Have a pro at your side - online, all the time
This unique class will offer you exciting lessons on flash, plus a series of weekly drills to help you master the creative use of standard flash units. Besides his work as author of over 20 books and professional photographer, instructor Rob Sheppard writes a popular column, "Digital Horizons," for
Outdoor Photographer magazine and is an experienced workshop instructor. Also in this 4-week online course, you'll master the flash-blur technique, explore off-camera flash, and learn the value of using flash outdoors.
Key Features
- Master the flash-blur technique for new images
- Move the flash off-camera for better work
- Use flash outside for unexpected results
- Change your flash’s light quality for effect
- For Serious Hobbyists and Intermediates (skill levels 2 and 3).
- Learn to get more from your in-camera and accessory flash units.
- Achieve professional-level flash photos with these key drills.
- Guidance from an experienced digital photographer, editor and writer who knows how to help photographers succeed.
- Course designed for anyone with a digital camera and flash.
What You Get
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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.
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- 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!
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Instructor
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Rob SheppardRob Sheppard has had a long-time and nationally recognized commitment to helping photographers with digital so that it works for them. He was one of the small group of people who started
PCPhoto magazine nearly eight years ago to bring the digital world to photographers on their terms. He was the original editor of
PCPhoto and was the editor of
Outdoor Photographer magazine for 12 years. Now he is editor-at-large for the magazines. He is also the author/photographer of over twenty photo books, including
Outdoor Photographer Landscape and Nature Photography with Photoshop CS2, The National Geographic Field Guide to Photography - Digital,and
Adobe® Camera Raw for Digital Photographers Only.He also writes a column in Outdoor Photographer called Digital Horizons and teaches around the country, including workshops for the Palm Beach Photographic Centre, Santa Fe Workshops, and the Great American Photography Workshop group. His Web site for workshops, books and photo tips is at www.robshepppardphoto.com and his blog on digital photography is at www.photodigitary.com.
As a photographer, Rob worked for many years in Minnesota (before moving to Los Angeles), including doing work for the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Norwest Banks (now Wells Fargo), Pillsbury, 3M, General Mills, Lutheran Brotherhood, Ciba-Geigy, Anderson Windows, and others. His photography has been published in many magazines, ranging from National Geographic to The Farmer to, of course, Outdoor Photographer and PCPhoto.
He and his wife, Vicky (married 27+ years), live in the Los Angeles area. They have a son working on his Ph.D. in youth fitness and education and a daughter in college studying biology.
A Couple of Photos by the Instructor
© Rob Sheppard | 
© Rob Sheppard |
Course Outline
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Week 1: Master the Flash-Blur Technique for New Images
Flash-blur is an amazing technique that will immediately set your images apart from others. You’ll learn how you can merge the sharpness of flash with the motion blur of a slow shutter speed.
Week 2: Move the Flash Off Camera for Better Work
To really step up your work with flash, you need to move the light off camera. Do that and your flash possibilities increase exponentially.
Week 3: Use Flash Outside for Unexpected Results
Even though the simplest point-and-shoot cameras allow you to sync flash with daylight, few photographers do. You can learn to create new and unexpected lighting effects by using your flash when others don’t.
Week 4: Change Your Flash’s Light Quality for Effect
The quality of light relates to its broadness or size compared to the subject. Diffusing the flash has a small effect, but much less than most photographers think. You’ll discover how you can change the quality of light from any flash and get better photos.
Note: For all weekly lessons, you will get a number of drills to help you explore this idea, and some of those images will be used for the assignment and critique.
© Rob Sheppard | 
© Rob Sheppard |
Requirements
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- Digital camera with aperture and shutter speed control.
- External flash unit plus dedicated flash cord.
- A willingness to experiment and try different approaches.
- Desire to capture better images.
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FAQ
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Is this a studio class?
No. This is about using small flash for better photographs, although the ideas you will learn from this class will help any photographer use flash better.
Does my digital camera need to be expensive - a professional model?
No, as long as your camera allows you to control aperture and shutter speed and use an accessory flash - those are important things. A digital SLR is ideal, although an advanced compact digital camera that has a flash shoe would also work fine.
Are you going to teach things you can do in Photoshop in this photo course?
No, though I will comment about image processing in the critiques if it affects the flash technique. This course is about shooting, not about Photoshop or digital image-editing software.
Do I need anything else in the way of equipment?
You will need a camera and flash. A built-in flash will get you started, but for the work in this class, and any real use of flash, you need an accessory flash with a dedicated flash cable. That cable lets you solidly connect the flash to the camera, yet keep the flash off the camera. If your system has wireless capabilities, that can substitute for the flash cord.
© Rob Sheppard | 
© Rob Sheppard |
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
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