"All I need is a camera and I’ll make things happen."
-Keenen Ivory Wayans

News

IPC Photographers Receive Press Attention
Sarah Newman and David Scott to be featured by the Indianapolis Cultural Trail. Click here!

Improve Your Editing
Adobe Lightroom for Photographers Seminar July 24th. One day only!

Looking For An Excuse To Shoot?
Join the Experience Builder class beginning July 20th.

Now Enrolling August Classes
Fundamentals of Photography, Beyond the Fundamentals

Student Photographer Opportunity

An Indianapolis resident has contacted IPC requesting a photographer to shoot her child’s first birthday party. If you are interested, please contact:

Caty Wiegman
Phone: 317-379-5488
Email: catyschoene@sbcglobal.net

Featured Class: Experience Booster

Looking for an excuse to get out and shoot? If you’ve conquered the Fundamentals of Photography and are craving the opportunity to put your learned skills to work, this class is for you!

Join other IPC students as you gain hands-on experience in 4 different photography genres over the 4 weeks.

Weekly Group Assignment: Architecture

Architectural photography is a very broad genre that ranges from real estate snapshots to dynamic abstract art. Despite the many variations, one thing most architecture images do attempt is to highlight the grandeur of subject.
Sometimes the historical/cultural significance is what draws you in and sometimes it’s simply the uniqueness and intricate details of a structure (particularly modern architecture).

Tips for Capturing Architecture:

• Use a telephoto lens to prevent odd perspective effects (unless that’s what you want). A "longer lens" will minimize those effects preventing situations where front door of a house appears to be twice as large as the roof.

• Think about whether the overall scene is important to represent the structure. For example, if photographing a country estate the surrounding landscape could be vital to communicating the context of the image. In contrast, the presence of a skyscraper in and of itself tells the viewer you’re in a city. Then if the building’s location isn’t crucial to the image using a tight composition can help to minimize distractions and highlight the more intricate details of the building.

Assignment:

1) Photograph architecture in either an urban or rural setting.

2) Try different ways of composing the (i.e. more or less of the surroundings) to see which has the most impact.

Written by Trevor Warren

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“I am impressed with what happens when someone stays in the
same place and you took the same picture over and over and it
would be different, every single frame.” -Annie Leibovitz

News

New Private Lessons Announced:
IPC is pleased to now offer studio lighting private lessons in Westfield, IN.

New Class Date Announced:
HDR Photography: Saturday, May 1, 2010 (Downtown)

Photography Attire
You may not have been aware, but there is “proper attire” when it comes to photography… luckily we have you covered.

Interested In Daytime Classes?

IPC is considering the possibility of weekday daytime photography classes. If you would like to see these events offered, help us decide the best days/times with a short 3-question survey.

Click Here for Survey

Featured Class: High Dynamic Range Workshop (HDR)

Limited dynamic range is the first frustration many photographers experience during the learning process. As you attempt to shoot a portrait during sunset, you expose for the beautiful colors in the sky and your subject becomes a silhouette. Or if shooting an interior room with windows, you notice the extreme over-exposure of the detail in the windows.

There are obvious limitations to exposure which cannot be digitally captured the same as viewed by the human eye. This course will explain how to create HDR (High Dynamic Range) images to overcome these exposure limitations. You will learn how to photograph scenes where the dynamic range is much greater than can be recorded in a single image.

Click Here for More Details

Weekly Group Assignment: Back to Basics

I was recently reunited with my first love, a Nikon FE film SLR. As far as features go, it offers is a simple light meter and a split screen focusing aid. After film is in the camera there’s a grand total of two settings you can adjust:

1) Shutter Speed
2) Depth of Field (DOF)

This is the camera I used for my very first photography course. The class focused almost entirely on composition, creativity and style (using B/W film). At first most of us were confused how something as abstract as “creativity” could be graded. However we quickly noticed how forethought and planning translated into “impact” in our photographs.

Today our digital cameras do a lot to prevent us from completely ruining a photo. Yet even with modern technology the formula to create compelling photographs hasn’t changed much over the years. Employing the discipline of a film photographer can greatly improve your digital photography!

