ON-LINE PHOTO INSTRUCTION-- with critiques of your work
My new 4-week courses begin again on Wednesday, May 6. The 8-week courses are continuing from the beginning of last month. I have a new 4 week course in Stock Photography that might interest you. As a professional photographer, the best thing I ever did was join a stock photo agency.
Betterphoto.com, the company for whom I teach these on-line courses, is going back to a quarterly schedule. Starting this year, the 8-week courses will repeat every quarter, not every month. The next series of 8-week courses therefore will start on Wednesday, April 8.
Do you want to make money in photography? Want to feel more confident in exposure? Interested in learning more about Photoshop (like putting fireworks in the sky or removing lens flare). Are you insecure about your compositional skills?
I teach several 8-week and 4-week courses on-line. The way the courses work is this. Every Wednesday, you receive a lesson that consists of text and photos, explaining various principles in photography, marketing your work, digital manipulation, or whatever subject you are studying. At the end of each lesson there is an assignment, and you have plenty of time to take pictures and upload them for my critique. You can use photos you did specifically for the assignment or images that you have taken previously.
On-line photo courses are like virtual classrooms but not in real time. Other students can see your pictures, read my critiques, and comment on your work. Similarly, you can comment on the pictures of other students. It is a unique and wonderful learning experience.
One of the great things about these on-line courses is that students participate from all over the world. In a single lesson's uploads, you may see pictures from Bryce Canyon or Brazil, or from Singapore or South Carolina. It's a very stimulating environment, and it will help you become the photographer or digital artist that you would like to be.
On the Betterphoto.com website, you can read the lesson outline of each course and see sample photos. In addition, you can also access the courses I teach drectly by going to my website, jimzuckerman.com, and clicking on the link 'On-line Photo Courses'. at the top of the home page.
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LIGHTING EFFECTS
Within Photoshop (and Elements) you can introduce some very interesting lighting effects into your pictures. You can create spot lights, shafts of light, and colored lights to significantly enhance and dramatize pictures you've already taken.
For example, compare the two versions of the famous Winged Victory at the Louvre in Paris. The original photo is what everybody takes, but the comparison is much more compelling and visually dynamic. This was done in Photoshop with Filter > render > lighting effects. I used the first default light option that appears on the photo in the preview window. By grabbing the handles on the shaft of light, I was able to orient the shaft to illuminate the statue as if the museum had artfully placed additional lights for dramatic effect.
 
In addition to lighting effects, I also darkened the background to add contrast and force the attention on the subject. Finally, I added color saturation. The combination of a darkened background, intensified saturation, and a dramatic spot light can take an ordinary picture and make it extraordinary. If you have any interest in selling your work, it also makes it more marketable.
NOTE: Photoshop can't change the direction of light. In other words, you can't take a photo of a landscape shot at noon and make it look like sunrise or sunset. Similarly, you can't take a picture of a person shot with on-camera flash and make it look like you used sidelighting.
Nevertheless, the addition of one or more digital light sources can make a huge difference.
 
Look at the difference between the two versions of a Javanese bride I photographed in Indonesia. The original on the left is good, but with the addition of the spotlight on the right photo I was able to direct our attention to the girl's face, and now it has that extra drama and impact. In the dialog box that open with Filter > render > lighting effects, I used the 'flashlight' option in the pull down menu. I pulled the handles that formed around the spot light seen in the preview window, and this gave me the ability to vary the size of the light on the face. With the slider bars in the dialog box, I changed the intensity (exposure) as well as the ambient light (ambience).
Another option in the submenu within the lighting effects dialog box is 'three lights down'. You can see how I applied them in the classic shot of Michaelangelo's David in Florence, Italy. The original didn't have those spot lights on the background,and with that change I created something that didn't exist and, at least according to my own sense of aesthetics, it looks better.
Also in Italy, below, I used a spot light on a cathedral door behind two carnival participants. This was taken in diffused daylight, so obviously there was no studio or theatrical lighting here. It certainly looks like there was, though, and this transforms the image completely. I also added the deep blue color in the architecture on either side of the photo by selecting it and then using Image > adjustments > color balance to make it more blue, and then with Image > adjustments > hue/saturation I intensified the color.
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SELF-CRITIQUE
I like this picture of a red bellied woodpecker for several reasons. First, the background is excellent. It is so out of focus that nothing detracts from the bird. Even out of focus branches can be quite distracting if their form is too defined, but in this shot the soft green backdrop is perfect.
