I took two online classes this month focused on photography for the holidays. The first, “Picture the Holidays” by Tracey Clark, was at BPC. Every day in December an email prompt and inspiration arrives in your inbox. When I signed up for the class, I knew exactly what I’d be getting since I had taken “Picture Spring” in April. I also knew from the outset that this time, I probably would not respond to every prompt, but I thought I might get some ideas for some different photos during the holiday. As expected there are several prompts I didn’t connect to at all, and there are several still on my list to take. I was inspired to look with new eyes at the usual holiday decorations and events, and I’m very pleased with some of the shots. Taking the pressure off myself not to participate daily made this class much more enjoyable. Tracey’s classes are a great way to jump start your photography if you’re in a slump or looking to try something new. Here are three of my favorite shots with their prompts.
“Warm Glow”
“Sincerely Yours”
“The Day After”
I signed up for the second class on the spur of the moment, and I am so glad I did. Katrina Kennedy’s “Capture the Holidays” through Get It Scrapped included seven lessons and two videos. This is the second class I’ve taken with Katrina, and I’ve learned a lot from both of them. Each lesson focused on one aspect of taking holiday photos: Lights, the Tree, Ornaments, Presents, Food, Outside (decorations and lights), and Morning (preparing for Christmas morning shots.) The pdf lessons (about 7 pages in length) provide technical settings for your dSLR, settings to try if you’re shooting with a point and shoot camera, and ideas to improve your composition. I found the technical information extremely helpful. Katrina provided the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO for a variety of shots. Starting with her settings, it was easy to adjust them for my particular situation. Her suggestions about using flash on Christmas were invaluable. (See the previous post.) Katrina sells some very helpful e-books at Designer Digitals. The one I like the best is “Get Me Off Auto.” I can also highly recommend her course “Through the Lens.” Earlier I posted a series of food shots I did after reading the lesson on food. Here’s one more food shot from this course.
Cranberry Cheesecake
Capture the holidays sounds like a wonderful class; I hope she’ll offer it again next year!
I really need to go back and FINISH “Through the Lens”! Like you, I found a good bit of inspiration in Picture the Holidays, but I’m happy I didn’t force myself to do a picture for every prompt.
They both sound fascinating classes,Karen.
Karen, I love seeing your beautiful photos – love them all, but the day after one is my fav. Thanks for sharing about photo-taking as I am clueless, lol.
your photos are gorgeous. I love your one little word choice…finish, how perfect.
Thanks for the reviews on these classes, Karen. I definitely want to work on my photography skills in the new year, and this gives me a great reference on the direction to go.
I haven’t heard of Katrina before but I like the sound of her class, I’ll have to have a look at the e-books at Designer Digitals. Thanks for sharing Karen and I love the photos.
Wishing you and your family a wonderful New Year, I hope 2011 will be a good one for all of you. xx
Great class reviews!!! Thanks so much for taking the time to give us that much information. I love your “Day After” photo BTW – it’s my favorite of the bunch. I’ve taken several classes at Get It Scrapped and find them very reasonably priced (in general). I’ll definitely keep an eye out for Katrina Kennedy’s classes now.
rinda
I like the day after photo as well 🙂
Thank you for such a detailed review, Katrina Kennedy’s class sounded like a great one to take and I like the idea of the provided technical information.
Happy New Year to you all Karen, I hope 2011 is a wonderful year for you!
The classes sound fab Karen, you have taken some lovely pictures 🙂
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