SPEAKING/WORKSHOP/PRESENTATIONS

The following topics are available as online, “in person” PowerPoint presentations or, as COVID-19 restrictions and safety allow, in-person, live educational opportunities.

Color Workflow ~ From Capture to Print

The most frustrating thing to a photographer is create an amazing image and then have it look lackluster in print or online. Or, worse yet, the print comes back unacceptable. This class is a 1 ½ hour presentation that goes through all the settings, equipment and knowhow a photographer will need to capture, process and prepare for print images so that they look as good in print as they do on the monitor.

Printing Your Art: A Beginner’s Guide to Making Your Photographic Art Awesome

Frustrated with how your prints come back from the lab? Has someone told you to “calibrate your monitor” and you really didn’t understand why? Or how? This class will help photographers solve their printing problems and send them on the road to printing success. The course covers color workflow from capture through exporting for print, color calibrating, color spaces, bit depth, what to work in and when, converting color spaces for print, how to do it and when, sharpening and sizing for print, proofing for print, avoiding common printing pitfalls, and creating a print that looks like what you see on your monitor.

The Dog Photography Guide | Capture (In Studio) Day 1/2

Everything you need to know to get started photographing dogs and keep those tails wagging (and clients happy). Workshop includes how to set up your pet sessions for success, knowing the basics of green/yellow/red dog behaviors, tips for making sets easy and stress free for dogs, how to work with dogs that have absolutely no training, lighting patterns explained for different sizes, coat types and colors of dogs, important things to remember with focus points and DOF, color calibration for exact colors, gear/strobe/modifier suggestions for studio and settings, the secrets to getting those amazing expressions.

The Dog Photography Guide | Processing (In Studio) Day 2/2

Post session tips and tricks to make your dog images go from blah to bravo. Workshop includes how-tos on importing images and organizing in Lightroom Classic, getting the color and white balance correct, making selections when everything is adorable, setting up files for viewing by the client, when and how to sharpen your images, cleaning up messy dog hair, how to handle multiple dog/composite images, and more.

Understanding Dog Behaviors for Better Photography

This class goes through the basics of green/yellow/red dog behaviors in detail, as well as what behaviors you should show to diffuse an escalating situation. Also, tips on finding a good dog handler as your assistant, questions you should ask potential clients about their dogs, what vaccinations you must require dogs to have before photographing them, what types of insurance you should have for your studio and more. Additional: This workshop can be given in conjunction with my co-author Brandy Eggeman, an exceptional trainer, noted and awarded human remains detection dog handler and trainer, and the authority on working with aggressive dogs. Please inquire for availability of this exceptional, two-presenter, hands-on workshop.

The ABCs of Photo Fundraisers

A step-by-step guide to setting up a location photo fundraiser that will bring in thousands for your favorite charity. This program is set up for photographing dogs; however, the information could be adapted for a variety of different photography subjects. Program includes detailed information on how to work with 501(c)s, tax issues, donations, taking reservations and scheduling, volunteers, paperwork, products or digital, and more.

Masking Pet Hair

Always a challenge but a necessary skill that all dog, cat and equine photographers need to master. This class is a combination Photoshop masking class, as well as a Photoshop realistic painting class. No matter how difficult the extraction, with the tools presented in this class, photographers will be able to mask pet hair better, faster and more realistically.

Lightroom Classic ~ Learning the Basics

This class covers everything Lightroom Classic from import, cataloging, settings, metadata, editing and preparing for print. All modules will be covered in this day-long workshop.

*This workshop also can be tailored for a shorter class, featuring specific aspects of Lightroom Classic tailored to the group’s interests.

Equine Photography ~ Knowing Horse Behaviors for Better Images

Unless you grew up around horses and lived, breathed, trained and saddle broke horses as your passion and/or livelihood, certain aspects of equine photography could be difficult to master, if not potentially dangerous. This class covers the basics of horse behaviors, how to work with a prey animal, safe photographic practices, and tips to getting beautiful equine imagery and portraits that will sell.

Print Competition ~ Dos, Don’ts and When It Is OK to Break the Rules

The first and foremost reason for entering print competition is to raise your abilities to see imagery as an art form and thereby improving your abilities when working with everyday clients. Once you’ve mastered the “game” of print competition and can see your personal and client work improving by leaps and bounds, you will most likely be hooked for life. This course covers the 12 elements by which photographs are judged in most state, regional and international PPA and PPA-affiliated print competitions. It also covers the nitty-gritty of how to take your image and make the best presentation possible, the digital or print question, and common errors made by everyone when they first start. The class also covers how images are judged, scores, thumbs up and down, challenges and much more.

Improving Your Photographic Skill Set ~ Elevate Your “Pictures” to Better Images

This class if for everyone who wants to become a better amateur photographer – those who are frustrated with blurry images from kids sports, portraits that just don’t quite look right or how to get the camera settings right to achieve what you are seeing (or better!), rather than what the camera captures. This class can be given as a half-day workshop or as a PowerPoint presentation for social, non-profit and other organizational groups.