Wow, what a week. I am thoroughly pleased with the creativeLIVE – Fundamentals of Digital Photography workshop. Although I took a photography class before, it was back in the time of film… haha. Ancient, I know!
A lot of the fundamentals of photography do not change whether it is film or digital. It was nice to refresh and re-learn since it has been awhile since my last class. Also, I made the jump to a Digital Single Lens Reflex [DSLR] camera, and there is a lot more control even compared to film SLR cameras. Instead of being stuck with a film speed for an entire roll of film, the ISO speed is adjustable for any picture. The camera can “process” a lot more information within the digital file versus just capturing light on film. So, it is not necessarily easier to photograph with a DSLR versus a film SLR.
What made the creativeLIVE workshop really nice was that it answered a lot of my “technical” questions on digital photography. How is the exposure histogram read? What does a good histogram look like compared to a bad one? It may be apparent that my main concern was learning about proper exposures! The instant feed back of the DSLR makes it nice to make really quick adjustments. It is not always easy to remember what adjustment[s] can be made to fix exposure errors. That is why this class was really helpful!
The workshop was well thought out and prepared. For how much information that was covered, I was really able to absorb a lot. Of course, I will probably need another refresher sometime down the road. I am also sure that the more I watch the re-broadcasts, the more I will absorb! I went ahead and purchased the course because I think it is a great resource to keep on the computer to have access if I run into something I just cannot remember or am having issues with.
They kept mentioning that for a week long course it was like taking an entry level college course. I agree. However, it was nice to tune in at my own convenience as well as have the option to participate in discussion or just listen in to the instructor. As I mentioned before, I can also tune in any time since I bought the course.
So, that is what I have been up to for most of the week. I am excited to put what I learned into use! It does not mean getting a good photo, although there should be improvement. Taking bad photos is also a way to learn.
JUST PhotographIN' 