D-SLR 101

I started my visual art training during high school in 2004. I took a film photography class with a Canon Rebel SLR in that taught me not only how to control a camera but how to develop black and white photographs in a dark room. I also took drawing and painting classes.From there I took more courses to learn how to operate a digital SLR, different mediums including acrylic and oil paint, graphite, and chalk pastel in college and also took a lighting course which was suprisingly interesting and helpful with my photography. I have enjoyed a part-time career of doing portrait photography and commercial photography since. I did food photography for a new menu I designed for a Sushi resteraunt in Rochester, MN. My photos were blown up and applied to the whole floor to ceiling resteraunt front. It was wicked awesome. The menu turned out amazing, too, if I do say so myself. I've done senior portraits and family portraits- in studio and on location. One of my favorite projects was doing photography of the interior of beautifully designed homes for a designer's book she published.

Looking at the menu screen of a DSLR can be intimidating if you have no idea what ISO means or what the heck you're supposed to set the top dial to and why and when??... No worries. We will get there. It'll be a fun little adventure. PLEASE- if you are interested in lessons for Lightroom, BUY the software before we meet up, I want you to be using it as soon as you take your first set of photos. You want an organized computer and Lightroom is what you use to import and export your photos from your camera (SD card/USB) to your computer and it has a wicked cool filing system that will never let you down if you use it properly. If you are interested, go to the Adobe website to download the program.

Keep the shutter clicking. Now that we are in a world of invisible film, you have a virtually endless supply of it. I can also teach you how to cruise through and edit your photos in Lightroom. You flag the ones you like and filter them so you only see the photos you actually want and save/edit from there. Photography is a genious technology that serves so many purposes. My day job is a Store Manager and my favorite part of my job is teaching my assocites how to do things. I have endless patients and am always willing to answer any and all and every single question. I want you to be ONE with your camera. Once you understand how the camera works and what the differnt adjustments do to the way the camera takes the picture you'll be the master of your own destiny. Very cool stuff. Can't wait to meet you!