OK…here we go!  This might be all over the place, but I’ll try to keep it together.  And I’ll put this out there right now; this is my first foray into trying to show someone how I shoot, so if it feels like I’m shooting (pun #1) from the hip, I probably am.  And, an even more important point – these classes will be based around what I know about image making, which is limited to what I’ve been able to teach myself in the last 6ish years.  I’m still teaching myself photography, and I hope these classes can show you how to do that as well.

We’ll lean HEAVILY towards DSLR shooting, particularly in the 1 on 1 sessions.  If you’re more comfortable with, or only have, a point-n-shoot, we can definitely discuss that more as well.  And, if those last 2 sentences didn’t make any english sense to you, please ask…I’ll be happy to explain.

Small Group Classes:

These classes will be limited to 5 people per class, on a first come, first served basis.  To reserve a spot, the course fee will need to be paid in full.  If you’re thinking about attending any of these, get a hold of someone at the studio ASAP.  We can’t reserve a spot until the fee is paid.  And on that note, each class is $75 and will be held at the studio.

The dates are:

• Wednesday April 28th 6-9   –   Camera Control – ISO, aperture, shutter speed
• Wednesday May 12th 6-9   –   Digital Darkroom – file management, workflow, editing
• Wednesday May 26th 6-9   –   Lighting – natural, on-camera, off-camera, mixing

Camera Control

To me, this is where it all starts.  If you don’t know what the camera is doing, you’re never going to get any better at making images.  ’P’ mode works in very few situations.  Actually taking control of the camera is essential to getting YOUR creativity into the image.  And seriously, it’s easier than you think.  MOST of the ’stuff’ on your camera can be ignored…understanding ISO, aperture and shutter speed, and how each plays into your image will allow you to make better images, more often, in more situations.

Digital Darkroom

This should actually be first, but I realize most people just want to shoot and might not KNOW that they SHOULD care about this part…by the end of Camera Control, I’ll have you convinced at just how important this part is, particularly to digital photographers.  Don’t skip this class just because it might sound boring on the surface – I promise it wont be!

Lighting

Oh baby, do I love me some light!  I can’t stop looking at, analyzing, playing with or talking about lighting.  Ask Connie…it’d be a problem if it wasn’t a passion!  :D (ooh…that was good…tweeted!)  Understanding lighting and how YOU are in CONTROL of it will make for better images instantly.  From simple to complex, we’ll talk about it all.  Class note – if I jump around like a monkey trying to make my point on lighting, toss me a banana and wait for me to calm down…I like it THAT much!

I’m going to focus (pun #2) on having fun in these classes –  cause seriously, has anyone ever picked up a camera with intent of irritating themselves?  It’s about creativity and sharing with the world how you see life happening one frame at a time.  I can’t tell you too much about the class setting itself, cause THAT’S one of the surprises for attending.  I will say this however; I’m going for MORE than you’re expecting!

Alright…so that brings us to the 1 on 1 classes…a tad less info here as these are going to be specific to each person.  But here are the details:

1 on 1 Photo Classes:

• Scheduled almost any time there’s an opening for your schedule and mine
• First class is a 2 hr intro class at $75.  The intro class is designed to help me better understand your needs so I can tailor future classes accordingly.
• After the intro class, sessions are $50/hr, booked in 1-3 hour blocks
• You can also schedule a batch of classes for a reduced rate – 6 session hours for $250, scheduled however you’d like.
• Most classes will start in the studio – we’ll decide together where were headed from there if location work is the order of the day
• I have a basic plan for how I’d like these to go, but it’s YOUR PERSONAL class.  We’ll work on whatever you’d like.

Wow! Some days just stand out against the rest, and yesterday was one of them.  I spent the morning talking about the utility of Social Media to a room full of non-profit organizations from our area.  The last time I was that nervous was probably shooting my first wedding.  :O  I was really looking forward to the class since we were covering a topic I truly enjoy, but when it came time to get some sort of plan together for what to talk about in my teenie little 3 hour window, I really had a hard time with it.  Part of it had to do with the material; as much time as I spend learning about Social Media and how to use it for our business, I spend an equal amount of time understanding that I have a lot to learn.  But I guess that’s probably also WHY I enjoy it so much as well.  And part of the struggle had to do with myself…the pressure I put on myself to do something just a little different than might be expected. This trait plays itself out in a lot of what I do and I think it comes from just trying to live each day as big and as loud as I possibly can.  I want to remember every day because of the things that make it different from all the other days of my life.  It’s a challenging, educational and fun way to live!

