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Digital Photography Workshops & Photo Tours

Photoshop Basics/Advance Techniques & Web Design Workshops
As taught by working professional photographers

Locations:San Diego,San Francisco,Santa Monica/Venice Beach,
Yosemite,Los Angeles, New York City, Baltimore
Santa Barbara,Anza Borrego,Joshua Tree,Mammoth Lakes,etc.
For more info, please call us at 619 847-8695
Or email us at ellegamboa@gmail.com or mydigitalpicasso@yahoo.com

Check my availability for a digital workshop in your city.
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Photo Tips Galleries

Creative Photography Techniques Workshop - for current students : Creative techniques and principles in art as applied to photography Creative Techniques you will learn and apply .On this workshop, you will learn how to sketch your visual ideas, learn how to develop photographic memory & develop artistic skills to maximize your photographic skills. When you have learn to develop your artistic skills, you will then be able to accomplished various photographic assignments ( landscapes, people, still life ) in a shorter amount of time and have a sense of artistic fulfillment. It will be necessary to study the works of various artistic photographers that you admire... Perspective - a set of rules that gives the illusion of depth and distance Perspective principles - your position( staion point), eye point or vanishing point , eye level ( horizon line )., one point perspective ( parallel perspective ), two point perspective ( angular perspective ) 1) Learn how to apply the positive/negative space principle. I will show you how to shoot clean beautiful images devoid of clutter..Clutter has its own uses. You can see this kind of work with Japanese paintings, minimalists artists, graphic design work, european photographers. 2) Perspective as applied to composition and focal lengths. You will shoot both horizontal and vertical images as various focal lengths as you shoot a landscape, a cityscape, people. Learn the emotional effects of various composition..You will shoot color first and then black and white Learn to visualize using eyeball perspective, sighting , or common sense perspective, 3) Learn the principle of harmony and balance in photography using the rule of thirds and the golden mean. You will learn how to balance different shapes in a photographic frame, Balance using both larger shapes against smaller shapes to create the illusion of balance and perspective . Balance also applies to the levels of brightness of one object against another object in the picture frame. 4) Learn the principle of proportion and scale. One way to control proportion is to study the size of one object or part of an object in relation to another object in a photography. Or the relationship of one shape to the another shape. Photographic techniques that you will apply on this assignment, 1) Using the compensation dial - using over and underexposure with aperture and shutter priority mode 2) Overexposure and underexposure techniques in 1/3 stop increments using manual mode. You will be bracketing exposures on the both interior and exterior shots... 3) Shooting RAW Files (NEF) versus JPEG 4) Shooting wide angle and extreme wide angle ( rent the sigma 10-22 mm ) with a polarizer lens 5) Shooting with the 50mm 1.8 lens . Using shallow depth of field on portraits and landscapes. If you don't have the 50mm portrait lens, you can use mine.

Creative Photography Techniques Workshop - for current students

Creative techniques and principles in art as applied to photography Creative Techniques you will learn and apply .On this workshop, you will learn how to sketch your visual ideas, learn how to develop photographic memory & develop artistic skills to maximize your photographic skills. When you have learn to develop your artistic sk ...

Updated: Oct 20, 2008 4:13pm PST

Canon versus Nikon Digital Cameras - My recommendations : Dear photo students- Here's a brief article on which digital camera to buy. I recommend only Nikon or Canon DSLR cameras as these are the most popular cameras with a large assortment of lenses. Also you will get great service from either manufacturer. If you want a warranty on your camera, its best to buy it brand new from a pro camera shop. Most lenses have 5 years warranties like the Nikon lenses. Nikon D200 Review by Thom Hogan Thom is an unbiased reviewer. The D200 is a tough camera and combined with a Nikon 18-200 VR lens you have everything you need. http://www.bythom.com/d200review.htm Nikon D80 Review by Thom Hogan - Its a lot cheaper than the D200 but it has the same brain. We had one of my students bring his D80 and its a lot better than my Nikon D70s. I like the Black & White Filters on it ( red, orange, greem , yellow ). It reminds me of the days when I shoot Tri-X Black and White Film and have to use different colored filters to get different effects. Now you don't need to buy filters as they're all built into the camera as software. If you want to save time converting to black and white in Photoshop from your color images, then the Nikon D80 is the camera to buy. http://www.bythom.com/d80review.htm Lenses to buy for the Nikon DSLR camera 1) 50mm -1.8 lens - For portraiture 2) Nikon 18-55mm VR lens ..see the reviews http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/nikon_18-55_3p5-5p6_vr_n15/ You can buy the kit lens Nikon 18-55mm on Craigslist for like $ 60. The one with VR is more than double the price. VR is image stabilization so it gives you an advantage of 2-3 stops in low light conditions 3) Nikon 18-200 VR Lens ...Amazing high quality lens ...Buy this lens plus the 50mm 1.8 portrait lens and you are set to cover all the different focal lens for portraits, nature, macro, action shots, travel. Check Ken's review http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18200.htm I would buy the lens at Costco and buy the Nikon Body at Calumet Photo or Samy's http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11283646&search=Nikon&Mo=12&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search〈=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Sp=S&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=Nikon&Ntt=Nikon&No=9&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1 4) Nikon 55-200mm VR ...Good lens also if you're on a budget plus the 18-55mm and the 50mm 1.8 lens and you have a complete set. Read Ken Rockwell review on the 55-200mm VR. He is the Nikon expert. http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18200/versus-55-200mm.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Canon 40D Review by Paul Askey - I almost bought this camera but decided on a Canon 30D instead. This camera is a lot quieter than my Canon 30D shutter. Almost as quiet as my Nikon D70s .And it shoots fast and great for action photography. Its a bit more bulkier than a Nikon D40 D70 but it is sturdy and almost weathersealed same as the Nikon D200. http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos40d/ What lens to buy for the Canon. 1) 50mm 1.8 lens for portraiture - about $ 100 2) Canon 18-55mm EFII- There is an IS version ...Very good lens for less money 3) Canon 70-200 EF F4 IS Lens w/ Image Stabilizer. The non IS version you can buy on craigslist for around $ 550. Check the review on the IS version .. http://www.dpreview.com/news/0608/06082414canon70-200f4lens.asp ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A word about buying from Best Buy and Costco. If you want to save money, you can get a better deal if you buy it as a package. I did not find any deals on any Canon or Nikon on Best Buy. Here is what I found out at Costco. A Canon 40D with 28-135mm lens.About $ 1200. But you still need to get a long telephoto zoom lens and a portrait lens for low light photography http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11248275&whse=BC&topnav=&browse=〈=en-US&s=1 Costco has a 90 day return policy versus Bestbuy restocking fee of 18 percent or more. About upgrading to a better lens. Avoid buying the kit cameras that come with DSLR bodies. The 18-55mm kits lens is good quality but I won't buy the 28-135mm lens that comes with the Canon. And some Nikon DSLR bodies like the D80 comes with the 18-135mm lens which is an okay lens. If you want quality .get the Nikon 18-200 mm VR lens. My best advice for you is to buy it from a professional camera store like Calumet or Samy's. The price difference will be about the cost of sales tax versus to buying it online and you can always go buy to the store and talk to an experience camera person. Most pros like me buy online from Adorama & B & H but for newbies to digital photography I would recommend buying it from a professional camera store where all the Pro photographers buy their stuff. Here are some links.. 1) Calumet Photo in Santa Ana. There's a guy there who I send all my photo students..Very helpful people http://www.calumetphoto.com/locations 2) Samy's Camera - This is where I buy stuff sometimes or rent lenses when I'm shooting in LA. http://www.samys.com/stores.php

Canon versus Nikon Digital Cameras - My recommendations

Dear photo students- Here's a brief article on which digital camera to buy. I recommend only Nikon or Canon DSLR cameras as these are the most popular cameras with a large assortment of lenses. Also you will get great service from either manufacturer. If you want a warranty on your camera, its best to buy it brand new from a pro camera ...

Updated: Aug 20, 2008 2:29pm PST

Photoshop Effects : Guys. These are samples of Photoshop effects I am using with the various filter. Some are done on Photoshop Elements and others on Photoshop CS2. I will post more samples when time permits me. Thanks for the patience. Elle Gamboa

Photoshop Effects

Guys. These are samples of Photoshop effects I am using with the various filter. Some are done on Photoshop Elements and others on Photoshop CS2. I will post more samples when time permits me. Thanks for the patience. Elle Gamboa

Updated: Sep 19, 2007 7:42am PST



For more info on my digital media workshops, please send email to mydigitalpicasso@yahoo.com
Email Elle
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