I also like the open beak because it's always nice to have a wildlife subject emoting in some way. I like the fact that the entire back of the bird as well as the head (and especially the eye) is sharp.
There is one thing that I don't like, however. The top of the head is lit by direct sunlight, but I wish the eye had been illuminated as well. The bright spot on the top of the woodpecker is a little too dominating for my taste as well. When I was processing this in Adobe Camera RAW, I should have toned down that highlight (and the one on the chest, too) by using the 'recovery' slider. It's still not too late, though, because I can go back and do that.
This picture was taken at my bird feeder. I shot right through my office window with a 500mm f/4 telephoto with a 1.4x teleconverter and an extension tube to allow the long lens to focus closely.
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Two New Photoshop DVDs announced
I'm proud of my first twoinstructional DVD on Photoshop. I have had a lot of positive feedback on both of them. Many people find my teaching style easy to understand, clear, and inspiring in terms of what they can do with their own pictures.
In the first DVD, learn how to use Photoshop's tools creatively and be a Photoshop Guru.
Whether you have been using Photoshop for years or just learning for
the first time, you will quickly discover new applications to create
stunning images. "Be a Photoshop Guru" introduces the most important
tools in Photoshop and then gives you very creative ways of applying
them for amazing results. This program doesn't just simply show what
the tools do, it shows you how to creatively use them in your photography.
(In the photo of the Korean model and the Japanese maple tree, there wasn't a beautiful tree behind the model in the original. I added that from
another image, and then I had to re-create the reflection. This is
explained in detail on the DVD in addition to many other very cool
techniques. The running time is 168 minutes).
In the second DVD, the one with the knights on the cover (they were photographed at a local Renaissance Faire and then combined with the foggy forest background -- and the sword was purchased on-line and cut and pasted into the picture), I share many of my favorite and most useful creative techniques with you. Photoshop is a photographer's best friend today. This DVD shows you that the sky is the limit in terms of what you can do with your images. Running time is 173 minutes.
You can purchase the DVD from Amazon.com or, if you would like an autographed copy from me, you can have that from purchasing it from me directly at a discounted price. Here is the sales page on my website: jimzuckermanworkshop.com.
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OCTOBER 3, 4, 2009
MAKING MONEY IN PHOTOGRAPY WORKSHOP
IN MY HOME
Photography has been a blessing to me for 40 years because I have been able to make a living with my passion. This has given me a wonderful sense of fulfillment. You can do the same thing.
I have been asked by many students if I would give a personal and interactive seminar in making money in photography, and I have finally decided to do it. It will be in my home on Oct 3 and 4. I can save you from making many of the same mistakes that I made in the early years of learning how to market my work. I will spend a lot of time talking about the lucrative business of stock photography (yes, you can still make money in stock if you understand the business), and I will also explain how to get published in the vast magazine market, how to make sales in the calendar, note card, and poster markets, how to sell fine art prints in art fairs and galleries, and how to promote yourself on the Internet with a website.
 The photography business has changed a lot in the last few years, and it's vital to keep up with those changes. During the workshop, I will critique some of your images in the context of what makes a salable image. To be successful in photography, you have to work very hard, but if you love it, the truth is it's not work at all. After an intense weekend studying how to market your work, you will be inspired and excited.
 The seminar fee includes two lunches and one wonderful dinner prepared by my wife, who is an excellent cook. I live in a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee, and if you are arriving by air I will pick you up at the airport and shuttle you back and forth from your hotel to my home. You need to bring nothing except photos for me to analyze from a marketing standpoint -- and your enthusiasm for photography and for getting paid for what you love to do.
If you are interested, contact me at photos@jimzuckerman.com. I will send you an outline of the seminar as well as a list of hotels 8 - 10 minutes from my home.
The airport that you will fly into is Nashville, Tennessee (BNA).
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Tip of the Month
One of my on-line students, John Clare, brought something up to me, and I thought it was such a good point that I wanted to pass it on. The general rule for choosing shutter speeds with long lenses is that sharp pictures require the shutter speed to be at least the reciprocal of the focal length. This means that if you are using a lens that is 300mm, the shutter should be 1/300th of a second or faster, If it is not, you run the risk of getting pictures that will be less than tack sharp. Similarly, a 500mm telephoto should be used with shutter speeds 1/500th of a second or faster.
