DYNAMIC CLOSE-UP PHOTOGRAPHY Seeing photo hiding in plain site.

OVERVIEW

Find out how close-up subjects can result in larger-than-life images. Close-up detail photos provide the accent that can set a mood, reveal pattern, line, and shape, and add visual variety to your collection of photographs. As Award Winning Pro Photographer, Kevin Vandivier will show you, the more intimate view sometimes will reveal more about a subject than the broader scene! This online class will show you how to use both regular camera gear and specialized macro lenses to capture great close-up artisitc images of just about anything - nature subjects, still life scenes, architectural details, etc.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

• Developing an Eye for Details
• Compositional Choices
• Natural Light: Mastering It and Fixing It
• Going to the Extremes - Close-ups and Macro

• Covers creative and technical aspects that apply to the following: 1) tight close-ups with regular lenses, and 2) extreme close-ups with a macro lens or macro accessory.
• Expand your vision to include details of just about any subject
• Covers a key issue in photographing close-ups: critical focusing.
• Learn to handle the inherently narrow Depth of Field in close-up and macro photography.

WHY TPW

You will learn from award winning working professional photographers, not has beens or wanna be's!

Each week you get honest professional feedback on your photography. There are no smackdowns or ear tickling!

You can take this online class from anywhere in the world

You will be making great photos over and over and over!

You will advance your learning process much quicker than a book, DVD or seminar!

INSTRUCTOR :Kevin Vandivier

Not is Kevin pationate about teaching others what he knows, but has been working professionally for over thirty years at a level most professionals only dream of. Kevin not only is the former award winning photo editor for Texas Highways Magazine, but has and continues to shoot for the worlds top magazines and corporations. A few career highlights have been landing a cover with Life Magazine, Shooting assignments for National Geographic Society and Smithsonian Magazine. Winning a 2nd place in the coveted 2011 Best Of Photojournalism Competition for Photographic Illustration, etc. You can see more of Kevin's professional work and visit his blog at http://www.kevinv.com

COURSE OUTLINE

Week 1: Developing an Eye for Details
Introduction: Why a photogenic part sometimes is stronger than the whole. How to find eye-catching subjects. The art and technique of exploring and experimenting. Value Add Lesson: Macro equipment options (from lenses to accessories, although again, macro gear is optional in this course).
Assignment: Isolate the picture in the picture - close-up or macro.

Week 2: Compositional Choices
Lens focal length options - moving physically closer vs. zooming in tighter. Zeroing in as tight as possible with standard lenses or with macro equipment. Positioning the subject. Simplifying a scene (by eliminating distracting elements). Value Add Lesson: Depth of Field.
Assignment: Shoot the same subject with different compositions (close-up or macro).

Week 3: Light: Mastering It and Fixing It
How light can impact a photo: late/early day for warm light and striking shadows for small scenes; soft overcast light for close-ups and macro shots; sidelight vs. backlight; etc. Working in challenging conditions (light-vs.-dark contrast): “fixing” things with fill flash, a reflector, or diffusion disc, or light painting, etc. Value Add Lesson: types of flashlights for light painting.
Assignment: Shoot the same subject in different light or lighting techniques - close-up or macro.

Week 4: Going to the Extremes - The devil is in the details
An introduction to extreme close-up and macro photography: Shooting survival strategies: i.e., dealing with a razor-thin depth of field, paying attention to backgrounds, etc. More tips, tricks, and techniques for successful macro photography.
Assignment: Experiment with viewpoint and sharpness – via close-focusing with a standard lens or moving in tight with macro gear.

Requirements

• Digital camera.
• Knowledge of - and the ability to control - aperture and shutter speed.
• A tripod - and the willingness to use it!
• Flash Light
• Macro lenses optional

FAQ

This course is open to any photographer who wants to explore the realm of detail and macro photography.  

Any digital camera that allows for creative adjustments - i.e., the ability to control shutter speed and aperture - will do. This course doesn't require an arsenal of lenses, but you will need either a zoom lens or a few fixed-focal-length lenses. Also, you'll need a tripod.

Optional: Macro gear (i.e., a macro function on camera, a macro lens, close-up filters, or extension tubes). While not providing the extreme close-up ability of a macro lens, regular lenses can work great for close-up photography. And the course techniques apply to any macro or non-macro close-ups.  
 

This course focuses mostly on natural, non-flash outdoor light - plus window light and available light indoors. The subject of fill flash will come up briefly from time to time, but it won't be required for any assignments.  

Yes, but only if the software is used as a corrective tool and for routine post-processing (in particular, Raw images need work). Don't lean on it too much for creativity. For example, please avoid using the digital darkroom for things such as adding motion effects, creating soft backgrounds, or cleaning up or eliminating large distractions, such as trees or telephone poles. And, please, no major cropping! This course is making great images with your camera. It is not about what you can do with digital imaging programs after the fact (TPW has some terrific courses designed specifically for working in the digital darkroom). 

No, you do not need to be online at any specific time. The lessons are uploded each week to the classroom forum where you interact with your classmates and instructor. This is also where you upload your photos to be critiqued by your instructor. The instructors are very punctual and respond quickly.

Absolutely! Students can ask questions in the classroom forum and your instructor will respond within 24 hours.

SIGN UP NOW! If you have more question, call us at 512-636-7373