2014 Santa Fe 5-Day Digital Photography Boot Camp
Our 4th annual – Take a look at last year’s workshop here.
Dates: Friday, September 26 – Tuesday, September 30, 2014 Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico
Skill Level: Beginner to intermediate Class Size: Limited to 8 students
Status: Registration is open!
Intro:
Spend five intensive days in beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico with Matt Suess & Christine Hauber during our 4th Annual Santa Fe 5-Day Digital Photography Boot Camp.
This boot camp is especially designed for the beginner to intermediate photographer who not only wants to know more about their cameras & gear, but who also wants to learn more about composition & exposure in addition to developing skills in their digital darkroom on how to enhance their images into stunning photographs.
Half of this workshop occurs out in the field with our cameras while the other half takes place in a classroom setting with each student working on their own laptops while following along step by step on a large screen as Matt and I share our secrets of enhancing and beautifying photographs in the digital darkroom.
We will show you our own unique techniques both in the field photographing as well as in front of the computer that has enabled us to acquire collectors and followers of our artwork worldwide.
Not only are you learning from one professional photographer – but 2 full-time professional photographers and artists with over 40 combined years of experience behind the camera, in the digital darkroom, as well as teaching and helping students.
We will teach you what we know from our extensive background and experience in photography in a way that is easy and fun to learn and which allows you room to grow and advance from your new found knowledge and renewed enthusiasm in photography.
With a student to teacher ratio of 4:1 there will be numerous opportunities to work with Matt and me on a one-on-one basis helping you individually on composition, exposure, your own personal style, shooting techniques, and more. Our students have absolutely loved this aspect of our photo workshops and has led to great discussions and learning opportunities.
Join us in Santa Fe for our five day photography boot-camp in one of the most beautiful and historic areas of New Mexico and the Southwest.
Workshop Locations:
Over the course of the years we have refined the photography locations to include a wide variety of subjects each with their own unique challenges which we help you with as a group and one-on-one. Locations may include old gas stations, rusty old trucks, Aspen trees with their leaves turning yellow, old churches and missions, and classic downtown Santa Fe scenes. You are bound to take back many memorable photographs and experiences.
What this Workshop covers in the Field Photography Sessions
During the field photography portion of the workshop we will cover important techniques and skills such as composition & framing, using natural light for dramatic effect, lens choice, how to read your histogram to accurately judge exposure, aperture & depth of field, ISO settings, using a tripod & tricks for when you don’t have your tripod, multiple exposures, creative vision & expression, the study of light & shadow, and more. HDR photography will be heavily emphasized to control difficult lighting situations to get natural shots. We will also show you ways to use HDR for more creative, dramatic & artistic effects.
HDR stands for High Dynamic Range – or as Matt likes to say – Highly Dramatic Results. By combining multiple exposures of the same shot, it allows one to create an image with more dynamic range, more detail in the shadows and highlights, and ultimately more dramatic results. It also allows us to get natural or “artistic” results and we will teach you both ways.
Light walking is involved, and be aware of the elevation as we will be at approx. 7,000′.
What this Workshop Covers in the Digital Darkroom
- learn why you should shoot in RAW and understand how much easier it makes image optimizing
- Raw image processing
The enhanced version is on top while the original RAW file is pictured below.
- Import, keyword and organize your photographs for easy retrieval in the future
- Enhance your RAW Photos
- Learn how to adjust exposure, contrast, saturation, color balance, fix chromatic aberrations, sharpen, and more
- Remove dust spots
- Reduce noise and sharpen images
- Adjust shadow and Highlight for minor adjustments all the way to creating HDR type images
- Export photos in different file formats with or without a watermark
- Selectively enhance certain areas and colors within your photographs
- Software used is Capture One Pro (similar to Lightroom)
“It made me interested in going even further into photo editing than I had expected it would.” – quote from one of our students from the 2013 boot camp
- HDR Processing
- Learn how to combine multiple exposures into one
- Both natural looking and more creative techniques and results will be explained
- Software used is HDR Efex Pro from Nik Software
- Further image Enhancement and Optimization
- Learn how to easily preform many Photoshop tasks without using Photoshop. These tasks include layers and layer masks, cut outs, replacing skies, resizing for web and print, and more.
- Learn how to convert an image into Black and White
- Learn how to add creative effects and enhancements
- Easily remove unwanted distractions from your images
- Learn how to easily add a dramatic cloud filled sky to a seemingly boring cloudless sky
- Become the photographic artist you always wanted to be by created image you envisioned but could not capture
- Software used is Perfect Photo Suite from OnOne Software
Note that we do not teach Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop anymore. In our opinion the software we now teach, Capture One Pro (instead of Lightroom) and Perfect Photo Suite (instead of Photoshop) offers better quality of images with the added benefit of being much easier to learn. We teach the same software that we use for our fine art photography and we no longer use Lightroom and rarely use Photoshop. If you have ever struggled with Photoshop (believe me you are not alone) you will be amazed at how easy image processing and enhancing can be with this other software which is rather popular amongst professionals.
Also note you do not need to purchase the software prior to the workshop. Free trials are available allowing you to test the software for anywhere from 2 weeks to 60 days depending on the company. It is recommended to install trial software a couple days before the start of this workshop. All students end up being very impressed with the software after learning how to use it and end up purchasing the software at a later date (and some even during the workshop).
