Photoshop course – The Maud Street Photo Gallery

PHOTOSHOP THE RIGHT WAY

Learn photoshop the way it was designed by the software engineers!

There are many different ways how to do any single task in Photoshop. Confused and not sure which is the right way to edit and enhance your images? This course is all about how to drive photoshop the way the software engineers designed it to be driven, we call it “from the engine room”.

This course will not replicate the many on-line free tutorials that are readily available. By learning to drive Photoshop ‘from the engine room’ you will learn how to diagnose what needs correcting in your image, how to make complex selections in a fraction of the time it would normally take using the more well known methods, and how to minimise file damage when making corrections.

The Course

Designed for the intermediate user who has basic understanding of photoshop tools, layers and applications such as levels, curves and blending modes.

This flexible course consists of 6 modules. Module 1, the keystone of the course, must be completed before you can continue with any of the other 5 modules. You can choose to study only module 1, which will teach you the absolute ‘must know’ in photoshop and you can stop there. Or if you wish to become a proficient photoshop user, you can choose to continue with any of the following modules.

The course is structured in a way that will enable you to use the skills you learned in module 1 throughout the course and you can grow and advance with additional modules if you wish.

You will be using your own laptop with a full version of Photoshop installed (not just Adobe Elements). You will be using our ‘teaching’ image to learn the techniques, as well as your own image to practise what you’ve learned. Once booked, you will need to download the teaching image to bring to the first lesson.

The Cost

Module 1 (mandatory): $195 (+ GST)

Modules 2-6: $145 per module (+ Eventbrite fees and GST)

Complete course of all 6 modules: $895. (This price includes discount for Eventbrite fees and GST).

To ensure sufficient individual attention, the classes are limited to 10 students. Minimum of 5 students is required to run this course.

Morning tea and coffee is provided. There will be break for lunch, bring your own, or there is The Boo near-by, serving great food.

Street parking available.

The Dates

Each module runs from 9am to 3pm

The Tutor

Andrew Cross is an optical engineer with BA in Photography at QCA, Master of Dye Transfer process and Tri-Colour Carbon printing.

Andy is the official authenticator of contemporary dye transfer prints from Eliot Porter’s images for the Porter’s estate.

Andy’s dye transfer and tri-colour carbon work has been exhibited in America and is included in significant private and public collections.

MODULE #1

Colour – the engine room of the program.

This first module is the keystone of the course. Here you will learn skills and techniques that you will be using throughout the whole course, skills that are the absolute ‘must know’ in photoshop from the engine room. Without this module, you can not advance to other modules.

Additive colour synthesis and colour separation theory. We examine how this is the engine room of Photoshop.
Masking – discover how the image itself can generate masks that can be used to make complex selections of high accuracy that would take an inordinate amount of time to create using the more mundane toolbox tools.
Using masked various portions of the image can be corrected to optimize exposure, contrast, colour balance and tonal separation. The most frequently used techniques to optimize images are dodging or lightening shadows, burning or darkening highlights and colour balancing. You will learn that the most frequently used methods are often misconstrued and can do a lot of file damage. You will learn different and more efficient methods to carry out these tasks.
You will learn these techniques on your own images.

MODULE #2

Masking and Image diagnosis

The follow on from the information disseminated in workshop #1.
This workshop will cover dodging and burning proportionally and disproportionally using various types of masking techniques.
Image diagnosis – what is it about the image that needs correcting? This is rarely taught in workshops and it is a key to making the correct decisions on image correction as well as determining the correct sequence in which to carry them out.

MODULE #3

Colour Balance

This workshop explains all about colour balancing and related topics.
You will learn about the various types of colour bias and what causes them.
Why the colour balance isn’t optimum and how to correct it using various types of colour balancing techniques, when and where to use them.
Adjustment layers
Layer masks and contouring.

MODULE #4

Density and Contrast

This workshop will explore the relationship between density and contrast.
You will learn techniques that can lower contrast without altering tonal separation in shadows. This is a valuable technique that will save an image from being overly manipulated.

MODULE #5

Refinements

In this workshop we will be covering how to make fine delicate refinements to images, using techniques such as colour isolation masking.
Altering contrast without altering the colour balance
Enhancing textures
Using various techniques in combination and developing a procedure for image enhancement.

MODULE #6

Converting Colour to Monochrome

Conversion of colour files to B&W or Monochrome can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it.
We will cover several techniques most commonly used to create stunning B&W images.
We look at some of the different types of output including making genuine gelatin silver photographs.