About the Course
This class is for photographers who want to learn the basics of digital editing and printing. Depending on the student’s preference, they may use either Lightroom Classic and/or Photoshop for both editing and printing. The class will be held in Photoworks digital lab and you will have access to inkjet printers.
What Will You Learn?
I think there are four steps to producing a good photograph. Each of the items below contribute to creating and presenting a print you can be proud of.
See the picture: Whether you are photographing still images or live action pictures, education and practice can guide you to the best viewpoint.
Take the picture: This sounds obvious, but you need to learn be prepared to respond quickly to opportunity.
Edit the picture: Here’s where this class comes in handy!
Show the picture: You now have a print. Why not mat it and frame it? I discuss this too.
I usually spend a day each going over Photoshop and Lightroom. Then you will be able to edit and print your photos in class with me to help and guide you along the way. I provide the photo paper you can use in class. I have everyone start editing one or two of my images that need work, so I know I'm giving everyone a lot of practice on the basics. Then the class moves on to working on personal photos.
Since everyone has different needs about which program they want to use, and what they want to get out of the class, I give everyone individual attention as they work on their photos.
I also show examples of how I’ve edited a photo that looks fairly OK as it was taken and turned it into something that I think is seriously better – at least it ends up looking like I think it is its best version, in the way I like to present my images.
My handouts are step by step tutorials with screenshots to give you the information to work in both Lightroom and Photoshop. I have additional handouts covering just about everything you will need to work. Both programs have additional tools to draw on to enhance your images that I might not have a handout for, but if there is something you are interested in doing that isn’t covered, we can go over that in class as well. Honestly, Photoshop continues to surprise me with its wealth of features. I’ve been using it since 2005, and just last year I found I could change the direction of light in a photo! Never needed to do that before, or since.
Lightroom is an easier tool to learn and is fine for light editing and great for printing, but Photoshop is the tool that gets everything done. Oh, Lightroom does have its Templates feature that lets you arrange and print multiple images on a single sheet of paper. This really came in handy for several of my images.
Both programs are continuously being enhanced with new features, particularly the AI features, including making images larger, sharper, and reducing digital noise. Photoshop has a feature they call Photo Restoration, which I used to virtually eliminate grain from the scanned image of a film negative! I go over all these tools as well.
Both are just tools that are available for you to use, depending on your needs and preferences. Adobe charges a monthly fee for its photography package, which includes both these programs. I'm paying $10.59 per month for them. Just a reminder, the Lightroom program to use is Lightroom Classic. I believe the regular "Lightroom" program also included with the package was supposed to be the new version of Lightroom, but it was a popular as New Coke. Which is to say, if you don't remember, no one liked it, and Coke had to bring back the real version.
In addition to the technical part of the training in the class, I also discuss the aesthetics of what makes a good picture, how to learn to see the possibilities of pictures to take, and how to select the ones you want to print. Other topics include monitor calibration, using icc profiles, photo paper choses, and printer choices if you are thinking about buying one. But you can always come to Photoworks on Sundays and print your edited work. While you are taking my class, there is no fee for this. Afterwards, it is $20/hour. This is much less expensive than buying a printer, by the way.
Not to forget file organization to be able to find your images! I have a handout for that as well.
You can email me at rabatch@comcast.net with any other questions.
Your Instructor
Richard Batch
Richard has taught Digital Photography I and II, Digital Printing I and II, Kids Camps, Meet & Shoot, Smartphone Photography, The Negative, and Developing a Personal Style. In 2021 he is introducing The Art of Photography, a class that discusses the elements of great photographs and applies them to current work.
He shoots pictures of life happening, and recently produced a book of somewhat surreal and unusual photographs, Twilight in the Void. Richard’s photography was influenced by Richard Avedon, both his portrait and candid work, both of which showed people being vividly alive. He enjoys passing on what he has learned, helping people become better photographers with less effort.
“I aim to make it easier for my students to achieve what they want, not only by presenting techniques I'm teaching, but by helping with any specific area that interests them. This helps to broaden the scope of the class, and benefits other students (and sometimes me) as well."