Craftsy Class Review: Mobile Photography with Jack Davis

I finally completed another Craftsy class! Mind you, this one was a bit of a gimme but I can use some of those about now.

Last year, after I'd done a few other Craftsy photography classes that used my "real" camera, I sent Craftsy an email. "Love these classes," I said, "but the reality is most of the time I only want to bring my cell phone, not lug my big camera and several lenses. Is there a chance that Craftsy would do a class on photography using your cell phone camera?" (Or words to that effect.) They promptly replied that they were working on one.

And so was born Mobile Photography with Jack Davis. I'm so happy.

I plowed through the lessons pretty quick, watching them over breakfast and with my cell phone in hand. He addresses composition a little bit, but the class really focuses on how to use all the settings and features in your phone camera. Davis shows both iOS and Android features, so either user will benefit from this class. 

Forasmuch as I've done tons of photography with my phone over the last few years, I learned about some great gadgets in the first lesson (and have added several to my Christmas wish list), and picked up several tips in the second lesson that addresses basic settings and such. So I was feeling the benefit of the class almost immediately! The rest of the lessons walk through all the settings available natively in your iPhone or Android phone, as well as highlighting a lot of his favorite apps for taking photos and video and editing them afterwards. The final lesson includes information about backing up your photos to online services, sharing, and other things you can do with your photos once you're done messing with them.

He demonstrates a lot of "creative photoediting" apps, such as my usual favorite, Waterlogue. However, he introduced me to loads of new ones so I've been going to town. Check out this photogallery of what I produced just using the most basic settings in AutoPainter, AutoPainter 2, and AutoPainter 3. I included the original photo I took at the Butterfly Garden in a local children's museum recently for comparison.

So.

Much.

Fun.

(The image gallery is on a timer to auto-forward but you can also use the forward and back arrows on the side to control the speed.) (Second parenthetical statement: Waterlogue and AutoPainter apps seem to only be available for iOS. If you're Droid-based, I found this thread that has some suggestions. Feel free to leave other suggestions for your fellow non-iOS friends in the comments to this post.)

Overall, Jack Davis is a good teacher. He has a very relaxed approach and takes you step-by-step through things so you can better understand how to do it yourself. I really enjoyed this class and plan to do a lot of practicing over the holidays so I'll probably be tweeting a lot of random photos for the next couple of months. 

One important note: This is a pretty time-constrained class, I think. Given the quick advance of technology, if you wait too long to take this class apps will have either disappeared or will have been updated and changed. So although with Craftsy classes you can buy it and own it forever and watch it years from now if you choose, this is a class I'd highly recommend purchasing and watching sooner rather than later. In fact, buy it and start watching it today. You never know when the next big system update for your phone or favorite apps will occur. 

The Basics

CleverPainter app--this one you can control where you're painting, level of detail, etc. Oh, the possibilities!

• 7 lessons, ranging from about 21 to 28 minutes in length each.
• Lesson 1 covers technology and gear--additional gadgets you might want to consider if you really want to leverage your phone's camera ability.
• Lesson 2 addresses essentials--what are the basic native settings in your cell camera (both iOS and Android), a discussion of the HDR setting, and doing panoramas using your native app as well as a few other apps you might want to try.
• Lesson 3 is "advanced shooting," and I picked up some excellent tips here about burst mode, motion blur, and video settings.
• Lesson 4 addresses basic photoediting of color, contrast, sharpening, and so forth, using both native capabilities and other apps.
• Lesson 5 is retouching and blending photos, again using native capabilities as well as other apps.
• Lesson 6 gets super-fun with all sorts of creative stuff you can do either using your camera's native capabilities or a bunch of other apps you will likely want to play with. (I downloaded several apps while watching this lesson!)
• Lesson 7 is syncing, sharing, and output--in other words, what to do with all that fun stuff once it's sitting in your camera memory.

Mobile Photography with Jack Davis: Two thumbs up. Well, my thumbs would be up if I could get them off my phone playing with all these great new apps!