Schedule:
Friday, Sept. 26 – meet in downtown Santa Fe at 2pm for introductions and presentation followed by early evening photography, followed by an early evening dinner of our treat to welcome everyone and get acquainted and talk photography.
Saturday, Sept. 27 – meet at a location early morning – at approximately 7:30am. Field photography in the morning will be follow by a complimentary lunch at our classroom location at the Inn at Santa Fe. Classroom instruction will follow and will end at approximately 5:30pm so that you can make dinner plans with your loved ones.
Sunday, Sept. 28 – meet at a the Inn at Santa Fe at 7:30am to start an all day field photography session. We will drive from Santa Fe to Taos and back stopping at a number of unique photography locations. Lunch, not provided, will be held at a classic New Mexican restaurant. The day will end after sunset at approximately 6:30pm.
Monday, Sept. 29 – classroom instruction begins promptly at 9am (plan on arriving at least 30 minutes early in order to get setup with your laptop) at a location in Santa Fe. There will be a 1 hour break for lunch, and the classroom session ends at 5pm.
Tuesday, Sept. 30 – classroom instruction begins promptly at 9am (plan on arriving at least 30 minutes early in order to get setup with your laptop) at a location in Santa Fe. Classroom instruction will end at 1pm, allowing time to catch any late afternoon flights back home.
Skill Level: Beginner to intermediate. Basic working knowledge of your computer is a must. Previous experience with the photo software programs we will be using is not necessary. Any camera format is welcome.
“A photography “WOW” experience. No better way to learn about your camera, how to use it, and the ability to apply software for creating “your perfect photo.” Add exceptional and enthusiastic instructions from terrific teachers and the result is a workshop that is hard to beat!” – quote from one of our students in the 2013 boot camp
Tuition Fees & How to Register:
Repeat Student Special: If you took a workshop with us before you are eligible for an additional $100 off
Tuition: $895 per student, with a limit of 8 students
Registration is on a first come, first serve basis. Payment is due in full at time of registration.
The fine print:
- Payment for this workshop acknowledges reading and understanding our workshop policies listed on this page and here.
- We have a no tag-along policy. Spouses, family members, friends, etc. who are traveling with you and who have not registered are unable to partake in any group functions. Workshops are also not a location for pets and as such are not allowed with the exception of guide dogs.
- Cancellation Policy: All workshop tuition fees are non-refundable. We understand, however, that emergencies do come up at the last moment that could effect your participation. Should you need to cancel, Matt and I can transfer the fees you paid towards another one of our photo workshops. Note that there is a $150 administrative fee to do this, and you must sign up for one of our workshops that occurs within 1 year of the workshop you cancel. If the workshop you are transferring to is more than your original amount paid, the remaining balance will be due to secure registration. No fees are to be returned if the transferred workshop is less than your original payment. Students transferring from another workshop to this one will be registered in excess of the regular class size listed for this workshop with a maximum of 2 students transferred. Workshop fees can only be transferred towards another workshop and can not be used to purchase artwork or other items for sale.
In the event that we deem it necessary to cancel the workshop we will provide a full refund of tuition fees which the participant(s) acknowledges as full and final settlement. In the event of a workshop cancellation airline tickets, car rentals and hotel reservations associated with participation in this workshop will not be refunded. We strongly recommend you purchase refundable airline tickets and make refundable car and hotel reservations. Things beyond our control such as government shutdowns and weather can effect scheduling. We also recommend you carry travel and camera equipment insurance.
About Matt Suess:
Matt began his professional photography career while in college in 1990 and for the next 17 years worked as an award-winning photojournalist and winner of the 2003 New England Press Associations’ Photographer of the Year Award. His editorial and advertising photography has been published worldwide in newspapers, magazines, books, and more.
Matt is a digital photography pioneer who began working with digital imaging in the early 1990′s and helped implement and teach digital image processing to fellow newspaper staff photographers in the late 90′s and early 2000′s.
In 2006 Matt left behind his photojournalism career and ever since he has been a full-time artist selling his artwork at some of the best juried fine art festivals throughout the Southwest, with collectors worldwide.
With his vast experience in photography it is no surprise that Matt loves teaching. Due to the demands of being a full-time artist constantly traveling, he is only able to teach a small number of workshops each year. You can view his upcoming photo workshop schedule here. For more about Matt you can visit here.
About Christine Hauber:
Christine began her professional photography career in 1993.
A graduate of the Art Institute of Colorado and the University of Colorado, her photographs have been shown in galleries nationally and showcased in B&W and Photo Technique Magazine.
The author of the book Working in the USA, Christine has been the subject of several television programs, including the Fine Living Channel’s Radical Sabbatical and CNN’s NewsNight with Aaron Brown and interviewed for such internet and podcast programs as the Candid Frame and Photo Talk Radio.
She has conducted national lectures, seminars and workshops in addition to teaching photography at a community college. Since she now travels extensively selling her artwork, she is able to conduct a small number of workshops each year.
Christine began selling her artwork as a full-time artist in 2004. She has taken her photography into the realm of mixed media, creating one-of-a-kind pieces combining patina or oil painted metals with her photographs. Her work is now collected internationally. Her website is ChristineHauber.com