Upcoming Photography Classes

January 2020

January is the month of new beginnings and fresh starts. The perfect time to start off your year with improving your photography skills.  With this in mind,  I will be offering three photography classes at the Arts Escape arts learning center in Southbury, Connecticut.  I will be offering two getting to know your digital camera and taking better photos classes, a beginner class and an advanced class as well as how to get your photos into your computer, to store, catalog edit and export using Adobe Lightroom software.  Information is listed below on the classes.  You can sign up through the arts escape website  https://www.artsescape.org/

I make learning photography informative and fun!!  You will learn in leaps in bounds and gain so much from any of these classes.  You can contact me at 203-405-3329 for more information or through the various links below.
 

Get to Know Your Digital Camera – Part I

Instructor, John Munno

Monday, January 6, 13, 20, 27
1 pm - 2:30 pm
 

Learn how to better use your digital camera’s functions and modes to take more creative and compelling images. **Recommended camera is a digital DSLR or mirrorless camera with various modes and functions.   (NO Cell phones)

Day 1      Understanding Exposure triad of ISO, Shutter and Aperture to achieve correct exposure. Learn how to take control of your camera using the Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority modes.  Learn to understand the exposure triad of ISO, Aperture and Shutter to achieve proper exposure.  Learn the creative aspects of Aperture and Shutter speeds to create creative effects and sharper photos.

Day 2      .  Setting up your camera -This class will teach students how to set up their cameras and what the various camera settings do so they know what settings to use. Some of but not only topics include:  setting up playback of images, setting photo file size and formats, taking control of focus with single point focus, using exposure compensation to achieve more accurate exposure.  Various focus modes to track stationary subjects vs. moving subjects.

Day 3     Getting to know the many buttons of our camera and what they do.This class will go over all the buttons on your camera and what they do and how choose which settings are best for you. Some of the topics include, various light meter modes, various focusing modes, various shutter modes including timer, multi shot and single shot modes.  Basic flash photography when, why and how to use your camera’s pop up flashes.

Day 4:  Photography in the digital age.  - The Digital Darkroom-Taking your photos from your camera to your computer. Ways and methods to store, and edit your photos. Using computer software and editing programs to edit, enhance share and resize and reformat your photos for webs, social media, print and email use.  Learning how to transfer your photos from your camera to your computer or mobile device for storage and editing.

The fee for the 4 week class is $95. Class size is limited to 7 students.
Please let us know which type of camera you are using before class starts.

For more information and to register:  https://www.artsescape.org/get-to-know-your-digital-camera-2/#program

Taking BETTER Photos with your Digital Camera – II

Instructor, John Munno
Wednesday, January 8, 15, 22, 29
1 pm - 2:30 pm
 

This class follows Getting to Know Your Camera class 1.  It covers more advanced camera use and settings including how to use manual mode.  Students will learn how to use Live View for better exposure, Bracketing, HDR photography, Panoramas,and Tripods. Students will learn various light meter modes, the ins and outs of lenses and which ones are best for your needs.  How to take better photos, using photography guidelines and the rules of composition.  Instruction will be given on; direction of light, temperature, photographing at different times of the day and how the camera sees vs. your eyes to create a compelling and creative photo.

Session 1   Manual mode, Use of the Histogram Live View and other photography methods to address challenging lighting and focusing conditions - Learning to use manual mode and understanding the histogram and zone system to achieve better exposure of your photos. Use of Live View to achieve sharper focus and hard to reach shooting situations. Using various light meter modes to get the best exposure in challenging lighting conditions.

Session 2   Cameras, Cameras, Cameras - With so many different cameras to choose from, deciding on the best camera for your needs can be daunting.  Learn about the various cameras on the market including point and shoots, bride cameras, DSLR and mirrorless cameras, built in zooms, full frame cameras, crop sensor cameras and more.  The pros and cons of each and which camera is best for you.  Tripods and how best to use them. Capturing high contrast scenes with bracketing and HDR Techniques. Taking Panoramas photos

Session 3   All About Lenses - Lenses in some ways are more important than the camera you are shooting with as they can make all the difference between sharp images and not so sharp images.  With so many lenses out there, which are the best ones for your needs. Topics to include.  Prime lenses, pros and cons, zoom lenses, pros and cons, Various lenses from macro lenses, wide angle lenses to zoom lenses and when to use them. Basics of flash photography and when and how to use it.

Session 4  Creating more creative and compelling images-How to take better photos, using photography guidelines and rules of composition.  Learning about light, direction, temperature and time of the day and how the camera sees vs. your eyes to be able to take more compelling and creative photos.

The fee for this class is $100. Class size is limited to 7. This class is available to all students who have previously taken a class with John.

For more information and to register:  https://www.artsescape.org/taking-better-photos-with-your-digital-camera-part-ii/#program

Lightroom Classic CC for Beginners – A Photo Editing Course

Instructor, John Munno
Tuesday, January 14, 21, 28
1 pm - 2:30 pm
 

Have you ever wondered what to do with the pictures you take that are stored in your camera? Or struggled with finding and cataloging the photos you store on your computer?  Need help editing your photos for Facebook, emails, web use and printing? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then this workshop is for you!!

In order to take this class, students will need to purchase "Lightroom Classic CC" and bring their computer and camera to each class. Upon enrollment, the instructor will confirm which program needs to be installed on your laptop or MAC to ensure each student has the correct program.  The Lightroom program needs to be installed prior to the first class. 

Lightroom Classic CC is a fantastic and powerful photography software because it has the ability to do it all - everything you need to accomplish in your photographic workflow from cataloging your photos, to developing, printing, outputting  and  resizing as well as making photo books, slideshows and much more.  

Week 1:  Lightroom's Library module 

In this first class, students will learn how to take photos from their camera and download them to their computer. Students will learn how to create folders and collections sets to help store and retrieve photos easily.

Week 2:  Lightroom's Develop module 

In this class, students will learn how to maximize the potential of their photo's potential with the many development options in Lightroom including exposure, white balance, saturation hues and color balance. Students will also learn how to use the adjustment brush and graduated neutral density filters and radial filters to make local adjustments on specific areas of images.

Week 3:  Printing, exporting re-sizing and outputting 

In this class, students will learn the various options and methods for outputting and resizing photos.  Students will also learn how to use the print module in Lightroom.  
The fee for this class $65 and the class is limited to 6 students.

For more information and to register:  https://www.artsescape.org/welcome-to-lightroom-classic-cc-for-beginners-a-photo-editing-course-2/#program



Review from previous student:

"I am participating in the Lightroom Class with John Munno which contains 3 modules. The first module, Lightroom Library, is an essential first step in beginning the post-processing activity. John demonstrated his actual procedure when he loads his photos into Lightroom from the deleting of poor shots to the rating of the photos that were the ones that he would use to edit and keep. The organizational process for sorting the photos by subject, interest was a main focus. Knowing these first steps really helped me to sort through my photos and put them in proper folders so that they will be very easily accessible. I am very much looking forward to the Editing Module! Thank you to John for providing this easy, fun and affordable way of learning Lightroom!"