Online Photography Classes

Have you ever wanted to improve your photography? Having a photo that pops can really make your digital and paper scrapbooking layouts shine. I am now running two monthly photography classes at Digital Scrapbook Place, ideal for improving your images.

First we have DSU151 – Taking Better Snapshots

DSU151 – Taking Better Snap Shots

Take your snapshots to the next level in this 4-week class. Topics and assignments will focus on avoiding common snapshot pitfalls, and learning techniques that will make your snapshots an even more meaningful centre of your scrapbook pages.

Prerequisites: This is a beginner-level class. Students must have a digital camera, or 35mm camera and scanner for this class.

Cost: $30 for 4 weekly sessions. Registering the 1st-5th for the current term incurs a $10 late fee.

Class starts again 1st of next month. It is not too late to sign up! Click here to find out more.

 

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For those of you who want something a little more advanced, DSU152 – Delving Into Exposure will be perfect for you!

DSU152 – Delving Into Exposure

Ever wanted to learn more about exposure and how to use your camera in Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Manual modes? This is the class for you!

Gain better control and creativity over your photography by learning the in depth essentials about shutter speed, aperture and ISO the three factors that affect your exposures. Learn how to discern well exposed images from bad, and how to make the most out of your camera to enable you to create truly beautiful images. Develop your eye for exposure and learn how to see your subject how your camera does.

Prerequisites: This is an intermediate-level class. Students must have a digital SLR, or 35mm SLR and scanner for this class.

Cost: $30 for 4 weekly sessions. Registering the 1st-5th for the current term incurs a $10 late fee.

Class starts again on the 1st. It is not too late to sign up! Click here to find out more!

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Experimenting with Shutter Speeds

Have you ever thought about experimenting with Shutter Speeds on your camera? You can achieve some interesting effects by using slower than normal shutter speeds. Unfortunately not all camera’s are able to do it but most SLR’s and higher end compact camera’s can.  You will need a tripod or stable surface to keep your camera nice and still.

You can achieve some very interesting patterns and effects by using slower shutter speeds than normally required to capture the action. Lower light conditions are usually required to achieve the slow shutter speed effects. The image above  was taken from a stair case at twilight in a large crowd.

 The lower light enabled me to use a slow shutter speed to blur the action. The faster movements are more blurred and ghost like and the movements not quite as fast, have slightly less blur to them.

You may have seen a similar technique used on photographs of moving water, such as a waterfall or stream. It can produce some very interesting dreamy looking effects.

The image to the right is a photo I did late in the afternoon of a small waterfall at a nearby park. I used a shutter speed of 15-30 seconds to create the effect of the softly blurred movement of the water. Because there is no movement in the rocks they remain nice and sharp.

You can also combine slower shutter speeds with a burst of flash to show both movement and capture detail in an image.

The following image is at a Christmas Concert at twilight. My son had a light up candle that had various colours within the light. We had a wonderful time experimenting with shutter speeds of around 1/10^th of a second, and using a burst of flash to capture more than just the light trail.

The slower shutter speed enabled the light trail to be captured, and then a quick burst of flash allowed the image of my son at the end of the exposure to be nice and sharp. The light trail shows because it is brighter than the surroundings and it appears on the image first, with the darker elements needing the help of the flash to be seen on the image. The quick burst means it is nice and sharp.

You can do some wonderful light trails just using the slower exposure without the flash. Because the bright object such as this candle or sparklers is so much brighter than the surroundings, it makes a trail on your image leaving the rest of the exposure dark. Experimenting with shutter speeds is a lot of fun. I encourage you to do it, because it teaches you a lot about the effects of light on your images.
 

© Robyn Gough 2010, All Rights Reserved

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Lomography!

What on earth is Lomography you ask? Lomography is a form of photography using a Vintage camera called the Lomo or another similar style 'toy' camera. The Lomo camera has developed a following and resurgence of popularity. The Lomo along with other 'toy' camera's have a characteristic vignette altered colour tones and some lens distortion. Using the camera and other 'toy' camera's such the Diana camera creates a unique and quite arty looking effect on your photos. Now rather than buying one of these 'toy' cameras and processing the images the old fashioned way, you can do it digitally to any photo in photoshop with the click of a button using my new action.

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Sepia Foto Action Pack now in the store at DSP!

Great photo effects to quickly and easily give your photos a professional look. Great for heritage layouts!

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Fabulous Photo Effects, nice and easy!

These actions are a must have item to make your photos look like the work of a professional. Create Urban Grunge, Dreamy Photo or Faux Lomo at the click of a button in Photoshop CS-CS4 or Photoshop Elements 7. The action pack includes instructions on how to load and run the action. Check the pack out in the DSP store to see further samples of just what you can do with these fabulous actions!

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