Photography Lessons

1-on-1 Canon 70D DSLR Photography Lesson with Jody in St. Petersburg Florida

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Jody composing a landscape photograph during our 1-on-1 DSLR photography lesson in downtown St. Petersburg FloridaThis morning I met Jody in downtown St. Petersburg Florida for a 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson with her just purchased Canon 70D.  Like many past students, Jody's interest in photography was growing and she wanted to take the step up from point-and-shoot to DSLR.  I have taught dozens of such people and am always glad to be able to save people the years of grinding I did teaching myself by concentrating all my current years of experience into a two-hour info packed photography lesson!

Within the first sixty minutes of the lesson I had Jody looking through her viewfinder using the camera's meter to assist her in setting the shutter speed while shooting in manual mode with a daylight default aperture of f/11.  From there I taught her how to control DoF in order to create a shot with bokeh before concluding with some tips for shooting landscapes.  Jody now has a headstart on learning how to use her DSLR and I look forward to seeing the results.

1-on-1 Canon 5D Mark III DSLR Photography Lesson in St. Petersburg Florida with Dan

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Dan and his brand new Canon 5D Mark III during our 1-on-1 photography lesson in downtown St. Petersburg

I met Dan and his brand new Canon 5D Mark III in downtown St. Petersburg for my first 1-on-1 DSLR photography lesson on a weekday evening in awhile.  As you can see things got dark, but that allowed for some cool lighting effects by zooming in while pressing the shutter.  The Canon 5D Mark III is a professional level camera (it does not even have a built in popup flash), so I was surprised to learn it was Dan's first ever DSLR of any kind!  He went right to the top after using point and shoot digital cameras previously.  I like the all in attitude!

No matter what DSLR a student comes to me with, the teaching process is the same.  Likewise, once you learn one DSLR, you can pretty much pick up any other DSLR and shoot in manual mode (well, at least within the same brand fairly easily).  After explaining to Dan how aperture, shutter speed and ISO work together to produce a good exposure we walked along Beach Drive and with the fading light got to test the super high ISO ability of his Canon.  We even used ISO 25,600 for a few very low light moving subject shots where the shutter speed needs to be 1/500th.  I was impressed.

1-on-1 Nikon D5100 DSLR Photography Lesson 2 with Bob in St. Petersburg Florida

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Bob returns with his Nikon D5100 for a second 1-on-1 DSLR photography lesson in downtown St. Petersburg FloridaBob returned to downtown St. Petersburg with his Nikon D5100 for a second 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson after traveling around the southeast of the U.S. this summer.  He told me he kept shooting in manual mode (great) though now had some questions about what and when to change for getting exposure just right.  I have written a photography tip blog post on this very subject, where I state you should change your shutter speed first.  So what happens once you run out of shutter speed (i.e. hit 1/60)?  This is what I went into the most detail on with Bob at the start of our lesson refreshing him on shooting in manual mode and letting him know my thought process for why I adjust shutter speed first, then aperture, then finally ISO if necessary.  In this way, there is never a question of what shutter speed one should use, you use the shutter speed necessary to get the exposure you want.  Then it is a matter of what you need to adjust if you reach the handheld shutter speed limit of 1/60th (for wide angle lenses).  

After that exposure chat we walked around the downtown skyscrapers practicing it.  By having Bob make adjustments while looking through the viewfinder, I was teaching him to be not only efficient in changing settings, but also accurate as the camera has to be pointed at the actual subject in order to get a proper meter reading.  I feel confident with more practice Bob will be able to manually shoot in any lighting conditions and get the exposure he wants.  Now what to do about shutter speed once he gets a tripod . . . ?

1-on-1 Nikon D5100 DSLR Rooftop Photography Lesson with Lisa in St. Petersburg Florida

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Up at the top of a parking garage in downtown St. Petersburg Florida, Lisa practices shooting in manual mode with her Nikon D5100The last time I met Lisa in downtown St. Petersburg for a 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson with her Nikon D5100 the most powerful thunderstorm of the year hit!  It allowed us to get some cool funnel cloud and lightning shots, but it also made us nervous.  The weather for this morning's third of four photography lessons was the usual Florida sunshine with only the persistent heat to deal with.  

