Photography Club Programs

I would like to be able to work with your group during the next year in whatever way works best for your members. I can server as a speaker with slideshows, provide a class session at a regular meeting, do contest judging and critiquing or offer a complete workshop for your members. I will do speaking, or a 1-2 hour class at no charge (just cover expenses) or provide a workshop at a greatly reduced rate.

My website will also serve your members with, how to photography articles, great photographic destinations and more. I also write a monthly newsletter your members can receiver at no cost.

Meeting Programs

These are programs that can be presented at a normal meeting or class session and last about 1.5 hours.

Choosing and Using the Best Tripod for You

My program will include a lecture and hands on demonstrations along with some great advice and tips, even if you are a seasoned professional. I will follow up with a slideshow presentation and a Q&A session.

A tripod is one of the accessories that many photographers try to go cheap thinking they don’t really need one. With the high ISO and and improved noise reduction in modern cameras and software we can shoot many images without a tripod that we could not a few years ago. I am a firm believer in not using a tripod, unless I need a tripod. There are many times that I do need a tripod, and many of my images could not be made without one. When I need a tripod I need a good one, if it will not hold my camera rock solid, it is of no use.

In this program I will show you how to use your tripod for the best results and how to choose the best tripod for you and your style of photography.

Improve Your Photography

When I start a workshop I always ask the participants what they want to get from the session and the response always includes “I want to improve my photography”.   Learning how to take better pictures involves something different for each person. We all have a different knowledge and skill level, different equipment, photograph different subjects, and have our own idea of what is good.  In this session I will discuss way to improve your photography including one of the most important aspects of creating a great photo “learning to see photographically”.  As a photographer you need to have a vision, once you have that vision you can use your camera to capture that vision.

Understanding Basic Exposure

There are only three things that control exposure, the ISO speed , the Aperture (the size of the lens opening), and the shutter speed (how long the lens is open). These three things make up what we call the exposure triangle. This class will show you how, using “Liquid Light” , these three things interact to give control of the exposure and therefore the final image’s impact. Greg will show why you would choose one setting over another, once you understand exposure you can use it to create many photographic effects, including motion blur, freezing the subject, blurred backgrounds, and depth of field.

Planning a Great American Road Trip

In this program I will go through the planning and preparation for a photography road trip.  I have been fortunate to be able to do a great deal of traveling and I will show you how to find the best locations for great photos.  I will share my personal travel strategies and the equipment I use.  The program will include both lecture and a slideshow presentation with a question and answer session.

Lenses 101

In this one evening class Greg will answer all of your questions about lenses, and explain all of the technical stuff so that you can actually understand it.  Lenses are probable the most expensive investment you will make in your photography equipment, normally much more than the camera itself.  Be sure you can make an informed decision before spending to be certain that you are getting the proper lens to fit your needs.

Composition More than Thirds

Composition is basically the pleasing arrangement of subject matter and elements within the picture area. Good composition is essential in photography because the camera does not record a scene the same way that we see it. Our brain isolates information that it does not consider important, the camera however records everything, often creating problems with the composition. We have two eyes which give us the ability to see depth and spatial relationships. The camera records everything in only two dimensions which can cause further problems with composition in an image.

Listed below are some of the guidelines and elements that affect composition in a photograph.

• Center of interest
• Subject placement
• Simplicity
• Viewpoint and camera angle
• Balance
• Shapes and lines
• Pattern
• Lighting
• Texture
• Tone
• Contrast
• Framing
• Foreground
• Background
• Perspective
• Volume

Photographing the sky; the good, bad, and the ugly (and the beautiful)

For outdoor photographer the sky is the one thing that we photograph the most.  The sky is an important part of landscape photography and can make  a photo great, or completely ruin the image.  Many times we have no choice about the sky in our photos, this is the only time we will be able to photograph a particular location.  Greg Disch will answer all of your questions about how to make the best photos with the sky that you have.

• How much sky should you have in your photo?
• What makes a good sky or a bad sky?
• Why would I want to shoot in RAW?
• How do you deal with a blown out sky?
• Why would I not want clouds?
• Is the sky the subject?
• Do I need the sky in my photo?
• Where should I place the horizon?
• What is high dynamic range?
• Why and when should I use a polarizing filter?
• What is a graduated neutral density filter?
• When is a grey sky great for photography?

Understanding Histograms and White Balance

Histograms are  one of the most misunderstood tools that we have as a digital photographer.  In this class “Understanding Histograms” you will learn what a histogram is, how to read it, and how to use it to improve your photos. If you think you already know all there is to know about histograms, go over this list just to be sure.

• What does a histogram represent?
• Why do some show RGB and others do not?
• What is a Bayer Filter?
• Why does a “Bell Curve” not equal a proper Exposure?
• What is “Clipping”?
• What is a “low Key” image?
• What is a “high key” image?
• Why does the histogram not properly show my RAW image data?
• Why should I shoot RAW image files?
• Why should I use the technique of “ETTR”?

In addition to the histogram I will also do a short class on White Balance.

Introduction to Lightroom

Almost everyone interested in photography has heard of Adobe Lightroom, but many are not using it or do not know what it does and does not do. Adobe designed the softer to work with other editing software such as Photoshop or Photoshop Elements or to be used as a complete solution for most basic digital editing.

What sets Lightroom apart is the fact that the program is a database, which is very efficient at organizing and cataloging your image library. The program is also non-destructive, meaning it does not alter your original image file, this prevents loss of quality or messed up images from over-processing.

This class is intended to answer your questions about the benefits and the shortfalls of the program. I will go through many of the capabilities of the software and show you my workflow from capture to output during this session. This will not be a hands on working on your computer class like my full “Learn Lightroom” workshop, but simply a demonstration and Q&A session.