Mastering Light: An Online Workshop
• Online Workshop
• Focus: Composition
• Level: Advanced Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced
• Maximum 16 Participants
• Tuition: $350
• Workshop FAQ
This workshop is full!
Please email us to sign up for the waiting list.
In photography, light is our medium. It’s our paint and canvas. Every photograph is a recording of light, and how you use that light determines the mood, message, and story of the photograph. Light is everything.
I think most photographers can recognize great light when they see it. But can you anticipate that light, and plan for it? And what about all those times when the light isn’t exceptional – do you just stay home, or can you find ways to work with that “ordinary” light, and make strong, expressive photographs even when conditions aren’t special?
In this online workshop I’ll take you on a deep dive into this vital topic, starting with the fundamentals, then delving into the subtleties and nuances of light that can help you create photographs with a strong message, and powerful emotional impact. I’ll give in-depth presentations covering multiple aspects of this essential topic, including:
- How light and color draw the eye
- Building compositions around light and color
- How light conveys mood
- Using contrast: light against dark, and dark against light
- Beautiful, overlooked light you can find every day
- Special kinds of light, and how to find it
- Anticipating light
- Planning with PhotoPills and The Photographer’s Ephemeris
- How to choose locations based on the light, weather, and conditions
- Basic color theory
- Color and mood
We’ll also conduct group image reviews to reinforce the lessons given in the presentations. Image reviews have proven to be highly valuable learning experiences during our in-person workshops. People find they learn as much from analyzing other people’s photographs as their own, and that discussing what works and what doesn’t work in a variety of images helps them absorb and retain fundamental concepts of composition more deeply. We’ll replicate that experience online by reviewing one photograph from each participant, with a special emphasis on light and color.
The workshop will take place over two days (Saturday and Sunday). All sessions will be live and interactive, and total about six hours each day (with a break for lunch). Sessions will also be recorded so participants can review them later. The workshop is suitable for all photographers except real beginners.
We hope you can join us!
Photoshop for Lightroom Users: An Online Workshop
January 6-7, 2024
(Completed)
Advanced Composition and Storytelling: An Online Workshop
January 20-21, 2024
(Completed)
Advanced Composition and Storytelling: An Online Workshop
February 17-18, 2024
(Completed)
Death Valley (through Visionary Wild, with co-leader Jerry Dodrill)
March 4-8, 2024
(Completed)
Winter Speaker Series presentation for Nature Photography Classes: "A Sense of Mystery"
March 11, 2024
Out of Big Sur Photography Conference
March 24-28, 2024
Grand Canyon by Raft (through Visionary Wild, with co-leader Jerry Dodrill)
May 2-13, 2024
(Completed)
The Mystic Forest: Redwoods Along the Northern California Coast
June 2-6, 2024
(Completed)
Out of Grand Teton Photography Conference
June 16-20, 2024
Starry Skies Adventure: Yosemite and the Eastern Sierra
June 30 - July 3, 2024
(Completed)
The Range of Light: Yosemite and the High Sierra
July 15-19, 2024
(Completed)
Photoshop for Lightroom Users: An Online Workshop
August 3-4, 2024
(Completed)
Mastering Light: An Online Workshop
August 17-18, 2024
(Completed)
Mastering Light: An Online Workshop
August 24-25, 2024
(Completed)
Nightscaper Photo Conference
September 26-29, 2024
Advanced Composition and Storytelling: An Online Workshop
October 26-27, 2024
Mastering Light: An Online Workshop
November 2-3, 2024
Exploring the Oregon Coast
November 10-14, 2024
(Waiting List)
Yosemite in Winter
December 9-13, 2024
(Waiting List)
Antarctica (through Visionary Wild, with co-leader Chris Linder)
January 14-30, 2025
(Waiting List)
Hokkaido (through Visionary Wild, with co-leader Toshiki Nakanishi)
February 10-21, 2025
(Waiting List)
Out of the Great Smoky Mountains photography conference
April 27 - May 1, 2025
The Mystic Forest: Redwoods Along the Northern California Coast
June 2-6, 2025
(Waiting List)
Starry Skies Adventure: Yosemite and the Eastern Sierra
June 23-26, 2025
(Waiting List)
Greenland - Scoresbysund (through Visionary Wild, with co-leaders Jerry Dodrill and Chris Linder)
September 9-21, 2025
Antarctica (through Visionary Wild, with co-leader Justin Black)
January 1-17, 2026