Lisa is taking a trip to Tennessee later this month and wanted to get some practice in photographing wide open scenery.  Now that The Pier is closed, I suggested we go to the top of a parking garage for the best high views.  I also gave Lisa a thorough review of shooting in manual mode and kept trying to stress there is no need to ever ask what shutter speed should be used, the meter tells you what shutter speed is needed for a proper exposure.  The only thing you need to remember about shutter speed is not to go below the minimum speed for hand holding a shot (1/60th in most cases).

I look forward to seeing her photos of Tennessee mountains and rivers.

Silly Goose at Crescent Lake Park St. Petersburg Florida DSLR Photography Lesson with Stacy

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A goose being silly in Crescent Lake Park in St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 200 1/320This morning I met long time DSLR Photography Lesson student Stacy in Crescent Lake Park, where I knew it was very likely we would be able to photograph a goose or two.  I suggested she bring a blanket so that she could lie down comfortably on the grass in order to be able to get at eye level to the birds.  I got down low myself for the shot above.  

In this lesson I pointed out even more to Stacy that the meter gives just a suggestion, as to get a good exposure of the geese in the deep shade they were standing in, it was necessary to use settings that the meter thought would result in an overexposed shot.  That was mostly due to the background being much brighter than the foreground.  Also, I recommended that there is no need to change aperture to fix the exposure.  The aperture should be set first (when shooting in manual mode) so to set the depth of field, and then the shutter speed should be set as needed to get the desired exposure.  

Nikon D40 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson with Jennifer in St. Petersburg Florida

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Jennifer with her Nikon D40 in North Straub Park during our 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson in St. Petersburg Florida

Jennifer received a 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson as a gift from her husband upon getting a Nikon D40 DSLR.  I can think of no better gift to give a new DSLR owner than a 2-hour lesson that will jump start her/his practical photography knowledge!  That is just what I started teaching Jennifer, how to go about in a very practical manner making a well exposed and sharp photograph with her DSLR.  It is not that difficult of a process to learn, but it is one that needs to be learned as you cannot just simply pick up a DSLR and use it in auto-mode.  Well you can, but there is not much point in that as a DSLR likes to be told what to do, i.e. used in manual exposure mode. 

Jennifer, like many people that take their first photography lesson with me, claimed to know "nothing" when we met in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida for our photography lesson.  Of course that was not entirely true as she knew what shutter speed was to a degree, and aperture too, plus other things.  What most people do not know is the very exact five steps you can take for getting a good shot with a DSLR every single time.  Once you know those five things, you can then really focus on the creative aspects of photography and not think about the tech stuff so much.  

For supposedly not knowing anything, Jennifer caught on well to the five step process for shooting in manual exposure mode and I am confident she will be able to use it on her own after just a single 2-hour lesson.  

1-on-1 Nikon D3100 DSLR Photography Lesson with Margaret in St. Petersburg Florida

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Margaret using her Nikon D3100 during our 1-on-1 DSLR photography lesson in downtown St. Petersburg FloridaYesterday evening I met Margaret in downtown St. Petersburg for our first 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson.  There were dark clouds all around, but all they provided was a nice somewhat less hot cover for our lesson time and no rain at all.  The best of both worlds!  Margaret was not a first time DSLR owner as a majority of my photography students are.  She owned a Nikon D40 before recently buying a Nikon D3100, but all that time she had just been using auto-mode.  Now with the new DSLR, she finally was ready to learn to take control of her camera.

As I showed Margaret around her Nikon D3100 I explained that it only takes at most the setting of five things on the camera to make a well exposed and sharp image in any given shooting situation.  Beyond that we also talked about the benefits of shooting in RAW and how an external flash would help her shoot indoors better.  

After that intro we walked around the downtown St. Petersburg waterfront and were treated to a mothership looking cloud formation for a little landscape photography practice.  I also instructed Margaret on how to control the background (in focus or out of focus) using aperture and focal length.  I look forward to seeing her photographs shot in manual exposure mode from now on!