Beyond the nerves and the sweating however, it was exactly the kind of day I really look forward to.  It was something new…something different!  As the class zoomed past in a blur my nerves of course turned to excitement.  The questions and the feedback from those attending really put me in my groove and it all just started to flow out.   It really was awesome.  Thank you Joy at the Berwick Area United Way for asking me to do this.  You pushed me to try something new and I really appreciate the opportunity to do so…

Needless to say, this week has been a heavy one.  Aside from the class and other projects, there’s still ‘the work’ that needs to get done.  My backlog of editing is pretty ‘amazing’, if I can use that word describe it…?  But I AM getting there.  Thank you everyone that might be waiting on images for your patience to let me do this as best as I can for you.  Seriously, it means a lot to me…

In the next few days I’ll be kicking up a post about some photography classes the studio will be offering in the not too distant future.  The classes will either be the 1 on 1 variety where you have my complete attention and excitement about photography.  And while I have a pretty good plan for ‘things’ to cover, the 1 on 1 classes will be very geared toward answering the questions you have.  I see these classes as pretty customizable to your needs.  The other flavor of lesson will be in small groups (perhaps 3-5 people) where each session is focused on something specific.  One day spent on ISO control and how to use it in your photography…another day spent on lighting theory and ideas…etc.  It’ll make more sense in the blog focused on that topic…hopefully I’ll get it out this weekend.

We’re headed down to Philly today to visit some family and give the girls a little big city culture.  We’re all pretty pumped for the experience!  Before we head out I wanted to get some new images posted.  Some of these are from the end of last season, and a couple are from the beginning of this week.  This is the kind of post that on the surface may seem less thought out or focused that most…To me however, it’s an example of what I like to shoot and the variety of experiences that make being a photographer truly awesome.  Thanks for looking.

Rock On and enjoy your weekend!

Definitely one of the coolest parts of this gig is talking to people about not only the images we’re about to work on for them, but also about the images they may want to make on their own.  DLSR camera’s have made it easy and affordable to make better images.  The feedback, either instantly from the back of the camera, or shortly thereafter on a computer screen, give you a chance to make adjustments and corrections, reshoot and see first hand the results of those changes, usually immediately.  At least for me, this is a GREAT way to learn.  It’s linear and just makes sense.

The question I get asked most often is probably ‘what does it take to be a professional photographer?‘  The quick answer, a business degree!  I get the feeling most people don’t want to hear that, but it’s all but true.  That said, it doesn’t take a degree of any sort to make better pictures; just the desire to do so.  If the image is pleasing to you, you’re good to go.  Everyone has opinions, preferences, likes and dislikes, all of which can help you see things from different points of view.  In the end however, being comfortable with yourself and what you’re doing with a camera is all that really matters.

When I get into a conversation about gear, particularly with someone new to photography, I bring up the lens in the image here; the 50mm f/1.8.  Both Nikon and Cannon make it, as I’m sure many other camera and lens manufacturers do as well.  In the ‘bang for your buck’ category, this lens stands alone, BIG TIME.  Nikon’s runs about $120, Cannon’s is about $10 cheaper.  When lenses regularly go for $1500.00+, the 50mm f/1.8 feels nearly free!  It’s durable (the one in the image here is from my dads old film Nikon…its been beaten, dropped, tossed, shipped and forgotten about by various members of my family for 20+ years, and still takes a razor sharp image.).  It’s feather light, awesome in low-light situations and IT DOESN’T ZOOM!  I’m not going to get into the ‘prime vs. zoom’ argument here, that’s for someone else’s blog…but the fact that this lens is fixed at 50mm is WHY I like it so much.

This lens (and all other primes) remove the ability to zoom in or out at the the lens in your attempts to make a better image.  Often, and I’m hella guilty of this myself, you’ll snap an image that looks NOTHING like what you were going for.  With a zoom lens on, who hasn’t just zoomed in or out and reshot the same image?  There are definitely times when that really might be all the fix you need, but I’m willing to bet in most situations you’re just closer to or further away from the same cruddy picture.  The 50mm doesn’t give you that option.  The only thing you can do is change YOUR position relative to your subject.  Once you start moving all sorts of new possibilities open up.  It forces you to open your minds eye to different approaches to your shot.  Move left, move right, get on a ladder, hug the ground; different scenarios for making something awesome start to materialize quick.

I can go on all day about this rad little workhorse.  Mine’s seen greener pastures, but still does what I ask of it.  I use it almost every day and wouldn’t think of putting a gear bag together without this lens.  If you’re looking around for something that will invigorate and inspire your shooting, give this little guy a try…

Rock On!

More blogs on the way:

• 1 on 1 and Small Group Photography Classes
• More Recent Shoots

Stay tuned…

I was digging around some old drives and ran across a few shots of Jazzy’s dance class from about 15 months ago.  Jazzy doesn’t dance anymore, but these will be cute to me forever.

