digital photography basics

October 21, 2015 by Kat

Digital Photography for Beginners eBook is here!

Do you want to improve your creativity and artistry with a camera? To capture great images that speak to your heart, you need both technical skill and creative vision. Today I’m excited to share a resource to help you get started on your journey as an artistic photographer with the information you need to create beautiful images, using any camera.

Digital Photography for Beginners: Understanding Exposure, Light, Composition, and Using your DSLR is a guide to the technical skills of photography, thoughtfully written in a non-technical format. This easy-to-follow guide also includes great explanations, photo examples and enjoyable exercises to help bring your camera skills to the next level.

This material was originally created as a six-week eCourse I taught online, and it’s been updated and repackaged into a beautiful 73-page eBook published by PhotographyBB. Digital Photography for Beginners is an eBook delivered in PDF format for maximum compatibility on all of your digital devices. To utilize this eBook, all you need is a digital camera and the photo editing software of your choice.

It’s a perfect fit for new photographers learning how to make the most of their DSLR or point-and-shoot camera.

Download Digital Photography for Beginners Now

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And, if you follow me because you are using a mobile device camera, you will find this eBook helpful as well. How do you think I’m able to coax so much out of my iPhone camera? It’s not just the apps. It’s a fundamental understanding of light, exposure, composition, and how a camera works. You can get that too, in Digital Photography for Beginners. I’m so excited to share this with you!

November 19, 2012 by Kat

The Digital Photography Basics eBook is here… and it’s FREE!

Do you ever have those moments where an idea comes along, and it’s so perfect, you know that it’s what you’ve been waiting for? I got one of those ideas in the shower, the morning after the workshop with David duChemin in Vancouver last month. It was like it came out of no where and smacked me in the head, making me think, Of course! Why didn’t I think of that sooner!

The idea was to give away the Digital Photography Basics course material as an eBook, free.

So that’s what I’m doing, starting today. No strings attached. No requirement that you sign up for my newsletter. No bonus if you sign up for one of my classes. It’s a gift. Completely and totally free.

All you need to do is go here to the Digital Photography Basics page here on my site and download your copy.

And then, if you like it, please share it. Share with anyone who is starting out in photography, and needs access to the basics. Share it with anyone who is getting back into photography, and needs a refresher. This information was meant to be out there, helping others learn the basics so they can develop the technical skills to move toward photography as an expression of heart and soul. This was the realization that made me do a little happy dance in the shower that morning.

And here’s why…

I had been trying to figure out what to do with this material. I wrote it in late 2010, as part of the first Find Your Eye eCourse I taught in early 2011. At the time, it seemed important to include this technical information with the Find Your Eye journey, because understanding how to use the tools of photography to get the image you want is the very first step to finding your eye. If you can’t consistently create images you love with the tools at hand, it is going to be hard to have a style.

I discovered in that first course it was way too much to include this material with the Find Your Eye material. There were three lessons a week and the participants could barely keep up. Not only that, many of the participants already knew these technical basics, and didn’t need the information. So after that first run I decided to pull the technical material out, and created Digital Photography Basics as a standalone eCourse. I ran it in late 2011 on its own for the first time, with great reviews. I modified it to be an On Demand eCourse in early 2012 so that the material was always available, because who wants to wait months to take a course when you just got a new camera? So I thought I was set. My plan was to run Digital Photography Basics once a year as an instructor-led eCourse with the On Demand course available anytime.

Only I discovered, earlier this year, that I didn’t want to teach it as an instructor-led eCourse anymore. I learned last fall, as part of my quest for balance, that I could reasonably run only one eCourse at a time. And my schedule was filling up. If I wanted to add more creative eCourses, which I have plans to do, I didn’t have room for this course in my schedule anymore. So, what to do with the material?

It seemed a logical choice: morph it into an eBook. The material was all there, ready to go, I just needed to repackage and sell it. Sell it for how much? I wanted the information to be reasonably priced, for anyone who needed it. Maybe I would add it as a bonus for my classes. I debated and dithered for months, not making any movement forward, until the idea in the shower.

The day before that idea came to me, at the conclusion of the Vancouver Gathering workshop, David duChemin encouraged us to give away our art. “Art is a gift,” he said, and talked about inexpensive ways to give our art away. I already believe strongly that our art should be liberated into the world, that it does us good to create it but does even more good when we share it. Where I hadn’t made the connection before was that my eCourses are my art, as much as photography. And here was the Digital Photography Basics material, which I had been trying to figure out what to do with, ready and waiting to be shared.

For the last four weeks, since the moment in the shower, I have had a singular purpose to get this eBook completed so that I can give it away. So that I can move to creating the next things… I have eCourses waiting to be born and other projects that need to be finished.