(Usual disclaimer: As a Craftsy affiliate, using Craftsy links in this post helps support my podcast and blog, so thank you very much. And by the way, at this writing Craftsy is having a big sale so you'll definitely want to check it out! )

Craftsy Class Review: Travel Photography: The Essential Guide with Jad Davenport

Gee, have you heard? I'm about to take a trip. A *Big* Trip. Therefore, I've been brushing up on my photography skills, and Jad Davenport's Travel Photography: The Essential Guide seemed just the ticket. 

His main theme of the class is to take your time. Get to know the area. Get to know the lighting. Think through themes you want to convey in your photos of the trip. He states at the outset: You're not just taking photos, you're making pictures. 

As I was watching these lessons, I realized that, for the most part, I have been working on everything in this class for many years. Not only do I enjoy photography myself, but as I do most of the marketing and all of the resources for my organization, I'm also consistently trying to improve my photography so we can use my photos rather than having to pay for stock--as well as the fact that when I take photos at an event to use in publicity for future events, I know exactly what photos I want to have. I did pick up a couple of tips and the conversation with the teacher available on the Craftsy platform is quite helpful. 

Boy behind wire fence at refugee camp in Thailand

I've always known that I want to take pictures that "tell a story." Jad's discussions of making pictures with intention (lesson 2) are exactly that. Think through what story you want to tell--what theme you want to explore with your photos. He discusses the theme "edges" that he often uses--where are the edges between things? As I was listening to him talk about that I immediately recalled one of my favorite photos I took during my 2008 trip to Thailand, of a man carrying a basket on his back walking down the side of a road with a motorcycle going by (included in this post). I took it because it represented to me the strange blend of ancient and modern I saw all around me in Thailand. I also have several photos of people standing behind the fences on the edge of the refugee camp, representing their lack of freedom. Apparently I also explore the theme "edges" without realizing it!

Juxtaposition of ancient and modern in Thailand

That being said, with apologies to Jad and his emphasis on taking your time to find the best photos, usually when I'm traveling I'm not able to just wander about at will, going back to places at different times of day, waiting in one location for half an hour to get the perfect shot, asking people to pose for a series of 25 shots to make sure I get one good one. Few of us have the luxury of time; rather, we generally have to grab photos on the fly. This means training our eyes to know immediately what will likely make a good photo; being willing to get into a different position to capture just a particular angle; knowing ahead of time what story we want to tell. And, of course, taking thousands of pictures so we'll get a handful of good ones. Thank you, digital technology.

This class will help you train your eye. Jad discusses issues of composition, getting unique perspectives, using available light, and the importance of "moments." For someone new to photography or someone who is trying to improve upon the shots she normally takes, I would recommend this class. For me, while I enjoyed Jad as a teacher and loved seeing his photos as examples (beautiful stuff!), I didn't learn as much from this class as I'd have liked; but then, I've been working on these concepts already. Sometimes I just don't give myself enough credit for what I already know. However, it did put some ideas back in the forefront of my mind for when I'm traveling. And I picked up a great tip for a portable tripod-hack that he learned from the Navy Seals. I have to get myself to Home Depot this week to pick up the parts to make it for myself! 

"Joy"--of girls playing on the beach in Oregon when we finally let them out of meetings.

The Basics

• 7 lessons, ranging from 17 to 32 minutes in length.
• Lesson 1 includes the usual teacher introduction (and he's got some serious street cred), but also addresses planning ahead, travel gear, and basic camera techniques to set yourself up for success.
• Lesson 2 lays the foundation, including how to assess the location for possibilities, four elements of a good photo, and "building" a photograph.
• Lessons 3-6 then each explicate one of those four elements of a good photo in more detail. There are some great tips here in things to be paying attention to as you line up for a shot. Even if you don't have a lot of time or if you have a point-and-shoot with no manual controls, you can still usually take just a minute or two to think through where to stand, where to aim, how close to be, how to compose the best possible photograph.
• Lesson 7 talks about putting together an "artful presentation," rather than just showing people pictures willy-nilly. How do you put your photos together to tell a story or create a mood?

For me, I gave Jad Davenport's Travel Photography: The Essential Guide one thumb up. (Although that might go to two thumbs if this tripod hack thing works for me!) For anyone who is newer or less confident in their photography, it's two-thumbs up. Great guidance, helpful tips, and it's almost worth it just to see his photos!

Craftsy Class Review: Creative Photography with George Lange

Welcome to Creative Photography: Capture Life Differently, with George Lange.

This one was a quick finish for me--I allowed myself to simply watch all the lessons to absorb what tips and tricks I could before heading out to my summer work events this weekend--events at which I tend to end up being the de facto "official photographer."

I had to think through how I was going to review this class. For me, I didn't actually get a whole lot of new information out of it. Most of it turned out to be things I already knew--which I suppose makes me feel better about what I apparently already do pretty well. I've been working on my composition and ability to tell a story through photos for a long time, and taking this class really just confirmed for me that I've learned a lot over the years!

But for someone who is just getting into photography or who would like to step it up in terms of composition and telling stories with photos, this would be an excellent class.

One of my all-time fave pics I took of DD when she was about 8. This photo exemplifies things Lange talks about in the class.

First off: This is a composition class, not a settings class. In other words, the techniques you learn are related to how to set up a shot, how to use ambient (natural) lighting, how to create a scene, how to capture a moment/mood/feeling, and so forth. It's not about which f-stop or shutter speed to use. In fact, he really only loosely references settings in a backhand way once in awhile. (For that kind of information, check out my review of Basics of Digital Photography with Rick Allred.) The point of this class is all about capturing the subject matter most effectively, and conveying a mood.

The good news is, that means you can get a lot out of this class even if you're taking pictures on your cell phone. The principles are the same regardless of how you're capturing your shot. (He even starts right out in the first lesson saying that!)

The second thing I appreciated about this class is that he discusses in one lesson issues around sharing photos on social media. He makes some very good points that I think it would behoove all of us to pay attention to. I've not seen that covered in other photography classes yet, and I liked the fact that he addressed it.

He does also have good examples of lighting and action shots, and talks about "between moments" (in other words, take lots of pictures without worrying yet about which one is the "hero shot," as he calls it). I'll probably be using my "sports" setting a lot more at my events next week, which makes my camera take several quick photos in succession when I click the shutter. What you think might be the best shot when you're taking them may change when you see all your pictures later.

DS when he was 3.  Another photo that exemplifies things Lange discusses in the Craftsy class. (Can you see the Easter egg?)

I think what I found lacking in terms of my needs and what I was hoping to get out of this class was that most of his examples seemed to be based on things he could control: He set up shots, he put people in positions where the lighting would be best, he asked them to get into certain poses or do certain kinds of actions, and so forth. For me, I'm shooting completely candid shots in the middle of events where lighting is often quite iffy (I hate hotel conference centers!), I have no control over where people are sitting or standing, and I'm trying to be as unobtrusive (invisible) as possible. I was hoping he might address how to work in those situations a little more. Still, I have some new ideas about angles I might use or situations I might take better advantage of, and certainly many of his set-up shots are meant to mimic candids so I had some take-aways from that as well.

Again, I clearly walked into this class with a pretty solid foundation on composition, so there were only moments of newness for me. But for someone who hasn't spent as much time working on her photography as I have, there may well be a lot of new and useful information here.

Lange clearly loves his work and finds creative ways to make his points--certain phrases will definitely stick in my head. And I did love seeing his photos--great stuff. If you would like to see your photos more creatively composed, I do recommend this class.

The Basics:

• 7 lessons, ranging from six minutes (intro lesson) to 25 minutes. Most are in the 10-15 minute range.
• Lessons include "Do the Unexpected," "Create a Stage," "Be in the Moment," "Beyond Good Enough," "Capture All of Life," and "Social Sensitivity."
• You do not need any particularly kind of camera to take this class. Again, it's all about composition, not settings or lenses or anything technical.
• He spends a fair amount of time on photos of children, so those of you with kids, take heed!

Again, that's Creative Photography: Capture Life Differently with George Lange. (As of this posting, it's still 50% off!)

(Usual transparency statement: clicking on Craftsy links in this post helps support this blog and podcast. Thanks!)