Assignment:

1. Set your camera to Manual (M) mode and set the metering mode to “Spot” which will get it it’s reading directly from the center of the view finder rather than averaging the entire scene (allowing you to selectively meter different portions of what will become the final image).
2. Use the cameras built-in light meter to determine the shutter speed and aperture settings.
   
3. Then use your style and creativity to think of ways to create a compelling image with your chosen subject. Execute your plan and post the results below.

Tips/Guidelines:
• Limit yourself to a total of 24 captures
• Refrain from previewing images while shooting
• Visualize the final image before picking up your camera and try to use the right mix of settings and light to achieve that. You may try a mix of settings to hedge your bets. Just remember you only have 24 captures to work with!

Written by Trevor Warren

To Participate in Photo Assignments and Receive
Tips Like This Join Our Flickr Group!

Next Week’s Assignment: Signs of Spring

"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every
experience is a form of exploration." -Ansel Adams

News

IPC Student’s Photo "Best of Decade"
Connie Etter’s photo "Orange" was recently awarded Robert’s Imaging "Best of Decade" award! Click here to read more.

Extra Fundamentals Class Added
Thursdays, Mar 4 – Mar 25, 6:00 – 8:00p Click here to find out more.

New Class: "Beyond The Fundamentals"
Tuesdays, Apr 1 – May 5, 6:00 – 8:00p Click here to enroll.

New Class: "Sports Photography Workshop"
Saturday, Apr 24, 10:00a – 1:00p Click here to enroll.

Only a few spots left in our March classes: Fundamentals of Photography, Wedding Photography and Experience Builder. Enroll Now!

We Need Your Help!

We’re looking for a new location to hold our Fundamentals of Photography class in Carmel. If you have a suggestion that meets the following criteria, please reply to this email and let us know!
   – a coffee shop, cafe or similar venue
   – has hours open until at least 8pm
   – relatively quiet
   – accommodating to small group meetings (about 10 people)

Featured Class: Experience Booster

Looking for an excuse to get out and shoot? If you’ve conquered the Fundamentals of Photography and are craving the opportunity to put your learned skills to work, this class is for you!

Join other IPC students as you gain hands-on experience in 4 different photography genres over the 4 weeks.

Click Here for More Details

Weekly Photo Challenge: Fill the Frame

For some odd reason, many photographers have trouble keeping the horizon straight in their photos. One easy way to do this is by aligning the bottom of your viewfinder with a horizontal straight line.
The straight line could be:

• the surface line of a lake
• the base of a mountain
• the horizon itself

Now, slightly rock the camera side to side until the bottom of the viewfinder is aligned all the way across with the line. Keeping the camera at that position, tilt it slightly forward until you have the subject positioned correctly and then take the picture.

Photos with tilted horizons create puzzlement in the mind of the viewer – something just doesn’t look right. This is a tip you have to think about before shooting subjects with horizon lines; otherwise you run the risk of unconsciously tilting the horizon. If you do have digital pictures with tilted horizons, you can "fix" them using image-editing software.

Assignment:

1. Select a scene with a horizontal line
2. Using the technique above, align and shoot the picture

Now compare the two and notice how much easier it is to identify the subject in the second picture where you zoomed in. Filling the frame with just your subject dramatically improves your photos because it allows your viewers to instantly recognize the subject in your photos.

Written by Ron Kness

That was this week’s Group Assignment on Flickr
To Participate in the Assignments Click Here to Join the Group!

Next Week: Portraits in the Sun

"Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but
nothing is what it appears to be." – Duane Michals

News

Wedding Photography
Learn and practice with a talented, modern professional.

Now Enrolling March Photography Classes
Learn to take your camera past "Automatic" mode! Enroll Now!

Completed A Fundamentals Class?
Enroll now for Level 2: Experience Builder! (Only a few spots left)

Marketplace

Wedding Photography Opportunity
A bride has contacted us with interest in having a student shoot her wedding. If you are looking to gain some wedding photography experience and portfolio images, she may want to partner with you.

• Date: July 11, 2010 in Avon, IN
• Contact: Irene (elenita28@att.net)

Weekly Photo Challenge: Fill the Frame

In many pictures, the subject is so far away from the camera, that it gets lost among all the other competing elements. The old advice of "fill the frame" is still as good today as it has been in the past.