Here it is! A gift, for anyone who needs it. I hope that it gets out there and goes viral. Not because I expect any payback from it, but because photography has been the most beautiful gift for me, and I hope this can help others just starting out get over the learning curve and find the same. I hope you’ll help me make this happen, by using the eBook yourself and sharing it with others.

Knowing I could help even one person would be the best gift back, ever.

PS – You can use this button code on your blog sidebar or in a post to help me get the word out!

PPS – A big thank you goes to my volunteer proofreaders, who answered my call on Facebook and Twitter and helped me get the eBook ready to share: Chris, Judy and Beth. You are all awesome! Thank you so much!

January 1, 2012 by Kat

Announcing: Digital Photography Basics On-Demand

Happy New Year! Remember how yesterday I was talking about new things to come in 2012? I’m so excited to start off the New Year with an announcement. The Digital Photography Basics e-course is now available “On-Demand.” Rather than waiting until I offer it, the course is now available at any time throughout the year. If you or someone you know got a new camera for Christmas, this course will be a great first step to learn how to create beautiful images with that new toy!

But I always feel weird talking about my courses, so instead I’ll share what a few past participants have said:

I have taken a photography workshop [before], and I must say, yours blew that one out of the water. I was never frustrated in your course; I gained confidence in my abilities, and I actually learned how to use my camera. I’ve learned so much in this course, and now I’m looking forward to moving beyond the basics to finding the art in my photography. Thank you so much for an awesome 6 weeks! – Sarah

I looked forward to the lessons every week. They were so well written and understandable. I had taken an “in – person” class before, but I learned so much more from this one. The lessons flowed well from one week to the next. The assignments offered great opportunities to practice. – Kathy

[My favorite thing about the course] was the simplicity of the technical information. There was no confusion – just straight forward… here’s the info of how and why, set your camera like this, go play. Perfect! – Marji

I loved learning about the technical aspects of photography. I’d always found it challenging before but you presented it in an easy, understandable way. I loved that you paired each lesson with photographs. That made everything so easy to grasp. – Annie

The class was well worth every penny I spent. Every time I pick up my camera, I’ll be using something you’ve taught me! – Cathy

It always makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside to read those quotes! If you want to learn more, you can visit the Digital Photograph Basics page and also listen to this interview about the class. You just might learn a little bit about me too!

One of my themes for 2012 is empowerment, and having participants leave my courses feeling empowered is an underlying goal of all of the courses I create. While I love the artistic and creative aspects of photography, it has to be built on a strong foundation of technical knowledge. Digital Photograph Basics is a great first step to build that foundation. I hope you’ll share this course with anyone who might be interested in learning more about digital photography.

Tune in tomorrow, for another announcement on my 2012 theme of connection. I can’t wait to share!

October 7, 2011 by Kat

Moving off Auto

There is so much information on digital photography on the web, it is fantastic. It can also be overwhelming, when you are a beginner. Where do you start?

I thought I would take a moment today to talk about Digital Photography Basics, an online course I’m teaching starting October 16. I’ve mentioned registration is open but I haven’t talked much about the “why” behind this course on the blog.

It is no secret that I love the creative aspects of photography. I love to study composition, and why a photograph works visually. I love exploring how to express myself through my images, and helping others do the same. Underlying all of that, there is a technical foundation that I build on. I couldn’t express myself in the way that I do without having a good understanding of how to use my equipment. Exposure and post-processing are just as critical as composition for that expression, look at today’s photo as an example. The technical and creative aspects all work together.

That’s where Digital Photography Basics comes in. The technical foundation you need for expression is not as complicated as you might think. There are some basics you need to understand about how a digital camera works, and how you can use that basic information to create better images. It doesn’t take expensive cameras or complicated software to create great images, it takes your unique vision and an understanding of the camera and software YOU have. This course helps you learn to use what you have better, whether it’s a point-and-shoot or a dSLR. It takes you off “auto” so that you can express yourself in new ways in your photography.

Here’s what past participants in this class have said:

“[My favorite thing about the course] was the simplicity of the technical information. There was no confusion – just straight forward… here’s the info of how and why, set your camera like this, go play. Perfect!”

“I loved learning about the technical aspects of photography. I’d always found it challenging before but you presented it in an easy, understandable way. I loved that you paired each lesson with photographs. That made everything so easy to grasp.”

“You really do have an artist’s eye and a visual way of presenting the information, yet with the thoroughness of a scientist… both of which I appreciate.”

I especially like that last one… I think this course may be where my artistic side and my technical side truly do come together. As an engineer for my “day job,” Digital Photography Basics is the place I bring that “techiness” to my classes. For me, the technical aspects of photography are secondary to the artistic aspects, but only because I understand the technical part enough I don’t have to consciously think about it. It takes a little bit of time and study to get to that point. You can get there too!

If you are looking to get to “move off auto” and get a better understanding of the technical side of photography, Digital Photography Basics is a great step for you to take. I’d love to have you join me!

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