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I always think of art as a form of communication. When I create an image, I make decisions throughout the process that contribute to the overall message I wish to convey. Sometimes that message can be “isn’t this beautiful?” Other times, the goal is to sell a product to a customer by engaging their intrigue or presenting clear information. Sometimes I may have a particular set of thoughts or emotions that I’m attempting to trigger in my audience.

With any one of these goals in mind, it’s critical to recognize that communication is a two-way process that MUST involve the audience. If I wish to communicate anything, I must craft my message to ensure that it is actually received. I often encounter artists who express disdain for the idea of “tailoring” their art to suit their audience. Many people might call this “commercial art” or “selling out.” I certainly agree that my art has to be pure, created entirely to express the message I want to express and not necessarily the message my audience wants to hear. But it is not enough to show complex and cryptic images and expect my audience to “rise to my level.” I always endeavor to create images that connect with people. For me, an image that fails to connect with its audience, is not a completed piece of art.

One of the key  elements of my Open Critique Nights is letting the audience form thoughts and opinions without any input from the photographer. This allows the photographer to learn wether the image is successful at communicating his or her intended vision even when they are not present to offer explanation. This uncontaminated feedback is truly invaluable for the development of creative vision.

I’m interested in reading your comments about what this image conveys to you. What thoughts and feelings are triggered? What elements particularly stand out to you? What do YOU think is my intention when showing this image?

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Seattle Urban Landscapes by Neil Buckland

Incidentally, this was just a proof of concept for a much larger project. I plan to produce an entire series of similar panorama HDR urban landscape images and make prints as large as 8 feet tall by 30 feet long which contain even far more detail this image.

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Course Summary 

Each of these key elements (ISO, shutter speed, aperture) controls the overall brightness of the exposure but has a different effect on the visual character of your image. Whether you shoot in Full Auto or Full Manual, someone (either the camera or you) has to make some decisions about what ISO, shutter speed and aperture to use. But how do you know whether you want low ISO and long shutter speeds or wide apertures and a faster shutter? We’ll map out the key factors that will guide your decision making process so that you always know what to do.

Understanding Exposure

The first step in the process is understanding exactly how ISO, aperture, and shutter speed actually control the amount of light in your exposures. What are these three things actually doing to make the image brighter or darker? How do you know what ISO to use?What is under-exposure and over-exposure? What are whole stops and partial stops? How much light do you really need to let into the camera to take a picture in any situation?

Metering 101

Before you can make any decisions about how much light to let into the camera, you need to know exactly how much light you actually have available to you. For this you need to understand metering, which is simply measuring the light. Most cameras have light meters built-in, but there are several ways to measure the light and different methods work better for different situations. Learn all about the differences between reflective metering and incident metering, using external hand-held meters, and the various spot, average, and matrix metering modes in your camera.

Understanding Shutter Speed

Shutter speed affects the brightness of your exposures but it also affects the visual style of your image by altering the way that time is recorded. This session is all about learning how shutter speed can be used creatively to freeze a moment in time or to convey a sense of energy and movement in an image.

Understanding Depth of Field

Besides controlling brightness, aperture has an affect on the amount of background and foreground blur in your images. This background blur effect is called Depth of Field and  it’s one of the most creative tools available in photography. But, aperture is only one of several key factors that control depth of field. This session is about truly understanding how depth of field works and how things like aperture, focal length, focus distance, and the size of your sensor affect the amount of background / foreground blur you can get in your images.

What’s Covered?

4-Part Course, 10 Hours Total$79 per session or
$259 for all 4

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Redeeming your voucher is a painless, 2-step process. You’ll simply create a student login in our class scheduling system and then submit your voucher pdf for approval. Once we verify the voucher, we’ll add your class credits to your account and you’re all set to take your class… it’s that easy!

Comments or questions are welcome.

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Class Summary 

We’ll start in the studio classroom with a discussion of exposure basics like ISO, shutter speed, and aperture, how your camera’s auto modes work and how to outsmart them, auto focus modes, manual exposure settings, white balance and much more. Then we’ll break for lunch in the International District and practice on our way back with some hands-ON practice and exercises. Before heading back to the studio, we’ll take a Starbuck’s break and talk about lenses. Finally, we’ll wrap up in the studio with a discussion of practical settings for real world situations, RAW files and what you can do with them and any lingering questions you may have.

What’s Covered?

All-Day Session, 10am to 6pm
$259 per person

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Soon, we’ll be filling up the site with dynamic instructional videos so you’ll always be able to log in to refresh your skills. Look for this logo throughout the site.

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Class Format

Each 2-part class in our studio lighting course includes an interactive demo session and an exciting, hands-on lighting lab session, plus access to our exclusive online course notes, lighting diagrams, and discussion and critique forums.

Class Summary

The fifth class in our lighting program is all about scaling down the big studio and taking it outside or on location without sacrificing the big studio results. We’ll work with manual speed lights and umbrellas to recreate some of the most useful big studio lighting styles for professional head shots out on location. We’ll also work on combining speed lights with existing light both indoors and outdoors for both natural and dramatic effects.

The lab session provides a live shooting environment for students to practice what they’ve learned so far. Students will be presented with a number of example images and asked to determine what lights and modifiers were used. Students will then work together to recreate similar images with live models while the instructor provides guidance.

What’s Included?

2-Part Class, 6 Hours Total
$159 per person

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