To fill the frame, either:

• Zoom in on your subject
• Move closer to your subject

By doing so, your subject is the only element in the viewfinder and the viewer will instantly recognize it as your subject instead of looking all over the picture trying to find it.

Assignment:

1. Select a human subject
2. Zoom out and take a picture
3. Now zoom in so just your subject fills the viewfinder and take another picture

Now compare the two and notice how much easier it is to identify the subject in the second picture where you zoomed in. Filling the frame with just your subject dramatically improves your photos because it allows your viewers to instantly recognize the subject in your photos.

Written by Ron Kness

That was this week’s Group Assignment on Flickr
To Participate in the Assignments Click Here to Join the Group!

Next Week: Keeping the Horizon Straight

"Photography is the beauty of life, captured." -Tara Chisholm

News

February Photography Classes
Learn to take your camera past "Automatic" mode
Enroll Now!

As Seen In Indianapolis Monthly
IPC student Connie Etter featured in the January issue!
Click Here to Read the Article

Social Shoot
Monday, January 25th, 6pm. If you’ve taken a class with us, check your email this week for details!

Featured Class: Fundamentals of Photography

There is a lot of science that goes into photography… don’t let it scare you! Depth-of-field, shutter speeds, F-stops, film speeds, lenses, just to name a few aspects. This class is designed as a "crash-course" to help you understand these complex topics, along with some hands-on time shooting outdoors, practicing learned skills.

During these 4 weeks you’ll gain confidence and abilities to improve photo-taking of your favorite subjects. Please bring a SLR or dSLR camera to the first class. After these 4 weeks, the Level 2 "Experience Booster" class is designed to follow-up and expand the knowledge gained and promote further learning through experience.

Click Here for More Details

Weekly Photo Challenge: Selective Focusing

The amount of a scene in focus, both in front of and behind a subject, is controlled by the aperture. You have a lesser amount in focus in front of the subject and a greater amount in back of the subject (about a 1/3 – 2/3 ratio).

To control focus, use:

• A large aperture (small number) for a minimum amount of focus
• A small aperture (large number) for a maximum amount.

This is known as selective focusing and is used as a way to draw your viewer to your subject; the eyes go to what is in focus.

Assignment:

1. Select a subject.
2. Set your camera to f4 (or lower) and take a picture.
3. Now set your camera to f16 and take the same picture again.
4. Compare how the amount of the scene in focus differs between the two pictures.

Written by Ron Kness

That was this week’s Group Assignment on Flickr
To Participate in the Assignments Click Here to Join the Group!

Next Week: Shutter Speed

News

* Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Indy Photo Coach *

Refer A Friend, Save A Life
IPC supports Loving South Africa
Click Here to Learn More

Bonus Cash!
Purchase a $50 gift certificate, get an extra $10 for free.
Click Here to Purchase

We’re Hiring Instructors
Who do you know who is passionate about photography?
Click Here to Learn More

IPC Social Shoot Contest Winner!

Congratulations to Gillian Spring winning the IPC Social Shoot
Competition at Mo Joe’s Coffee Shop.
Click Here to See All Submissions

Featured Class: Fundamentals of Photography

There is a lot of science that goes into photography… don’t let it scare you! Depth-of-field, shutter speeds, F-stops, film speeds, lenses, just to name a few aspects. This class is designed as a "crash-course" to help you understand these complex topics, along with some hands-on time shooting outdoors, practicing learned skills.

During these 4 weeks you’ll gain confidence and abilities to improve photo-taking of your favorite subjects. Please bring a SLR or dSLR camera to the first class. After these 4 weeks, the Level 2 "Experience Booster" class is designed to follow-up and expand the knowledge gained and promote further learning through experience.

Click Here for More Details

January Class Just Added: Fundamentals in Indy on Wednesdays!

Weekly Assignment: Holiday Lights

With all of the holidays that occur in December our cities and neighborhoods are filled lights, decorations and many other things that you can capture. Some tips for how you can turn those things into a great picture:

• In Manual Mode, try setting the camera to a high shutter speed so only lights are visible and the rest of the background is dark.
• In Manual Mode, set your aperture to a wide setting (i.e. lower number) to pleasant "bokeh" in your image.
• Look for an interesting perspective to capture. We’re used to seeing holiday decorations from the street. What are some other less common ways you can present them in your pictures?

