About the Course

Just as a carpenter decides which tools are necessary to build a house, a photographer needs to know which tools in Photoshop will accomplish the task. Photographers have different needs than graphic artists or web designers. In this workshop we will approach Photoshop from a photographers perspective, not that of a designer or computer geek.

Photoshop is one of the most complex and powerful image editing programs available today. Learning how to harness the power and the areas of Photoshop that are essential for the photographer is a challenge. That is what this workshop will do. We will take you beyond the basics and into more depth. We will talk in photo terms and try to make this as painless as possible!

This class is not for beginners. You need to know the tools, where the menus are, and it would be helpful if you knew how to create layers, layer masks and adjustment layers. If you feel you are comfortable with 15-25 % of what Photoshop has to offer, then this workshop will expand your knowledge into the remaining portions that are useful to photographers, educators, lab technicians and artists. It is for those who want to delve deeper into the tools of Photoshop that will help you produce better pictures. Concepts will be introduced to make Photoshop less daunting and more intuitive.

Learn how to use the Bridge and Camera Raw, unleash the power of Curves, and HDR imaging. Learn how to use the History Palette for more than undos, learn sophisticated sharpening techniques, advanced spotting techniques, the power of adjustment layers. Learn how to selectively apply filters, color corrections, contrast controls all without making time consuming selections. We will cover layer masks, channel masks, color management, tips for making great output as either prints or new film. Techniques for compositing images to control depth of field and to provide exposures beyond what film is capable of holding will be demonstrated. Production features such as keyboard short cuts, creating actions for repetitive tasks, and determining a workflow for each individual’s needs will also be addressed.

What to Bring

Lewis will be providing each student with a disc that will contain images we will be working on during the class.  Also on the disc will be a 51 page handout as well as dozens of articles Lewis has written on the digital darkroom.

In addition, we recommend that you come prepared with the following items for this course:

* Yourself, ready to maximize your photography utilizing the digital darkroom!

* About ten to twenty of your own images (preferably digital files - make sure c.d.'s can be read by Windows machines) to work with during the course. Please bring c.d.'s only, there are no DVD readers in every tower.

* A quality loupe to evaluate your images if you're bringing slides. Usually a 4X to 8X.

Schedule-At-A-Glance

Here is an outline of the topics to be covered so you'll have an idea of what to expect: