great fan of theme parks and often visits them at night when all the attractions are colorfully lit up.  Downtown St. Pete makes for a passable substitute as many of the restaurants and buildings along beach drive use their fare share of vibrant LED lighting.

Once the sun went down and it was truly night, the settings used for hand holding such shots get pretty set in stone, though not without some room for tweaking.  Basically I instructed Jim to use f/1.8 ISO 800 and 1/60th most of the night.  As some buildings and signs had varying levels of brightness, he could sometimes use ISO 400 and even a few times ISO 200.  Still, without a tripod, night photography even at f/1.8 is going to require high ISOs.

I look forward to seeing what colorful and creative night theme park shots Jim makes on his next trip over to Orlando.

Canon T3i 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson in St. Petersburg with Jahaan

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Jahaan composing a landcape shot with her Canon T3i during our 1-on-1 DSLR photography lesson in St. Petersburg FloridaEven though it is still only mid-April, my first 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson with Jahaan and her Canon T3i felt like the first lesson of the summer!  Jahaan likes to make cakes and was not happy with her photographs of them.  She felt they were not preserving the memory of her baking efforts properly.  So she took a general photography lesson with me to learn how to use her Canon properly in manual mode.  She can then take those skills and not only apply them to photographing her cakes, but anything else as well.

Jahaan had heard of most common photography terms, but did not know how they worked together to make a well exposed and sharp photograph in any given shooting conditions.  Having taught hundreds of 1-on-1 photography lessons, my methodology for teaching how to do this step by step is very refined and possible to be understood by even a total beginner.  Of course having some prior photography knowledge helps!

Jahaan was quick to learning her way manually around her DSLR and using the meter and reading the histogram to see how well a shot came out in the field.  I look forward to seeing her cake photographs!

Canon T3i 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson in St. Petersburg Dali Museum with Jeannie

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Jeannie in reflection during our photography lesson at the Dali Museum St. Petersburg FloridaAnother location change for our 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson as Jeannie finished up her 4-pack of lessons at the new Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida.  The museum itself makes for many architecture photography opportunities, and the grounds feature a melting clock bench, tree with ribbon messages blowing in the wind among other interesting features.  

Jeannie did get a Canon 430 EX II Speedlite since our last lesson which we used to practice candid portraits in shade, direct sunlight and diffused light.  We also went deeper into composition style and tips for framing a more flattering shot.  

Over the course of her 8-hours of 1-on-1 instruction time I showed Jeannie many of the tools necessary to make successful photographs in any given shooting conditions, be they outdoors or indoors.  I look forward to seeing Jeannie again in the future for more advanced photography lessons.