1-on-1 photography lesson

1-on-1 Nikon D3100 DSLR Photography Lesson with Margaret in St. Petersburg Florida

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Margaret using her Nikon D3100 during our 1-on-1 DSLR photography lesson in downtown St. Petersburg FloridaYesterday evening I met Margaret in downtown St. Petersburg for our first 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson.  There were dark clouds all around, but all they provided was a nice somewhat less hot cover for our lesson time and no rain at all.  The best of both worlds!  Margaret was not a first time DSLR owner as a majority of my photography students are.  She owned a Nikon D40 before recently buying a Nikon D3100, but all that time she had just been using auto-mode.  Now with the new DSLR, she finally was ready to learn to take control of her camera.

As I showed Margaret around her Nikon D3100 I explained that it only takes at most the setting of five things on the camera to make a well exposed and sharp image in any given shooting situation.  Beyond that we also talked about the benefits of shooting in RAW and how an external flash would help her shoot indoors better.  

After that intro we walked around the downtown St. Petersburg waterfront and were treated to a mothership looking cloud formation for a little landscape photography practice.  I also instructed Margaret on how to control the background (in focus or out of focus) using aperture and focal length.  I look forward to seeing her photographs shot in manual exposure mode from now on!

1-on-1 Nikon DSLR Photography Lesson with Rain in St. Petersburg Florida

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Rain photographing a fountain in downtown St. Petersburg during our first photography lessonI met Rain on a Monday morning for the first of our four 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lessons together in the downtown St. Petersburg Florida area.  Like many people I meet here who have not really been to this part of St. Petersburg before, she was very impressed with its beauty.  Rain is ready to make a significant investment in her photography, of course starting with her buying a 4-pack of my DSLR Photography Lessons, and also in gear too.  We began by discussing which Nikon is best for her and we both agreed the Nikon D600 paired with the Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 lens would be the best way to get started filling out a camera bag for her photography needs.  She will have the camera for our second lesson.  It will be my first time to get hands on with that camera as well so I am looking forward to it.

Rain already had a good amount of photography knowledge, so I helped her organize it in teaching her my 5-step process for shooting in manual exposure mode and showing her around a Nikon DSLR camera body.  I look forward to our next photography lesson after she does some shopping! 

Canon T4i 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson in St. Petersburg Florida with Bryan

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Bryan shooting with his Canon T4i from shelter as rain fell during our 1-on-1 photography lesson in St. Petersburg FloridaIt was sunny when I met Bryan in downtown St. Petersburg for our 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson that he received as a present in the form of one of my photography gift certificates.  As I was talking to him about my 5-step system for shooting in manual mode, well, some rain started to fall.  We were sheltered just fine under the Museum of Fine Arts walkway and still were able to venture out briefly when the rain stopped.  

Bryan was actually already shooting in manual mode, but without a system that can be used repeatedly in any shooting conditions, he was not getting the consistent results he wanted.  So during the lesson I helped him shape his existing photography knowledge in a way that will let him take control over exposure and composition in a more creative way.  I feel Bryan will be able to teach himself and really improve his photography results in a short time.  To end the lesson, in the low overcast light we had the chance to do a little motion blur practice.

1-on-1 Nikon D40 DSLR Photography Lesson with Rhea in St. Petersburg Florida

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Rhea still able to smile even during our second info packed 1-on-1 DSLR photography lesson in downtown St. Petersburg FloridaIt was already very warm at 9:30am when I met Rhea for our second 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson in downtown St. Petersburg Florida.  She brought her notebook this time as we reviewed what I taught her during our first lesson a few weeks ago.  After that refresh we started wondering around Beach Drive NE where I instructed her on having to be aware of the position of the sun when shooting during the daytime in Florida.  This means of course your back to the sun, or your shadow pointing at your subject.  This will help get the best exposure results.

We finished the lesson with some practice making portraits in full shade, rather than out in direct sunlight.  This may seem against logic, but in the harsh midday sun significant shadows form under the subject's eyes and neck.  Shooting in shade allows a diffused look to the light on the subject with no strong shadows.  Of course all this can be avoided by just shooting in good light, but that is not always possible.