Assignment:

With the above tips in mind, take your best photo or holiday lights, decorations, etc…

Written by Trevor Warren

That was this week’s Group Assignment on Flickr
To Participate in the Assignments Click Here to Join the Group!

Next Weeks Assignment: Creating Bokeh Shapes

News

Help-Portrait Photographers
If you participated in Help Portrait this weekend, be sure to let us know! Send a photo of you/your group in action to:
photos@indyphotocoach.com

Refer A Friend, Save A Life
IPC supports Loving South Africa
Click Here to Learn More

Bonus Cash!
Purchase a $50 gift certificate, get an extra $10 for free.
Click Here to Purchase

We’re Hiring Instructors
Who do you know who is passionate about photography?
Click Here to Learn More

Featured Class: Fundamentals of Photography

There is a lot of science that goes into photography… don’t let it scare you! Depth-of-field, shutter speeds, F-stops, film speeds, lenses, just to name a few aspects. This class is designed as a "crash-course" to help you understand these complex topics, along with some hands-on time shooting outdoors, practicing learned skills.

During these 4 weeks you’ll gain confidence and abilities to improve photo-taking of your favorite subjects. Please bring a SLR or dSLR camera to the first class. After these 4 weeks, the Level 2 "Experience Booster" class is designed to follow-up and expand the knowledge gained and promote further learning through experience.

Click Here for More Details

Weekly Assignment: Shiver & Shoot

If you happen to live where the winters are cold, you have a wealth of subject matter to shoot in the winter. Many of the same places you visit in the other three seasons will also be appealing in the winter.

For some ideas, try shooting:

• sunrise with a frost in the air
• sunrise/sunset during a light snowfall
• evergreen branches bending under the weight of snow
• frost/ice covered plants or trees

For side-lit subjects, look for early morning or late day shadows from a split rail fence or a wind-sculpted snowdrift. Snow shots provide some stunning nature and landscape opportunities. Be sure to carry extra batteries inside your parka. If you dress properly and keep your equipment warm, there is no reason why winter photography shouldn’t be enjoyable. Place your DSLR in a closed plastic bag before bring it back into your house. This will allow it to warm up slowly and prevent moisture from condensing inside your camera.

In the late afternoon after a new snow, search for a snowdrift that is casting a long shadow. Shoot this scene from various angles and viewpoints. Consider shooting both horizontals and vertical frames. Be sure to set your white balance to Daylight and compensate your exposure by increasing one to two stops.

Assignment:

Do one of the four suggestions above or if weather does not permit come up with your own Winter theme and post the result here.

Written by Ron Kness

That was this week’s Group Assignment on Flickr
To Participate in the Assignments Click Here to Join the Group!

Next Weeks Assignment: Holiday Lights

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News

Refer A Friend, Save A Life
IPC supports Loving South Africa
Click Here to Learn More

Bonus Cash!
Purchase a $50 gift certificate, get an extra $10 for free.
Click Here to Purchase

We’re Hiring Instructors
Who do you know who is passionate about photography?
Click Here to Learn More

Don’t Get Left Out: Help-Portrait is for everyone
If you participate in Help Portrait this weekend, be sure to let us know! Send a photo of you/your group in action to:
photos@indyphotocoach.com -OR- Click Here for More Information

Featured Class: Wedding Photography

So you’ve been asked, volunteered, drafted or possibly cornered into shooting a friend or relative’s wedding. Or maybe you’re thinking about doing it as a wedding present. Photography can be one of the largest expenses for a wedding, especially in the high priced metropolitan areas.

If you are an amateur with single friends or relatives and have a decent eye for photography, sooner or later you will be asked to shoot a wedding. This class is intended to be a "Survival Guide" for the non-professional who will be shooting a wedding for the first time. If you’re not at least a bit scared by the prospect of being the "official" wedding photographer, you should be. You only get one shot at it!

