Full day & half day Photography courses

3 Sep       Landscape photography course

Through a series of location practicals this session will look at :

·         the creative composition to be found in the landscape,

·         understanding how light effects the subject, the use of  appropriate focal lengths for the scene,

·         working with manual exposures, long exposures, fill in flash, back lighting and multiple exposures for that all dramatic sky. 

The session will take place in Derbyshire and will close with a return to Wilmslow for a glass of wine and a review of the images taken throughout the course of the day

(Good basic understanding of your camera required, plus a tripod and good walking boots.  (Not suitable for anyone with walking difficulties))

4 Sep     Studio Portraiture.

During this one day intensive course you will cover various aspects of studio portrait photography including the technical and creative aspects of studio lighting and composition.

The course will teach you how to work with  different lighting settings to create various and creative lighting effects .  The course will also cover how to work with a model, the tips and tricks to get the best out of your subject.

We also cover post editing techniques to enhance your images and monitor calibration to ensure you are viewing them correctly on screen before you send your images to print.

(Suitable for persons with a good working knowledge of shutter speed and apertures.)

1 Oct    Understanding Your Camera

Basic Photography is an essential guide to photography and is ideal for both beginners and those wishing to refresh their previous camera skills.

This intensive course examines in straightforward, jargon free terms how to understand your digital camera fully and how to make it work for you. You will cover manual camera controls such as exposure readings, aperture and shutter speeds and how to assess your digital files.

In addition this course will provide you with a solid grounding in composition and an introduction to post production software.

(A digital SLR, hybrid or high end compact camera required)

Photography courses & term dates

Having a great time playing with my new toy, Vertical Response, which allows you to create fantastic newsletters with links and pics and all sorts. Sadly, it's taken me the best part of two days to write my first one, so for those of you who actually want the information, not the fabulous layout - in a nutshell 

Lindow Photographic Group

(Lindow CP School, 7.30 – 9.30pm)

Advanced                         Sep 12, 26, Oct 10, 24, Nov 7, Nov 21, Dec 5, Dec 19 (joint session)

Intermediate                     Sep 19, Oct 3, 17, 31, Nov 14, Nov28, Dec 12, 19 (joint session)

Lindow 10

(Venues to vary, eg at home, studio, etc,  as needed)

Meeting every Thu morning, or days as agreed,  w/c Sep 12 to w/c Dec 12, plus Dec 19 (joint session)

Thursday nt group

(Lindow CP School, 7.30 – 9.30pm)

Meeting every Thu  Sep 15 to Dec  15, plus Dec 19 (joint session)

By popular demand(!), there’ll be a “Sagelight” course on Monday Aug 8, 7.30-9.30. Cost will be £20 per person, the venue will depend on how many takers we have, but it will be local. Only 15 place available, ring or e-mail to reserve one...

Due to major building works at Lindow School over the holidays, we may need to move temporarily to another venue, however we will stay local.

3 September

Photographing Landscapes          Full day                 £50

4 September

Introduction to portraiture          10.30 -12.30        £65 (includes model)

1 October

Understanding Your Camera       10.30- 12.30

5 November

The Digital Darkroom                      10am-1pm          £35

PLACES ON ALL COURSES ARE LIMITED, PLEASE BOOK EARLY...

So, back to the newsletter, coming to an inbox near you. Eventually....!

Cross processing technique in Photoshop (number 1 in a series)

This is the first in a series of photographic tips and techniques for you try, including picture taking techniques, Photoshop and Sagelight.

Do you remember taking a slide film and processing it in C-41 or a negative film and processing it in E-6? And all those strange colours and contrasts you used to get?  Well this is the first of our techniques that emulates this cross processing effect in Photoshop.

STEP 1
Open the image of your choice in Photoshop then click the "Layer/ new adjustment layer" in the top menu and select ‘Curves’. From the Channel drop-down box, select the Red channel and drag the curves so it looks like the image below.

STEP 2
Select the Blue channel and drag the curves so it looks like this image. It doesn't need to be much — just enough to take some blue out of the highlights.

STEP 3
In the Green channel, add another gentle  ‘S’ curve — increasing the contrast, especially in the highlights.

STEP 4
Fine-tune each individual channel curve to suit your image, but leave the combined RGB curve untouched. Focus on the colour balance rather than the contrast.

STEP 5
One final step is to add a yellow colour cast to the picture. Click the "Layer/Create new fill" and choose Solid Colour. Select a yellow-green and click OK, then reduce the new layer's opacity to just 10%

And that’s it!  A simple way of producing a crossed processed effect.  Great for portraiture and fashion shoots.

Before

 After

Calendar girls photoshoot

There's been a huge amount of preparation for the Lilac Centre's calendar shoot  - featuring models who've all undergone chemotherapy resulting in hair loss. 

Journalist Judi Goodwin was pivotal in taking the The Lilac Centre's idea forward and really getting the ball rolling. The day of the shoot, held at Arden studios, was hectic but ran smoothly, with make up artists and stylists helping to ensure that each model looked fabulous. The Calendar is now in the capable hands of John Bowring at Keyprint, in readiness for a celebrity launch in September.

The LPG at the Wilmslow Show

Well, our first Wilmslow show stand and what a great success it was too.  A chance to showcase what the LPG does and to promote some one day photography courses as well (the LPG taster session is fully booked).  A great big thank you to all those who manned the tent and even though you were booked to be there for just an hour each you all stayed to the very end - thanks!  I hope this will become an annual event for the group and next year should certainly include some photographic events - maybe our very own competition perhaps? 

Thanks to Val for the photograph and the picture of me scratching my head that sums up only too well the approach we took in putting everything together!  Thanks Mark, Tony, Colin B, Steve B, Craig, Mike, Steve and of course Bethan for thinking of such a great idea!

Wilmslow Show

Thanks to all our friends who have rallied around to create and man our stand at this Sunday's Wilmslow Show. What was a patch of grass booked on Tuesday evening now is a gazeebo, 6' table, display boards, prints, portfolios - and lots and lots of help. We're really looking forward to it, in a slightly terrified sort of way, and all we need now is the weather... Come and say hello! Show is on 11am to 4.30pm, at Wilmslow High School, I think there's an entry charge of £5, however if you're early it will be worth it to see Richard putting up a) a gazeebo and b) a display board..... Here's a link to all that's on:

http://www.wilmslowshow.com/Home