What if you have a camera with a reduced sensor such that the focal length is multiplied by 1.5x (like Nikon) or 1.6x (like Canon)? Is the minimum shutter speed affected also?
Yes, it is. If you are shooting with a Canon 50D, for example, and your lens is a 300mm, the effective focal length is really 480mm (300 x 1.6). Therefore, the minimum shutter speed you should use is 1/480th of a second which, in practicality, is 1/500th.
Thanks, John, for asking this question and bringing it to my attention.
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July 11, 12, 2009
PHOTOSHOP WORKSHOP IN MY HOME
This past weekend, I taught a Photoshop seminar in my home and the group thoroughly enjoyed it, and from what they told me, they learned a lot and enjoyed being in my home. They kept thanking my wife, too, for her wonderful cooking.
Photographers have never had such a remarkably creative tool to manipulate imagery, and knowing how to use Photoshop is one of the most exciting things you could ever learn in photography. I love working in Photoshop, and it's exciting for me to teach it. I know that learning this program can be intimidating, but it's not hard. Really. There is a lot to remember, but going over each action two or three times is what you need to imprint the information in your brain. I will walk you through many of the most important parts of Photoshop, and you won't believe what you'll be able to do with your pictures.
The fee of $450 includes instruction from 9 to 5 on both days, two lunches and one wonderful dinner provided by my wife who is an amazing cook -- the workshop participants who enjoy this meal always want to extend the workshop so she can give them cooking lessons! I will provide a list of nearby hotels where you can stay. I will also shuttle you back and forth to my home as well as pick you up from the airport if you fly in.
This workshop is for beginners who know nothing (or very little) about Photoshop, but it very quickly gets into intermediate and even advanced techniques. Photoshop can't be taught in a linear fashion, like math. It doesn't work like that. For example, you don't have to know how to use the clone tool -- a basic function of Photoshop -- to do layer masks. Similarly, you can learn how to add what looks like a studio background light using the gradient tool, but not understand how to set up short cuts in the Actions palette.
In the workshop, I will begin with the tools palette and explain how the most important tools can be used to make incredibly creative images. Even if you know what these tools do, you will learn ways of applying them to various photographic situations that will amaze you. I will then go into layers and layer masks, selections, replacing the sky, adding lighting effects, adding reflections, making silhouettes, an impressive list of awesome plug-ins (you can download many demo versions of plug-ins using your wireless capability because I have Wi Fi), the relationship between the cloning tool and the healing brush, cloning from one photo to another, and much more. By doing each of the techniques I discuss as I explain them, you will be able to remember the steps and then this wonderful knowledge will be incorporated into your work flow.
You will need to bring your own laptop computer, and this will make it easier for you to concentrate on the techniques rather than fiddling with someone else's computer. I will demonstrate more creative ideas in these two days than you can imagine.
If you are interested, contact me at photos@jimzuckerman.com. The airport that you will fly into is Nashville, Tennessee (BNA).
Regarding the photo of the little girl that I took in the Indian state of Orissa, I demonstrate in the course how I softened the skin but kept the eyes razor sharp using a diffusion technique with a layer mask.
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2009 PHOTO TOURS
Turkey in Oct. -- a few spaces available
2010 PHOTO TOURS
Carnival in Venice -- Feb. 8 - 14
Heart of Eastern Europe (dates to be announced)
Ireland -- May 20 - 31
Ethiopia exploratory (dates to be announced)
Antarctica -- January 3 - 24 (contact me for pricing and the itinerary)
Head of Medusa in an ancient Byzantine cistern, Istanbul
For other photo tours, speaking engagements, and seminars that I will be giving, please visit my website: jimzuckerman.com and click on the frog photo you see on the home page of the website.
Whirling Dervishes, Istanbul, Turkey
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Missed a newsletter? You can see all of my past newsletters (starting with the February, 2008 issue) if you paste this link into your browser:
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs031/1101654139463/archive/1102299763866.html
For AOL users have difficulty at times seeing the pictures in my newsletters, this feature is especially helpful.
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I now publish a blog on my website that you may find interesting and informative. On jimzuckerman.com, click the link at the top 'photo blog'. I post one or two blogs a week on various aspects of photography and Photoshop.
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