1-on-1 Nikon D4 DSLR Nikkor 24-70mm Photography Lesson with Stacy in St. Petersburg Florida

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Out scouting portrait locations with Stacy & her Nikon D4 in St. Petersburg FloridaI met Stacy again this week in downtown St. Petersburg for our 13th 1-on-1 photography related lesson (some computer based lessons for editing & workflow).  Since last week she had used her Nikon SB-910 for the first time to photograph an indoor event organized by friends, so we began by reviewing those photographs and me reminding her that if the subjects appear to be too bright due to flash, either lower the power of the flash, or use a smaller aperture.  Changing the power on the SB-910 is not as straightforward as it has been on past Nikon speedlights, part of an overall over complicating of functions on their gear for no reason (see also how to change focus modes on current Nikon mid to pro bodies).  

After practicing how to use her speedlight more effectively, we actually went out scouting some locations in the downtown St. Pete urban area for portraits Stacy wants to make of her daughters later this year.  So I took her to my favorite brick wall location, tiled wall location and also a very gritty alley for as urban of a background as you can get!  Next lesson we will return indoors for more workflow related photography learning.

1-on-1 Nikon D4 DSLR Photography Lesson with Stacy in St. Petersburg Florida

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Stacy using a stable shooting position to balance the weight of her Nikon D4 during our photography lesson in St. Petersburg FloridaOver the first seven months of 2013, Stacy has become my most prolific student of all-time, starting with the group lessons she took at my Morean class, and now this was her twelfth 1-on-1 photography lesson (thanks Stacy!).  She has been learning from start to very finish how to be a modern DSLR photographer.  By that I mean she is learning what gear to get to fit her photography needs, how to use that gear in the field, then as important what to do with the RAW images once she returns home.  I have spent many hours in her home office getting her iMac setup with software and features to create the same seamless digital photography workflow I have on my own Mac based work station.  This also includes how to make regular backups of all her photos (and other computer files too) and ultimately how to share them in a secure online location with friends and family.  It is a reality that to be a complete DSLR photographer, not insignificant computer skills are also needed, that is if you wish to edit your photos (of course!) and to share your work and have it be seen (yes of course too!).  

This latest lesson though was a more traditional out in the field one, which means my usual downtown St. Petersburg location.  Stacy shoots with a Nikon D4 (yes, a D4, not a typo) and f/2.8 lenses, so gear weight and shooting ergonomics are especially concerning issues for her.  I stressed the importance of always shooting with a stable stance (legs wide apart) and shooting perpendicular to the subject so that the left arm acts as a monopod.  Then of course there is the simple matter of having the right bags for safely and conveniently carrying photo gear.  I gave Stacy advice on that based on seeing her non-camera specific bag she was using, that had to be placed on the ground each time she wanted to take a shot.

Stacy has already signed up for lessons 13-16 which will feature more practical shooting lessons as well as further refining her digital workflow.

1-on-1 Nikon D5100 DSLR Tripod Photography Lesson with Lisa in St. Petersburg Florida

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Lisa photographing a water spout during our stormy photography lesson in St. Petersburg FloridaFor our second of four 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lessons in downtown St. Petersburg I met Lisa in the evening for a tripod focused photography lesson.  With sunset around 8:30pm, our 2-hour lesson would cover sunset through twilight through night.  However, Mother Nature provided a bit of a diversion in the form of a severe thunderstorm.  It was the loudest most powerful lightning I have felt in Florida in 15 years!  Before all that happened there was a waterspout staring us down and two funnel clouds floating overhead.  We stayed safe and out of danger, but we ended up getting a bit wet once the rain came before we got to cover.  All this made for quite an exciting lesson!

There were plenty of stormy skies to photograph before sunset, then of course the waterspout too.  So instead of a photographing a gentle sunset from Vinoy Park as I planned, we actually photographed the waterspout and then tried to get some lightning shots too.  It was the most exciting photography lesson in a long time!