Have a pro at your side - online, all the time
Understand the histogram and ensure that all of your pictures are exposed perfectly. In fact, one of the huge advantages of digital photography is the ability to see a histogram reflecting each picture you take. This exciting 4-week online course is taught by professional photographer and author Ellen Anon.
Key Features
- Histogram Basics
- Using the Histogram to Adjust In-Camera Exposure
- Using the Histogram with More Advanced Exposures in Camera
- Histograms and Photoshop or Elements
- Great for beginners through intermediates.
- Learn to understand histograms.
- Learn to make the best exposures every time.
What You Get
Top
 |
| |
Benefits:
You get direct feedback on your photos from world-acclaimed, professional photographers. You can learn photography in this way from anywhere in the world.
|
|
- Learn at your pace, with structure.
- Be guided by a real pro instructor.
- Get your photos critiqued every week.
- Join students from around the world.
- Go far beyond any book or DVD.
- Make great pictures, again and again!
|
|
Instructor
Top
Ellen AnonEllen Anon is the co-author of the popular books
Photoshop CS3 for Nature Photographers: A Workshop in a Book (Sybex, 2007) and
Aperture Exposed: The Mac Photographers Guide to Taming the Workflow (Sybex, 2006). She has also written an easy to read pdf detailing the digital workflow from downloading CF cards to presenting the images to others, that is available from her Web site, www.sunbearphoto.com
Ellen’s articles and/or images have been published in numerous publications including Shutterbug, eDigital Photo, Nature’s Best Magazine, Apogee,.naturescapes.net and Sierra Club’s book, Mother Earth and Photoworkshop.com, and various calendars, billboards, and more. Her fine-art images are in private collections in both the US and Europe.
Ellen is passionate about photography and the digital darkroom and enjoys sharing her expertise both by teaching and by writing. She has been fortunate to colead photography workshops with Arthur Morris, Photoshop workshops for Joe and Mary Ann McDonald, and her own Photoshop-in-the-Field workshops. (See www.sunbearphoto.com for upcoming courses.) She also presents seminars in various locations and is an instructor for the high school scholarship programs at the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) summits. Recently, she was honored to be one of the Apple VIP Pro Photographers.
A Couple of Photos by the Instructor
© Ellen Anon | 
© Ellen Anon |
Course Outline
Top
Lesson 1: Histogram Basics
We'll start by learning exactly what a histogram is and the various types of histograms you're likely to encounter in digital photography (yes, there's more than one!). We'll talk about what is an ideal histogram and learn how it varies according to the image. We'll examine the histograms for a variety of images, and learn what peaks and spikes at various places mean.
Assignment: Basic histograms - upload pictures and briefly describe the histograms.
Lesson 2: Using the Histogram to Adjust In-Camera Exposure
This lesson will focus on a variety of pictures and their histograms and what adjustments to make in camera to get a better exposure, including ISO settings, shutter speed or aperture adjustments, and exposure compensation. Sidebar #1: Why Expose to the Right.
Assignment: Adjusting in-camera exposure.
Lesson 3: Using the Histogram with More Advanced Exposures in Camera
This lesson continues on from the previous week and look at good and bad histograms seen with flash, in backlighting, excessively high or low-contrast situations, and silhouettes. We'll talk about what camera setting should be modified to get the best picture and when to add flash.
Assignment: Histograms for tricky exposure.
Lesson 4: Histograms and Photoshop or Elements
We'll learn how the basic exposure adjustments including setting black and white points and brightness with Levels or a raw converter affect the histogram. We'll see how histograms change to reflect increased or decreased contrast. We'll consider how the ideal histogram for an optimized image might differ from the ideal in-camera histogram.
Assignment: Histograms, Raw converter and Photoshop
© Ellen Anon | 
© Ellen Anon |
Requirements
Top
- Digital camera with ability to display a histogram.
- Ability to set Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO, and/or flash.
- Adobe Photoshop or Elements.
|
FAQ
Top
Who is this course intended for?
This course is open to anyone interested in learning how to understand histograms and use them to make better exposures.
Do the techniques covered in this course pertain to any type of photography?
Histograms offer information that pertains to any and all types of photography.
How much equipment will I need to assure my completion of each week's assignment? Will I need a flash?
You'll need a digital camera that has a histogram display on it. While we will talk a bit about flash, you won't have to use it to complete an assignment. You should also be able to download your CF card and view the image in image editing software such as Photoshop or Elements.
© Ellen Anon | 
© Ellen Anon |
Do I have to be online at any specific time?
No, you do not need to be online at any specific time. The lessons are sent to your email and you are also provided the Campus Square - where you interact with your classmates and instructor. This is also where you upload your photos to be critiqued by your instructor. The instructors are very punctual and respond quickly.
Will I have access to the instructor to ask questions during the photo course?
Absolutely! Students can ask questions in the special Q&A forum set up in the course's Campus Square, or can ask the instructor via email.
Do you offer a money back guarantee?
Yes. We are confident that you will fully enjoy our courses. All the same, for our 8-week classes, we offer a 100% money-back guarantee before the Wednesday that Lesson #3 is sent out. If for any reason, you are not satisfied and let us know that you would like to withdraw before the Wednesday that Lesson #3 is sent, you will be promptly refunded.
For our 4-week courses, we offer a 100% money back guarantee before the Wednesday that Lesson #2 is sent out from BetterPhoto. If for any reason you are not satisfied and you let the ordering department know that you would like to withdraw before the Wednesday that Lesson #2 is sent, you will be refunded within 7 days. After the second lesson has been sent out, no refunds will be given.
If you have further questions about this course, feel free to contact us via the Contact link below.
Only $198.00 USD
What does it mean to "Get Started Today"?
