Well, last weekend was the Friedman Photography Seminar and I have to say it was amazing. From the minute it started til end of the weekend we learned so much information that my brain felt like it was going to explode. Gary Friedman and his wife were very gracious hosts, and Gary himself quite a character. He made sure that we were never bored during the long days, and they were pretty long days too!!
Saturday we started at 10 am, and with me were Dan, my husband and Adam our 11 year old nephew. The first day was covering basics of digital photography and learning how to get that perfect WOW! shot. We learned about the importance of composition and lighting which included the seven rules of composition! Also learned his secrets to great travel photos.
Saturday was full of tips from, as I said lighting, composition, rule of thirds, repeating patterns etc. A lot of valuable information swirling around in my brain at the end of the class.
Sunday class started at 9:30 am and this day was just my husband joining me as it was a class for technical information. This class we were to learn more about metering modes, f/stops, shutter speeds, jpeg vs raw, as well as using Photoshop to go from "good" to "great" shots. This was the class I was really looking forward to.
Gary showed us how to use your hand for example as a light meter (spot meter off your hand, overexpose by +1 stop and shoot away) Kind of nice to know you always have a light meter on "hand" lol
During this class as I hoped the light bulb DID indeed come on for me. In the past I would play around with my f/stops, shutter speeds, aperture etc, but after this class I now know how to use them better to my advantage.
We spent a long day with everyone in class asking questions as we went, which Gary gladly stopped his discussion to answer at length. We had several times the class went off course to answer a students question but he did not mind and we did get back to point eventually. In the future I hope to attend more classes with Gary. He asked the class what type of changes could be made to better suit this seminar and the class suggested a class one day and next day more hands on in the field. This sounded like a great idea to all and I hope to see it implemented in the future.
So now when I take my walks with camera in hand, I am thinking about what I am shooting, how it will look and how the camera sees it.
Anyone interested in taking a seminar with Gary will NOT be disappointed, visit his site, check out his books, (I personally have bought 3)
https://friedmanarchivespress.com/
