Learning how to take a good picture – and the difference between a good one and an excellent one – is a critical part of photography. And it is really simple: Get your subject out of the center That’s it. No complicated mathematical equation here. Get it out of the center. It’s that simple. Most […]

Writing with light. This is the translation of the word “photography” from Greek. Light literally writes across the film during exposure. Light is the soul of photography. It is critical to capturing the color, form and expression of a subject on film. The artistic language of photography uses expressions representative of color and light. We […]

Many different effects can be made with light. The challenge is not only learning to “see the light” but learning how to expose for the light in your camera. Learning to use the light accordingly and create these dramatic effects adds not only sparkle and excitement but also drama to your images. Sunset/Sunrise Tips The […]

Film sees the world differently than our eyes do. One of the challenges of photography is learning what those differences are so we can successfully put our vision on film. The human eye sees millions of colors and color variations at the same time. The eye sees all shades of white: off-white, cream, egg, ecru, […]

Camera bodies were originally made from metals, typically aluminum. Today’s cameras have hard plastic bodies and will actually take a lot of abuse. Most modern cameras have a molded hand grip which often stores the batteries. This allows for a more comfortable grip on the camera. In the class, we refer to the “ideal” camera […]

There are a variety of lens types for photographers to use: fixed, zoom, macro, and combinations of fixed and zoom lens with macro capabilities. Let’s examine the differences among them. Fixed focal length lenses Most true macro lenses are of fixed focal length, that is, they don’t zoom. Macro lenses are the most highly corrected […]

We have heard every excuse known to humans why tripods are a pain in the #%$&. Most of these excuses came out of our own mouths. We hate them. So much, we have come to love to hate them. Especially when we know that the bigger and the heavier, the better. But we complain with […]

Taking your equipment out in the field means not only carrying it, all of it, with you, but learning how to use it while out exploring and photographing in all types of weather and locations. Working in a rain forest is a bit different than working in desert conditions. We can’t cover all of the […]

What does a properly exposed photograph look like? By properly exposed, we mean that the photo you get back looks the way you imagined that it would. If you want a blue sky, the sky comes out the right shade of blue. If your goal was a silhouette but your photo shows all the details […]