Click Here for More Details

Weekly Assignment: Distracting Background

Sometimes you just can’t get your subject away from being in front of a distracting background. When this happens, here are some tips:

• Moving yourself left or right
• Getting yourself to a higher or lower position
• Using a large aperture (small number) to blur out the background.

Other things to remember are:

• The viewer’s eyes goes to the object in focus.
• With a large aperture and focusing on your subject, your subject will be in focus and the background blurred.

Assignment:

1. Find a subject with a distracting background.
2. Using a small aperture (large number), capture the image. Now, search out a perspective that minimizes the distraction.
3. Once you find a good perspective, select a large aperture (small number) and capture the image.

Compare the two images and note the differences in the background. In the first photo, you are distracted from the subject because of the background. In the second photo, with the background blurred and the subject in focus, the background is less distracting as the human eye goes to the object in focus (the subject).

Written by Ron Kness

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News

We’re Hiring Instructors!
Who do you know who is passionate about photography?

Click Here for More Info

New Social Shoot Date!
The next student social shoot will be Thursday, November 19th in downtown Indianapolis. Look for an email later this week with more details!

Click Above for More Info

Featured Class: High Dynamic Range Workshop (HDR)

Limited dynamic range is the first frustration many photographers experience during the learning process. As you attempt to shoot a portrait during sunset, you expose for the beautiful colors in the sky and your subject becomes a silhouette. Or if shooting an interior room with windows, you notice the extreme over-exposure of the detail in the windows.

There are obvious limitations to exposure which cannot be digitally captured the same as viewed by the human eye. This course will explain how to create HDR (High Dynamic Range) images to overcome these exposure limitations. You will learn how to photograph scenes where the dynamic range is much greater than can be recorded in a single image.

Click Here for More Details

Weekly Group Assignment: Balancing a Scene

Pictures are more pleasing to look at if they appear balanced. One way to balance a picture is by having your subject either looking or moving into the center of the scene.

For example, picture a sailboat moving from left to right. When shooting the sailboat, position it down towards the lower left corner in your viewfinder, so it appears to move towards the center of the viewfinder.

If you positioned it either in the lower center or towards the lower right corner, the sailboat would be moving out of the scene and the picture would appear un-balanced.

Assignment:

1. Select a subject either looking or moving from one side of your viewfinder to the other.
2. Position the subject in your viewfinder so it is either looking or moving into the scene.
3. Shoot a picture.
4. Now position the subject so it is moving out of the scene and take another picture.

Compare the two and notice how pleasing the one is to look at where the subject is moving into the scene. If your subject is moving out of the scene in your photos, your viewer feels as if he or she missed the first part of the action; with your subject moving into the scene, your viewer feels as though he or she is at the beginning of the action and has not missed anything.

Have fun!

Written by Ron Kness
This is this week’s Group Assignment on Flickr!

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News

New Fundamentals Classes Announced!
New class dates for Carmel, Fishers and Indianapolis.
More January, February & March classes announced soon!

Click Above for More Info

Featured Class: Beginning Adobe Lightroom

You have 500 photos from a shoot…Within a few minutes, Lightroom allows you to find the 10 best shots, make batch edits, nondestructive edits and work hand-in-hand with Photoshop.

This is must-have software for any photographer.

Click Here for More Details

Weekly Group Assignment: Perspective

Many photographers get into a rut of always taking pictures straight-on and from eye-level while standing.

While this is O.K. once in awhile, always taking "bulls-eyed" and straight-on shots leads to dull and un-interesting pictures. By changing your viewpoint, and using the rule of thirds, you will add a new zest to your pictures. Try these techniques:

• Shooting straight-on, but from a lower location, such as from your knees
• Shooting straight-on from a higher location, such as standing up a few stair-steps higher, from a ladder or from higher ground.
• Shooting from either one side or the other
• Shooting a combination (from either side and from either a higher or lower viewpoint).

Assignment:

For this assignment, choose a stationary subject and capture pictures using the rule of thirds and all four perspective tips, plus a straight-on eye-level "bulls-eye" shot. Evaluate the resulting pictures and note the difference in each perspective. Notice how your perspective shots have more viewer appeal than the bulls-eye photo.

Have fun!

Written by Ron Kness
This is this week’s Group Assignment on Flickr!

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