Digital Photo Academy instructors are available to accommodate personal schedules and provide a full-day experience with 5 hours of professional instruction to suit the specific needs of individual photographers and small groups.
The session typically commences with a comprehensive discussion of your specific camera equipment and photographic goals and interests, then moves into an in-the-field shooting experience that directly corresponds with your photography objectives. The shooting session can emphasize landscape, portrait, architecture or many other photographic specialties to match your personal preferences and vision.
This private session will culminate with a detailed demonstration of various post-capture workflow procedures and enhancement techniques. The time devoted to each section of the course will vary based on your individual needs and the portion of the day purchased. Both class options include a meal break to be arranged according to your scheduling preferences and timing needs.
Topics to be discussed:
Camera Discussion
Are you planning to purchase a new camera, or do you already own a camera that you expect to use as your main imaging device over an extended period? The instructor will work closely with you to better understand your camera controls if needed, and explore the extensive capabilities of your equipment in greater depth.
Is JPEG or RAW format the best selection for you, or do you require any specific image dimensions? Are you capturing photos for your website, a large print for your living room wall, or social media platforms like Facebook? Do you have a particular photographic area of focus, such as flowers, landscape, wildlife, portrait, sports, natural light, studio light, and other categories? This information will help the instructor recommend the best approaches to use your camera, including suitable lenses and accessories for your specific situation.
In-the-Field-Shooting
Your instructor has deep expertise in in-the-field-shooting and can access private locations and venues not ordinarily available to the public. Perhaps this exclusive access is not a requirement, but you feel you could benefit from professional guidance while photographing at a local zoo, an arboretum, or an antebellum mansion. Perhaps sports photography is a strong interest. If so, many Digital Photo Academy Instructors shoot for city newspapers and may have ideas and connections to local competitions for you to sharpen your abilities.
Depending on your preferred category in picture taking, from nature and wildlife to street photography, to studio portraiture, and everything in between, your instructor will design the curriculum to align with your vision and goals. Your private class will include a location that connects with your personal interests. Your instructor will offer a variety 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 proven techniques that will allow you to take a composition from your mind and manifest it into the final image.
Post Capture:
After demonstrating techniques for 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. At this point in the day, your instructor will help you carefully 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 style, you can embrace them or change them and inevitably recognize the options in future photo ops.
In today's digital world, there are ways to compensate for mistakes and limitations that may have presented themselves 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.
