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| Photographing Children: Rising to the Challenge |
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| Instructors: Cheryl
Machat Dorskind Duration: 4
Weeks Cost: $195 Starts: Sep 12, 2008 |
Children make fascinating portraits. Discovering so many things for the first time, their faces clearly express honest, no-thought reactions. A hug, a kiss, a tear, a smile-all are universal symbols that translate messages of hope, joy, pain, and love. Few subjects have as much appeal.
Based, in part, on Cheryl Machat Dorskind's highly acclaimed book, The Art of Photographing Children, this class promises an information-packed journey into the kaleidoscopic world of children's photography. Whether you are a parent who simply wants to take better pictures of your kids, or a photographer looking to break into the business of children's photography, Photographing Children will provide all the inspiration and skills you need to capture the spirit and individuality of children in timeless photographs.
Do you wonder how children consistently look so adorable in magazines? Aren't your children just as cute? How'd they do it? Although the pictures look spontaneous, chances are they are not. This course will unravel these mysteries with lessons chock-full of insider's tips and strategies.
Course Outline:
Week one begins with a discussion of camera fundamentals and equipment essentials for creating story telling and traditional portraits. Topics include: Children portraiture defined, aperture, aperture priority, selective focus, depth-of-field, shutter, shutter priority, shutter lag, stop action, and lens selection.
Week two focuses on lighting-the soul of a photograph. Students work with ambient light or available light (daylight) as the key light source. Quality of light, white balance, the time of day and the direction of light are explored.
Exposure compensation and supplemental lighting (reflectors and fill flash) will also be discussed. Finally, we will investigate the color of light and how that affects a photograph.
Week three explores composition design strategies useful for creating compelling child portraits. Topics include: Filling the frame, framing the image, the rule-of-thirds, color versus black-and-white, balance, patterns, lines, texture, contrast, cropping, vertical versus horizontal format, background, and perspective. We will also study the psychology of lines and color.
Week four puts it all together as we learn to organize an environmental photo shoot. Striving to create honest-beyond-the-cliché photographs, we move outside our comfort zone to photograph children in a setting that tells a story. To prepare, we'll discuss location scouting strategies, wardrobe, props, and rapport.
Course Requirement:
Digital or 35mm SLR camera, or a point-and-shoot camera with some manual control settings such as ISO, aperture priority, shutter priority, and white balance.
Instructor: Cheryl Machat Dorskind
 Cheryl Machat Dorskind is a fine art photographer and handpainter, known for her highly personal approach to portraiture. Her photography has been published in newspapers and magazines, including Country Living, House, Hampton Style, and The New York Times, and as cover art for best-selling novels such as Ann Beattie's Falling in Place and Chilly Scenes of Winter. The author of the definitive guide to handcoloring photographs.
The Art of Handpainting Photographs, Cheryl shares her love of photography through her books and by teaching and mentoring at colleges and art institutions.
Communicating with her celebrated hands-on inspirational approach, The Art of Photographing Children, is a comprehensive handbook for creating cherished photographs of children. Her critically acclaimed fine art photography is exhibited regularly and sought by an esteemed worldwide clientele. Residing in Westhampton, New York, with her husband and two daughters, she writes a popular newspaper column, Picture This, for The Southampton Press, and is working on a third book.
For further information, please visit her website: www.cherylmachatdorskind.com.
What students are saying about Cheryl Machat Dorskind and her courses? |
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