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Stone Arch Bridge, Keene, NH |
Recently, I completed the latest session of my Introduction to Digital Photography course. I have offered this course for Keene Community Education four times before, but each time it is my “Latest Version” because my course varies based on the needs and interests of the participants.
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Shooting at the Stone Arch Bridge |
This seems like a good time to
present my schedule for courses in the first part of the coming year.
With so many people discovering the amazing capabilities of digital
photography, and struggling with the use of the new digital cameras, the
interest in my introductory course seems to be persistent. I love
introducing so many enthusiastic people to this new world of photography, and
will continue to offer my course until the interest fades, if ever.
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Lightroom Library Module |
One of the key advantages to digital
photography is the ease with which images can be brought to their full
potential with digital editing. In my introductory course, I inevitably refer
to the power of the “Digital Darkroom”, particularly Photoshop and Lightroom,
and in response to the many request, I created a hands-on course covering the
essentials of image organization, editing and exporting within the amazingly
powerful Lightroom program. I’ll be repeating my Introduction to
Lightroom Course, but this year in a new and more convenient venue.
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Introduction to Adobe Lightroom
Tuesday Nights,
January 16th. – February 13th
Monadnock Imaging, Main Street, Keene N
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Jaffrey Meeting House |
I have been a dedicated Photoshop
user for many years, but over the last few years, I have become increasingly
impressed with the power of Lightroom, in terms of both its image management
tools and its sophisticated editing capabilities. I still bring almost
all my images into Photoshop for final tweaking, especially when complicated
masking is required, but I now use Lightroom for 80-90% of my global editing.
Given its power and ease of use, for the majority of digital photography
enthusiasts, Lightroom is likely all they will need to get started with image
management and editing.
The Big Name Juggle
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New Lightroom CC |
Recently Adobe has complicated all of
our lives by splitting the Lightroom Program in two. There are many good
discussions of the differences between these very different programs, but
simply speaking, the new Lightroom CC
is an entirely new cloud based program. With a simpler interface, but
significantly pared down capabilities. It is designed for more casual
photographers, and those who work primarily through a mobile interface.
For more serious photographers who store larger image archives locally on
hard drives and who want to use the full features of the old Lightroom, the new
program has no significant place.
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Lightroom "Classic" |
For me and most serious
photographers, the new choice is called “Lightroom Classic”. It sounds
disconcertingly like the old “Coke Classic”, but Lightroom Classic is just the
old Lightroom CC with all the old features and functions and a few new tricks.
This split seems to be designed to create a simpler path for mobile and
other smart phone photographers, without stripping the power of the “Classic”
Lightroom program. Adobe promises to keep up with innovation on both
versions of Lightroom. We will be watching.
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If you, like many, are still confused,
just know that the CC and Classic versions are both included among the options
in the Adobe Photography Subscription Plan, and still for $9.99/month. My
course will be covering the full power of the Lightroom Classic Program.
Lightroom Classic Course
I have developed my
introductory course to cover all the essential capabilities of Lightroom.
In the last couple of years, I have offered the course four times and it
has been warmly received. I run the class as a live demonstration.
Students are encouraged to work along on their own laptops, but a
computer is not necessary to benefit from the material. I’ve had a great
time with the classes.
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Map Module |
Without the use of PowerPoint slides,
presentations are much more dynamic, and, as is always true of teaching a course, have
learned a ton. I initially thought that four, two-hour classes
would be enough to cover the program's many features, but because of my
tendency to ramble and lots of great questions, I have added a fifth class to
cover the Slide Show, Book and Web Modules. I probably could have used more
time, but I learned that 2 hours of software complexity at a time is definitely
the limit for my mature students – and their teacher.
Monadnock Imaging Hosts
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Lightroom Around the Dining Room Table |
I have held previous Lightroom
classes at my home in Spofford NH, and had to limit the classes to the 8 people
who could fit comfortably around my dining room table. This year, the
great folks at Monadnock Imaging in Keene have generously offered to host the
class. This will allow me to expand the group to around 12, and it will
also make the location more easily assessable, especially during the snowy
winter weeks.
There will be no more struggling over Chesterfield Hill,
except for me and Robin. We will continue to have five, two-hour, evening
sessions, and of course, light snacks will be provided. The ten hour course is
$195. There are already people on the waiting list from last time, so
please get in touch as soon as possible.
603-363-8338
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Introduction to Digital Photography
Tuesday evenings 6-8pm
April 10, 17, May 1,8 (Corrected)
This spring I will again be offering
my Introduction to Digital Photography Course as part of Keene Community Ed’s
fall program. The course includes 4 classes and two photo shoots. I
cover a wide range of topics from understanding the difference in camera types
to, image file formats, file management and archiving. Special emphasis is
placed on exposure, composition and the use of different types of light.
All these topics are applied to the results of the photo shoots.
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Golden Spire |
The course size is limited and, if
the past is any guide, it will tend to fill quickly. Registration begins Wednesday,
January 17 and can be done over the phone at
357-0088 or on-line at www.keenecommunityed.org.
Please feel free to get in touch with me for any questions.
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Steadying the Camera |
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Waterfall Workshop |
That is my list for now. I
will likely announce another Spring Waterfall Workshop for sometime in May.
I am excited how, in the last couple of years, teaching has become such
an important part of my photographic activities.
Of course, the classes and workshops
have seemed a natural extension of the teaching I have been doing for years in
my weekly Getting It Right in the Digital Camera Blog. Working on the
blog has greatly expanded my knowledge to the point that I feel comfortable
offering my classes. I hope to get to know many more of my readers as I
continue and expand my live programs.
Please get in touch if you have any
questions about the up-coming classes and work-shops, or if there other topics
you would like to see me cover either in a class or on the blog. Any
interest in a Photoshop Class – or classes.
Jeffrey Newcomer
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