Classes

Fantasy inspired photographs are a great way to offer your clients the opportunity to be someone (or something) else for a day. But they also give you a chance to stretch your creative muscles and create art for arts sake. Interested but not sure where to start? This class will help you there. While it is very possible to create fantasy looks on the fly, this is a genre where pre-planning can make the difference between a good and a great final image. This class will walk you through the elements of planning and executing a successful fantasy shoot. We’ll discuss story and mood boards, where to find inspiration, styling options, and makeup, as well as the sourcing and use of props and wardrobe. We’ll also discuss lighting for concept, posing, location and set design considerations. If you’re thinking that this is a lot of ground to cover in a two-hour class you’re correct. We’re going to utilize a Facebook group to go over a lot of the pre-planning before Shutterfest even starts! We’ll go over many of the planning steps online and Attendees will get the chance to collaborate on planning fantasy looks for the class. Day of class, bring your camera! We’ll be translating our ideas into reality and shooting these concepts! After Shutterfest, we’ll continue to use the group to talk about editing, retouching and finalizing images captured in the class.

The goal for this class is to give you a process and checklist to take your ideas from initial concept to completed final images.

We all have our go-to setups for portrait lighting that we know allow us to capture good, clean images with minimal fuss. But sometimes we can settle into routines with our lighting. Doesn’t this get boring after a while? In this class we’re going to work with different lighting setups to achieve some new and interesting looks. What kind of images can we capture with constant lighting? What happens if we point a strobe at the lens? What happens when we mix constants and strobes? We’ll talk about (and use!) various types of lights, including some less orthodox means of lighting a subject. We’ll also talk about common and uncommon modifiers. We’ll discuss how to use them, how NOT to use them and what happens if we throw the rules to the wind and do it anyway.

The goal for this class is to challenge our standard conceptions of portrait lighting and get you thinking outside the box. You’ll walk away with interesting images and some new tools for creative portraiture that will let you give your clients a unique experience and create memorable images for them.

What if I told you that you don’t need to spend hours on your computer to achieve beautiful, fine art style edits? What if I told you it was possible to quickly produce creatively edited sets for your clients or magazine publications? In this class we’re going to cover quick methods for retouching that can let you achieve artistic edits without investing a ton of time. We’ll be covering current AI tools to speed up your workflow. We’ll also cover quick methods to give your photos a fine art look, without the time normally required for a fine-art edit. We’ll also be discussing ways to fix common problems in post so if something didn’t go exactly to plan at your shoot, you’re not dead in the water. The goal for the class is to give you the tools you need to start producing beautiful edits and cohesive photo sets without having to spend a ton of time on your computer.