Photo Class: Part One

The time has come. I have talked about it for awhile but I finally got myself into a photo class. Kristianne offered an intimate workshop and I jumped at the chance to learn something *intentionally* beyond 'auto'. It's a short course but I have learned a lot already.

Our first week was an effort to break me out of the 'auto' default and fully utilize what my camera is capable of. We learned about shutter speed and aperture and how and when to use different settings. This was a good lesson in theory but I had to take it to the streets to see if I really can apply Kristianne's teachings.

Our first assignment was to apply four different techniques using aperture and shutter speed to create different images.

Blur action

This was the hardest of the four for me. My initial attempts ended in overexposed shots. I finally got this one. (It's not great and I really want to practice getting a 'panned action' shot.)

Stop action

Exactly what it sounds like. Stop rapid motion with a fast shutter speed resulting in a crisp and clean image. (We also had many shots of the kids jumping up in the air and catching them off the ground--clearly stopping the action. They had fun with Mama's homework.)

Maximum depth of field

The goal of this shot is to illustrate an image with everything in focus--foreground, middle ground and background.

Short depth of field

I like this setting a lot (macro or super macro). It's fun and interesting.

So I clearly have a long way to go but just the freedom to do more with my camera and to create more interesting images is thrilling. This week's lesson was on composition. So fun and inspiring me to break out of my box. I hope to turn a corner here. More on that next week.