We believe that the print has always been the finished product; if it’s not printed it’s not a photograph! Having the skills to not only be able to create a finished print but to do this with intent—that expresses a message to the viewer—is as important as taking the perfect shot in the first place. This course will guide you through this creative process to develop your technique and personal expression in your photographs by defining your style and enhancing your vision.
The Masterclass is designed as a portfolio-builder, we will coach you through the use of image analysis, advanced processing techniques and mastering fine-art-printing. By the end of this Masterclass, you will have compiled your own fine-art portfolio containing 12 of your best photographs. Your tutors Richard Young and Ken Wright will be guiding and mentoring you through the whole six-module course which is delivered online through ebooks, videos and one-on-one tuition.
This Masterclass offers the flexibility of online-based learning. It will run over 6 modules that you complete at your own pace. We suggest 6 months to complete the course, working on a new module each month so you can take your time and enjoy every minute, but you could opt to do it quicker than this if you wish. For every module, you will receive the lesson content through ebooks and video tutorials, as well as the assigned tasks to complete over the module. Richard and Ken will assess your work, guiding you through the process with an online one-to-one feedback session each month, so that by the final module you will have a portfolio of your best work. You will also gain access to our photography community from which you can draw inspiration, gain valuable feedback and connect with like-minded individuals. If you select the print option you will have your final set of 12 photographs printed as Twelve 13×19″ Epson Signature Worthy Fine-Art Prints and sent out to you in a Hand-made portfolio box.
“This module will explore Style and Vision as an interconnected philosophy, it will help to identify your own personal style and understand your vision”Module One—will cover an understanding of Style and Vision. In this first module, you will be expertly guided on your journey of self-discovery to find out how to create both personal and expressive photography. Starting with theory behind the concepts of style and vision and then the process to work through to define your style and vision. You will also be walked through the process, as Richard and Ken give you a range of examples on how they have applied these concepts to strengthen their own portfolio collections. This will enable you to discover what story you want to tell with your work and help you keep consistency with your style during capture and selection to give your portfolio a signature look. During this first module, we will help you refine down your initial collection of photographs. Includes:
“Personal expression does not just stop at the capture of a photograph; what can be achieved is post-production is as important as choices in the field. Discover how to analyse your photographs and unlock the key to processing with intent—the way to refine your message to the viewer,”Module Two—is designed to cover a process of evaluating an image, deciding on what message you wish to enhance, then allowing this to guide your processing. Here we will dig deep into a more complex understanding of the way we view a photograph and how we use it to express our message—what is learned here will also help to guide the way you see a photograph and compose in the future. Before you can start to edit an image you must have an intent to guide your direction, we will look at an Image Analysis technique you can use to guide your processing work. We will cover how mood, impact, and visual flow affect the way you can deliver a message and how to use these elements to guide the use of adjustments like luminosity, colour, saturation, and composition to process your final image. Includes:
“Learn a refined RAW processing workflow in lightroom. Master global adjustments to enhance mood and impact along with local tools to refine your message and process with intent.”Module Three—will begin to guide you through processing with intent in Lightroom. It will take all that was taught in modules one & two and help you apply them in practice to your own images. This module is designed to cover processing workflow, from the RAW image to final print, although we will focus on some of the more complex tools as there are already many tutorials on the basics of Lightroom. The topics we will teach are: RAW conversion, removing distractions, fixing capture defects, exposure, sharpening, local adjustment tools, tonal relationships, and tonal transitions. We also explain the difference between global and local adjustments and how you can use these to strengthen your image processing. Richard will share with you how he created the very results you see in his own work with recorded processing video examples of some of his best images. The content for this module is a mixture of an eBook to cover basic lightroom development and globe adjustments then video tutorials for more advanced local adjustment and workshows. Includes:
“Unlock the creative control of Photoshop to guide your viewer through an image and refine your own personal expression.”Module Four—covers processing with intent in Photoshop, walking you through a complete processing workflow The topics we will focus on are: cleaning images, transformation tools, making selections, dodging & burning, sharpening, working with layers and masks, and using gradient layers for dynamic black & white images. We will also discuss some more complex topics of: multiple exposures, colour settings, selective warp, HDR, and working on multimedia projects. Ken will share with you how he created the very results you see in his own work with recorded processing video examples of some of his best images. The content for this module will depend more heavily on video tutorials as the eBooks are more appropriate for these hands-on tutorials. **Please Note: We will be guiding you through the processing tools in both Lightroom and Photoshop on this course, while you can benefit from using Photoshop for some aspects of processing all of the course can be completed using Lightroom only. Includes:
“It is not a photograph until it is printed—discover the beauty of fine-art printing and shine light into this dark art”Module Five—you will be introduced to the aesthetics of Fine-Art Printing. You will learn how to set up print files, using a colour managed workflow. Then how to turn them into professional-grade prints ready for printing. The module will cover print sharpening and soft proofing along with selecting the right print size, border and Fine Art Paper for the look and finish that best suits your work and a final portfolio. We will cover the use of Photoshop & Lightroom for setting up print files. Includes:
“Final presentation is the last key—unlock the world of displaying and framing your work along with an insight into selling it as art”Module Six—pulls together everything that has taught over the last five modules and helps you to compile your full set of images. We will be guiding you through the presentation of your fine art prints including the options of portfolio boxes, matting, framing and canvas. We will also be giving valuable insight into the world of selling prints. Richard and Ken will present a set of videos showcasing some of their work from capture to print, discussing the choices along the way to the final presentation. If you have selected to have your images physically printed we will print your portfolio featuring the overarching style and vision you have developed and highlighted in your twelve selected photographs. These images will be displayed in a stunning hand-made portfolio box, for you to keep and exhibit. These will be printed on the Epson Surecolour P800 and on your choice of Epson Signature Worthy Fine Art Paper. These will be couriered to those who select this option. Includes: