Digital Photo Academy instructors are available to accommodate personal schedules and provide a half-day experience with 3 hours of instruction to suit the needs of individual photography learners and groups.
Typically, the session will start with a detailed discussion about your specific camera equipment and photographic needs and vision, then progress into an in-the-field shoot that matches the photography goals of the student. The shoot can focus on landscape, portrait, architecture, or many other categories to suit your individual interests.
This private session will end with a comprehensive demonstration of a variety of post-capture workflow tasks and techniques. The time allocation in each section of the course will vary depending on your individual needs and the portion of the day purchased. Both class options include a meal break to be scheduled in based on the scheduling preferences requested by the participant.
Topics to be discussed:
Camera Discussion
Are you looking to purchase a new camera, or do you already own the camera that you plan to work with over an extended period of time? The instructor will work with you to better understand the settings of your camera if need be and delve into further exploration of the full capabilities of your equipment.
Is it best for you to shoot JPEG, RAW, or any specific image size? Are you shooting for your website, a large print for your living room wall, or Facebook? Do you have a specific photographic category of interest, such as: flowers, landscape, wildlife, portrait, sports, natural light, studio light, etc.? This information will help the instructor advise you of ways to best use your camera, including relevant lenses and accessories.
In-the-Field-Shooting
Your instructor has an extensive awareness of in-the-field-shooting and can further access private locations and venues not ordinarily available to the public. Perhaps this option is not a necessity, but you feel that you still might benefit from expert instruction while taking pictures at a local zoo, an arboretum, or an antebellum mansion. Perhaps sports photography is of interest. If so, many Digital Photo Academy Instructors shoot for city newspapers and might have ideas and access to local competitions for you to hone your skills.
Depending on your preferred category in picture taking, ranging from nature and wildlife to street photography, to studio portraiture, and everything in between, your instructor will tailor the curriculum of the class to match your vision. Your private class will include a location that ties into your personal interest. Your instructor will also share an extensive array of techniques that will help you capture portfolio-worthy images. Composition is an art form, and you will develop your own personal style, but your instructor will share some classic techniques that will allow you to take a composition from your thoughts and instill it into the final image.
Post Capture
After sharing techniques on creating powerful images, an important aspect of the photographic pursuit is learning how to organize your body of work in a way that makes for convenient retrieval and sharing with friends and family. At this phase of the day, your instructor will help you closely examine each image to analyze patterns in how you see the world. Are you relying on a specific perspective? Do you tend to place the main subject in a specific portion within the frame? Do you tend to shoot close to your subject or further from your subject? As you see patterns in your shooting styl,e you can embrace them or change them and inevitably recognize the possibilities in future photo ops.
In today's digital world, there are ways to compensate for mistakes and limitations that may have appeared in the field. Was the lighting too flat or too harsh? Did you not quite capture your frame correctly, and wish you had shot at a better angle? This session will include a selection of images shot that day with a variety of Photoshop adjustments to be demonstrated and discussed.
Important Scheduling Notes:
- Scheduling for private lessons is flexible and subject to instructor availability.
- In the rare event the instructor is unavailable during the booked date and time, the instructor will reach out and reschedule you based on your availability. You also have an option for an immediate refund.
- Course locations are TBD and subject to change. Exact locations will be communicated prior to class.
- Please know that the fee does not change if you bring along friends or family members, if you want to divide the hourly cost.
