Digital Photo Academy's expert instructors are available to work with you to accommodate your personal schedule while providing comprehensive 5 hours of professional instruction tailored to meet the specific needs of your group or individual learning style.
Each session typically begins with an in-depth discussion regarding your equipment choices, your photographic goals, and your vision for what you want to achieve with your camera work. This initial consultation naturally flows into a hands-on, in-the-field photo shoot that aligns precisely with your stated photography objectives. Whether your interests lie in landscape photography, portrait work, architectural documentation, or numerous other specialized categories, the session can be customized to match your specific passion and creative direction.
Your private instruction concludes with a detailed demonstration and discussion of various post-capture workflow processes and techniques. The specific time allocation for each component of the training will be adjusted based on your individual needs, preferences, and the particular day package you have selected. Both full-day and half-day class options include a meal break scheduled at a time that works best for your calendar and availability.
Topics to be discussed:
Camera Discussion and Equipment Assessment
Are you contemplating the purchase of a new camera system, or do you already have equipment that you plan to use for an extended period? Your instructor will partner with you to enhance your understanding of your camera's features and settings, offering guidance on how best to use your specific equipment. Together, you'll explore the full range of capabilities your gear has to offer.
What format best serves your needs: should you shoot in JPEG format, RAW format, or a specific image size? Where will your images be displayed: on a website, printed large for your home, or shared on Facebook? Do you have a particular photographic specialty that interests you, such as close-up flower photography, sweeping landscape vistas, wildlife documentation, portrait sessions, sports photography, natural window light, or controlled studio lighting? This conversation helps your instructor advise you on optimal settings and equipment choices, including which lenses and accessories will best support your creative goals.
In-the-Field Shooting and Location Selection
Your instructor brings extensive, hands-on experience with field photography and often has special access to unique venues and locations that are not typically open to the general public. Perhaps you'd benefit from expert guidance while photographing at your local zoo, visiting a beautiful arboretum, or exploring a historic antebellum mansion. If sports photography fascinates you, many of our instructors have professional experience shooting for local newspapers and can connect you with opportunities at community sporting events.
Whatever photographic specialty appeals to you, whether it's nature and wildlife documentation, street photography, or studio portraiture, your instructor will tailor the session curriculum to match your interests perfectly. Your private class location will be chosen to support and enhance your learning objectives. Throughout the shoot, your instructor will share proven techniques that help you capture images worthy of a professional portfolio. Composition is truly an art form, and while you'll naturally develop your own distinctive style, your instructor will teach you classic compositional techniques that transform your mental vision into stunning final images.
Post-Capture Workflow and Image Analysis
After exploring field shooting techniques and strategies, a crucial component of photography mastery involves organizing and managing your complete body of work in ways that make archiving convenient and sharing effortless. At this phase of your session, your instructor will help you carefully examine each image, identifying patterns and recurring themes in how you perceive and frame the world. For instance, do you unconsciously favor a particular vantage point? Do you consistently position your main subject in the same area of the frame? Do you prefer shooting from close proximity to your subjects or from a greater distance? By recognizing these patterns in your personal photography style, you can choose to embrace them as signature elements or consciously shift your approach, and you'll develop increased awareness of the compositional options available in future shooting situations.
In the modern digital photography environment, there are numerous techniques available to correct or compensate for mistakes or limitations that may have occurred during the actual shoot. Was your outdoor lighting too flat and uninspiring, or perhaps too harsh and contrasty? Did you miss capturing your intended frame, wishing you'd positioned yourself differently or adjusted your angle? During this portion of your session, your instructor will present a selection of the images you captured that day and demonstrate a range of Photoshop adjustments and editing approaches, walking you through each step and discussing how these modifications enhance or transform your images.
Important Scheduling Information:
- Private lesson scheduling is flexible and depends entirely on your instructor's availability and your preferred dates and times.
- In the unlikely event that your instructor becomes unavailable for a previously scheduled class, they will contact you promptly to arrange an alternative date based on your calendar, or you may request an immediate refund if that works better for you.
- Course locations will be determined and confirmed before your class begins. Exact meeting places will be communicated to you well in advance of your session.
- The session fee remains the same whether you choose to study alone or bring along friends and family members, allowing you to divide the cost among your group if you prefer.