Snap shots that have definitely grown on me since last viewed…

Have a great weekend…!  :D

Getting ready to order the next set of ads to hang down at Fuel Fitness here in Berwick.  Seriously AWESOME people to work with – Marc, Kevin and the rest of the team rock!  Julie, Andrea and I have 2 more shoots planned in the coming months to round out a series of ‘active lifestyle’ images I’ve wanted to shoot for some time.  In March or April we’re going to move the looks outside and get a little gritty with it.  Some time in June (there’s not much time left in that month with some of the other things we have planned for then) we’ll be heading up to the Appalachian Trail for some backpacking/trail hiking radness…can’t wait!

Rock On!

One of these days I’ll figure out a proper way to post one of these polls…until then, I hope this sloppy layout doesn’t give anyone a migraine…

Kat sent over her designs for Lindsey’s chocolate cookbook cover early this eve.  So cool…really diggin how she incorporated the feel of the shoot right in to the layout.  Thanks Kat for doing such a rad job on hair, makeup and covers.  This was a true team effort from start to finish!

If you have a second, case a vote for your favorite, and thanks for playing along…

It was an easy decision to decide to start incorporating new ’stuff’ in to this blog.  So here we go.  This wont be extensive or deep…I just have a question.  What is Google Buzz about and how are you using it?  OK, so that’s closer to 2 questions…whatever.  I’ve been doing a little homework on social media marketing for a class I’m doing for the United Way here in Berwick in a couple of weeks.  I use Twitter and Facebook and blogs for the most part, but I’m always interested in what’s happening in this field.  Last week Google Buzz hit the scene and now it’s all you run across when reading up on this topic.

I’m asking here because, while I don’t use Gmail, I realize LOTS of people do.  I have one, but only just opened it…and it was really only for research purposes…I haven’t done ANYTHING with it yet.  So, to those of you that do spend some time in front of Gmail, are you seeing and/or using Buzz…

That’s about it…can someone shed some light on it for me…?  Thanks!

Wanted to take a quick second and post a few more of the shots from Lindsey’s Chocolate Cookbook shoot.  The original plan was to hold off until Kat had worked up the actual cover layout, but after finding out she was working on a few (in the 3-5 range) I figured I’d get these up now and do something a bit different with the covers.  I shouldn’t be the only person enjoying Kat’s mad layout & design skills.  I thought it would be more fun to post all of them, run a little poll and see what everyone else thought.  As soon as the covers are done (about 2 weeks) we’ll be doing just that.  Until then…enjoy these!

I have to say thank you again to Lindsey for rockin this out like a pro.  Her shoot submission sold itself; from her concept, to the way she presented it, the choice was pretty easy.  Kat getting on board for hair and makeup was basically key to wrapping up this look, and Mollie and Jonathan offering up their retro kitchen was the cherry on the top of this chocolate sundae.  From start to almost finished, this has been an amazing shoot to be part of.  Looking forward to closing it out when we see Kat’s final designs.  You all rock!

Quick Note – We’re planting the seeds of a new project that takes ‘FUN’ (personally one of my favorite past times!) and glues it together with ‘SOCIAL AWARENESS’ in the hopes of getting people involved in projects in an engaging and interesting way.  Being responsible doesn’t have to be boring!  If you get a second, jump over to www.300AlmostNakedPeople.com and give it a read.   I’d love to hear anyone’s thoughts on this project…and if anyone is interested in helping out or adding to the experience, please do drop me a line.  That said, cake is already covered, so pick something else…thank you Leah and Tara!  :D

GOOD BEITZ! (what ROCK ON sounds like when your ears are filled with chocolate syrup!)  ;P

It’s been a bit since the last post…which wasn’t really a post anyway (shoulda probably just tweeted that thought).  Anyway, I grabbed a few things from over the last few weeks/months and slammed together some images that I dig.  I dig these for the images they are, but also because of the people involved in making them; rock-stars, lovers, studs, and friends.  People that live a little louder than the average background din of life in some certain way.  Thank you all for doing your part…

Before I blast off:  Back in December we ran a little contest to get people to think long and hard about the life creative.  This Friday we’ll finally get a chance to shoot the winning idea.  Lindsey Beiter hit it hard with a great idea for her personal dream.  We’ll be shooting a few different images that I personally hope to see her use some day in a recipe book for her dream of being a chocolatier.  The grand-slam will be at the end of the shoot when we’ll be pouring a gallon or so of chocolate over her and rockin out a cover shot for said book.

I’ll be asking Kat, our rock-star editor and graphic design guru (not to mention make-up artist), to slam together a cover layout for Lindsey’s future book as well.  Should be fun!  I’ll also be shooting a bit of video footage of the day so people can see some of what we do on shoots like this.

We have some footage from some other recent shoots in the cooker as well…keep an eye out for that.

And lastly…a shout out to Jonathan and Mollie for use of their quaint and totally idea appropriate kitchen for this Friday’s shoot…THANK YOU!

Rock on!

Still trying to decide if we’re headed out to shoot in Oak St. Part of me thinks it would rock…the other part wonders how much water the studio gear is designed to withstand…?

I’ll figure this out soon…