The introduction to photography class starting on November 3rd is about half full. If you or someone you know is interested in learning photography or learning how to use their camera, please have them sign up as soon as possible while space is still available.
Details and registration info can be found here:
http://arisingimages.com/learn/basic_class

This class will teach people about the most fundamental concepts in photography and help people to learn to take better photos by understanding how their camera works and when to use the different settings that are available. There are not very many places to learn photography in the southeastern Michigan area so hopefully this will be a great opportunity for those that sign up.

I taught my photography class tonight and tonight’s class was an entirely new format with hands-on lessons and demonstrations.
Here are just a few photos that I took while playing around with some of the setups.

Yep…it’s the bobble head again:

Due to lots of calls and inquiries, the next intro to photography class has been scheduled.
It will be in Rochester Hills, MI on Thursday evenings for three weeks starting March 26th.
There have been a lot of changes to the class including content, length, location, and cost so for anyone that’s looked into it in the past, please make sure to take another look.

We will cover all the camera basics including aperture, shutter speed, iso, white balance, lenses, composition, etc.  We will do lots of practical hands-on demonstrations and lessons so you can learn your camera and then we will edit and critique pictures in Photoshop to make your images pop.

Please send this out to anyone that might be interested in taking a basic photography class in the metro-detroit area this winter.

Here’s the link for more details and registration:
http://arisingimages.com/learn/basic_class

Today was the class field trip where we all go to the Detroit Zoo!  The goal is for my students to start using their cameras differently and practicing camera techniques and composition techniques that we talked about in class.  I brought my canon sd870 point and shoot camera to take a few quick pics along the way.

Many of you will be receiving new digital camera this holiday season and have NO idea what to do with it or how to use it!  This is the class for you!!

The next basic photography class has just been scheduled.  The class will be covering all of the fundamentals of photography including aperture, shutter speed, iso, white balance, composition, and some basic editing and retouching.  There will be a hands on field trip along with a critique in this 4 week class.

For more specific details, dates, cost and registration, please see the class website at:
http://www.arisingimages.com/learn/basic_class

If you feel like this, sign up now:

Every semester of my photography class, I take the class to the Detroit zoo for a field trip.  It’s a chance to get out in actual settings and demonstrate some of the techniques that we’ve been discussing for the past few weeks.
Usually I bring my SLR and shoot pics with the rest of the class, but today I decided to bring my canon sd870 point and shoot camera to see what I could come away with.
We had a REALLY weird day in terms of the weather.  Driving to the zoo, it was raining so hard I could barely see out the windshield.  When I got to the zoo a few minutes later, the sun was coming out and then minutes after that, there was not a cloud in the sky.  Halfway through the field trip, it got dark and stormy again and the zoo staff warned everyone to take shelter as they were expecting 60 mph winds and hail.  It never hit the zoo, but Cheridy told me it did hit at home.  Within 30 minutes, it was a warm and sunny day again.
Anyway, here’s a few pics:

Halloween decoration:

I loved the way the sunlight was coming through the leaves.

Funky sculpture in the museum:

Butterfly shot with macro settings:

The storm clouds rolling in:

Snake scales:

Snake scales:

Cute little bugger:

We have just updated our website with all of our educational opportunites.  This website is a work in progress and will have lots more additional information added as time permits.
The main site can be found at www.ArisingImages.com/learn

There is information posted for our basic photography class, advanced photography and business class, instructional videos and Photoshop actions, private lessons, and shoot tag alongs.

Registration is currently open for the next basic class starting in October.

The next basic photography class is scheduled for October 2008.

We will cover the basic of photography including the main four subjects – Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO, and White Balance.  We will explain the fundamentals of how these four things impact your images along with how, when, and why you want to be able to control them and not leave your camera on automatic.  As part of the class, we will take a field trip where we can get out in a real life situation both indoors and outdoors where you will be challenged to apply these new concepts.  After the field trip, we will do a critique where we will talk about your images, look at the settings used and I will give suggestions of what worked, what didn’t work, and what can be done in Photoshop to take the pics from ordinary to extraordinary.

This class is available to anyone over 16 years old and you can have pretty much any camera that allows for manual adjustments.  The people that typically benefit the most are those with SLR cameras such as a Canon Rebel, Nikon D70, or similar.  By the end of the class, most people that attend with point and shoot cameras realize how limiting their camera actually is and end up upgrading.
The class will be Thursdays from 7-9 pm from Oct 9 – Oct 30 at the Kensington Community Church building room 211 (1825 E. Square Lake Road, Troy, Michigan 48085). There will be a field trip on Sunday Oct 26th at the Detroit Zoo from 1-3 where we will have an opportunity to shoot photos together and practice the new techniques and skills shooting both indoors and outdoors.
The cost is $125 and you will receive a 60 page printed class manual. The field trip to the Detroit Zoo (parking and entry) is not included in the cost.
Please contact us if you are interested in signing up.

In the past, this class has been run through the Kensington Art School which has unfortunately closed down so I will be doing all of the administrative work and marketing for this class.  Please help us spread the word and let anyone interested know about this class.

By the end of the class, hopefully you will not only know how to use your camera more effectively, but also to start seeing ordinary things in a different way.

Today I had the pleasure to hang out with Marcin Harla who is a great photographer and friend. We spent some time playing around with off-camera flash.
We played around with everything from a single flash to four flashes just to see what we could do.

Due to us both being business owners and professionals, we felt that it was very important to take some good photos that convey the utmost professionalism.

Here’s a couple of images that Marcin took of me:

This one was one of my favorites that he took with a fisheye lens:

Here is Marcin:

I will be teaching an advanced photography class to a small group (max 8 people) starting April 24th. If you’re interested in more details, you can find them here:

http://www.arisingimages.com/miscellaneous/email/sent/20080327_advanced_photo_class.htm

Thanks : )

I just finished creating a brief lighting tutorial from the practice session that we did with Abbey a few days ago. For anyone that is interested in seeing the rooms that these images were shot in along with a brief description of the setup and work done, you can download the tutorial at:
http://www.arisingimages.com/learn/advanced_class/off_camera_lighting/

Here’s just a quick sample showing the image along with the room it was taken in. There is much more detail on the link above.

So as you can see from recent posts on the blog, we’ve been really wanting to do more work with off-camera flash and one of the biggest parts to that like any art form is practice practice practice.
Cheridy and I were ready to give it a whirl. Our friend Abbey from our church needed some photos and we needed a model and she worked out perfect. Everything about Abbey was exactly what we needed for a shoot like this…her hair, her makeup, all the fun clothes and jewelry she brought with her, etc. She was gracious enough to be patient with us as we made adjustments and tried out new things. Cheridy and I worked with her all afternoon and we got some great photos and learned a lot in the process so…thanks Abbey!!!
One of our goals from the photo shoot was to prove to ourselves that we could take cool photos anywhere so we challenged ourselves to shoot a photo in every room of our house including the bathrooms, laundry room, hallways, etc.
I will be putting together an educational page that shows what the rooms looked like and what we did to make the photos work, but that’s coming later. For now, here’s some of the pics: