Post-Processing Intensive: Seattle
You’ve spent a lot of time building your camera skills and honing your photographic vision. Now it’s time to take it to the next level. Post-processing has become an integral part of nearly every discipline of photography. Just as the black and white photographers of the 20th century were able to creatively interpret their work in the darkroom, we can now use modern technology to enhance our photos, and even to create images that were impossible only a few short years ago.
Workshop Gallery
Workshop Details
July 26-31, 2021 — Completed
This is a 5-night, 6-day workshop. Your experience begins at 10 a.m. on July 26 and ends on the afternoon of July 31.
$1,850 + applicable taxes. Register below.
Skill level
Open to all who have an understanding of the basic principles of photography and are eager to learn Lightroom Classic and Photoshop!
Group size
14, with 2 instructors — 7:1 ratio
Workshop Leaders
Registration
THIS EVENT HAS PASSED. THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST!
| • Deposit of $500 is required to reserve your spot at the workshop. |
| • Balance of $1,350 is due on TK, 2021. —> Pay balance here. |
| • You may choose the “Pay in Full” ticket if you desire to pay all at once. |
| • Last day for a cancellation request is TK, 2021 (see cancellation and refund policy). |
| • The workshop fee does not include park entrance fees, lodging, food, transportation to and from the airport, or transportation to shoot locations. |
The Workshop Experience
If you are ready to take control of the entire creative process, this workshop is for you.
This immersive course will be based in a northern neighborhood of Seattle. We’ll spend six days in the learning studio studying and practicing the ins and outs of Lightroom and Photoshop.
Don’t worry, though—all work and no play make … well, you get the idea. We’ll also get you out in the city to make some images in the beautiful Seattle area, including the waterfront of Puget Sound. Summer twilight lasts late, and those deep blue dusk skies provide a perfect balance for the lights of the urban landscape.
What You Should Know
We want you to get the most out of your workshop experience. Struggling with computer skills while you are trying to learn two new software programs is no fun. Please be sure you have the following skills before arriving:
basic computer navigation
downloading your images from your camera and storing them in folders on your computer
viewing your images after downloading them to your computer
selecting images and transferring them to a flash drive
A laptop loaded with the latest versions of Lightroom Classic (not the cloud-based version, which is called just Lightroom) and Photoshop is mandatory for the class. If you are currently using Lightroom Classic and Photoshop, you are all set. If not, click here to purchase and download the latest versions from Adobe. You’ll want the Photography Plan. Currently the cost for both programs is $9.99 per month with an annual subscription.
If you would like to attend this workshop but are unsure whether you have the prerequisite skills, we can offer pre-workshop tutoring to get you ready for your learning time on-site.
What You Will Learn
The goal of this workshop is to teach you the necessary skills to take complete control of your post-processing—from searching, organizing and editing your images in Adobe Lightroom to stacking, blending and fine-tuning your images in Photoshop.
Areas of focus:
understanding the Lightroom Catalog
making full use of the Library module in Lightroom
understanding how and why we adjust our images
gaining a complete understanding of Lightroom’s Develop module
the connection between Lightroom and Photoshop
layers and masks in Photoshop
star stacking
layering different exposures of the same scene to bring out the foreground in night photography
and much, much more …
Night Conditions
Travel
You are responsible for your airfare and transportation to the hotel. You won’t need a rental car for the workshop, as our meetings will take place at the hotel and the couple of nights of shooting will take place within walking distance (or, if we want to venture out further, we can group together in taxis/Ubers). Taxis and Ubers/Lyfts are readily available, including for transportation to and from the airport.
However, you are of course welcome to rent a car if you’d like. If you are interested in sharing a car rental, let us know and we will try to connect you with someone in the group.
Nearby Airports:
Seattle (SEA) — about 20 minutes from the hotel sans traffic
Food & Lodging
We’ll be staying at a hotel in a northern neighborhood of Seattle, providing us easy access to shoot locations and more good restaurants than you’ll have time to sample in just one week. Markets are also nearby for those who may want to purchase groceries.
You are not required to stay at the official workshop hotel, though doing so does make it easier to meet with the group each morning. If you are interested in sharing a room, let us know and we will try to connect you with someone like-minded in the group.
Weather
Midsummer is perhaps the most pleasant time of year in Seattle. Expect daytime temperatures in the 70s F and evenings in the 50s. It’s the driest time of year, in terms of both rainfall and humidity. Also, the days are long, with nautical twilight lasting until past 10 p.m., making the light balance perfect for urban photography.
Recommended Attire
During the day we’ll be indoors in climate control, so feel free to dress in whatever makes you comfortable. On at least two of the evenings we’ll go out shooting, likely on foot. Bring shoes that are comfortable for walking, as well as long pants, and a long-sleeve T-shirt/sweatshirt or a light jacket.
Considerations
The majority of this workshop will be spent in the classroom. Two or three evening shoots are planned in the local Seattle area. The shoot locations will probably be within easy walking distance, but there is a chance we will pool into taxis.
Please read our FAQs section for more information about skill and gear requirements, and other information that pertains to all our workshops.
If you have questions, please contact us—we're happy to talk it over with you.
The Other Half of Photography ...
“I love digital because it has allowed me to grow beyond the limits I thought existed for a photographer.”
Processing has always been half the process. Half the photography process, that is. The initial capture is just the starting line—it gets us only partway to a completed photograph. Whether it be in a darkroom or in Lightroom, processing is what gets us to the finish line.
Of course, ideally we don’t want to use processing to fix our in-field mistakes. That’s just using it as a crutch. But knowing how to post-process well affects our in-field decisions. If we know what we can do on the computer to finish our vision, then we better know what to do with the camera to start it.
I still remember my first time using Photoshop, sitting in my shared office at Golf Digest magazine in 1994, editing a file from a scanned black-and-white negative. I knew how to use a darkroom, but this new technology shocked me—in a good way. I was mesmerized by the technology, both by how it made my job easier and how it would clearly expand the horizons of my creativity.
I love the era of digital photography. It has put more creative control into the hands of the person who should have it: the photographer. In the film days, most photographers delegated that responsibility to professional lab technicians. But now we all have the modern equivalent of a darkroom on our desk (or lap) at home. We are taking control of how our art looks, rather than letting someone else finish it for us.
I love digital because it has allowed me to grow beyond the limits that I thought existed for a photographer. Digital has allowed me to open doors to grander creativity, and it can allow you to do the same. The keys to those doors are post-processing skills. In this workshop, we’ll be handing those keys right over to you.
