If you’ve never used your camera before, you will leave with a solid grasp of the features it offers AND how to use them. Concepts are explained and demonstrated. There is no better way to learn than by doing!
Photography Lessons à la carte
My semi-private and private photography lessons are tailored to individual requirements. These lessons are designed to accelerate the learning process or work on specific skills and are available to both beginners and advanced students. The course and lesson content is designed to suit your individual needs and will focus on specific areas you’d like to improve and master. No previous photography or camera experience is required!
Intensive Digital Imaging Course
This is an 8 week digital imaging course that is a comprehensive introduction to two of the tools you need to bring your ideas to life: the digital camera and Adobe Photoshop. You’ll learn how to put this tag team to work for you.
Here’s your chance to pick a professional photographer’s brain! Get the results you want quickly with one on one classes or hook up with a friend and come take a lesson or course together. Maximum 2 students per lesson or course. Bring your questions and be prepared to relax and have fun!
Digital Imaging Course Summary
This 8 week course starts by teaching you basic digital camera settings. You will learn a bit about aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and shooting at night. You’ll learn all the menu bells and whistle’s that gives today’s digital cameras such extraordinary control over capturing images.
You also get a basic introduction to digital photographic technology: pixels, DPI and PPI, file types, storage media, sensors, and some other mystifying digital terminology.
Then you’ll begin the mastery of editing your digital images with Photoshop. In Photoshop, you’ll start with the browser basics and learn what some of the tools in the toolbox can do for your photos. You’ll learn how to crop and resize. You’ll learn how to minimize “noise” and how to “sharpen.” Then we dive into the world of color retouching, hue saturation, masking, layering, retouching, restoration, and special effects. Finally, you will learn how to present your photographs. This is just the tip of the digital photography iceberg.
My teaching methods will include a weekly lecture, demonstrations and a critique of assignments. This is an eight week course. Do not sign up if you are unable to commit to a once a week private or semi private session.
Prerequisite: No previous photography or camera usage experience is required for this course. You will need a digital SLR wiht a fully manual mode and interchangeable lenses.
Teaching method includes a weekly lecture, demonstration and critiques. $2,000 (2 hour class once a week for 8 weeks.) Sign Up NowSign Up Now
Specific details of the digital imaging course available on requeston request.
Photography Lesson Options
Essentials 1 – Learn to use your new camera
Learn to use your new camera and how to get your money’s worth out of your camera. Learn how to get better pictures. Come and distract yourself from the pressures and stresses of life by immersing yourself in a lesson of photography that will give you the confidence and motivation to have fun with your camera and take pictures you’ll be excited about!
This is a course which will give you a very solid foundation in the main concepts of photography. By the end of this lesson you will understand how your camera works to give you proper exposures and which settings to use for many different shooting situations. We will also learn to understand the lens specifications for your camera and how to take full advantage of the fun features your camera offers.
Prerequisite: No previous photography or camera usage experience is required for this course. My teaching method includes 1 on 1 interaction, demonstration and if appropriate a critique. $300 (3 hours). Sign Up NowSign Up Now
Essentials 2 – Digital Work Flow
Would you like to learn how to transfer your photos from your camera, do minor adjustments to your photos, resize your photos for print and/or email, etc.? Then this is the class for you.
You’ve got your new camera and you’re out there taking pictures. But when it comes to getting them onto the computer, emailing them to friends and family, getting them printed, organizing them and finding them again, you are getting frustrated with the whole process!
This lesson is for those of you who would like to learn more about the tools available to make your life easier once you’ve taken your pictures. In this lesson, we will look at workflow solutions that are easy, effective, and affordable. We will discuss how to transfer your images from your camera to your computer, how to organize and find them easily, backup solutions, quick processing options, resizing for print, web, and email, as well as discuss options such as Photoshop. We will look at some of the options available to you out there and how to make sure you get the best bang for your buck
Note: This class is open to both Mac and PC/Windows users but will be taught on Mac versions of the software.
What to bring: Your camera and your camera’s manual.
Prerequisite: No previous photography or camera usage experience is required for this course. My teaching method includes 1 on 1 interaction, demonstration and if appropriate a critique. $300 (3 hours) Sign Up NowSign Up Now
Techniques 1 – Advance Exposure
Go beyond the basics and learn various techniques to control more complex exposure situations and learn more about the advanced tools and features your camera offers. What are all those features and options in the camera’s menu and how can they help you? We will find out in this lesson.
Morning session (3 hours) – In this class we will take the basic photography skills to the next level. We will discuss how to control exposure, read the histogram (for digital photographers), use depth of field, fill flash, polarizing filters, etc. This class is designed to provide you with extra tools and techniques for developing your photographic skills and getting the pictures you want.
Afternoon session (3 hours) – This is a hands-on practice and critique session. Practice the new skills you just learned in the morning class. We will spend the first half of the session shooting and experimenting with various camera settings. In the second half of the class, we will look at the pictures you shot and critique them. This is a great way to immediately put your new skills into practice. You will be guided through various shooting situations to put into practice and understand all that you learned in the morning class.
Prerequisite: Essentials 1 or equivalent knowledge and/or camera usage experience is required for this course. My teaching method includes 1 on 1 interaction, demonstration and if appropriate a critique. $700 (Full Day) Sign Up NowSign Up Now
[Note that Techniques 1 and Techniques 2 can be taken in any order.]
Techniques 2 – Composition & Expression
Start getting creative and give your photography the impact you are looking for. We will explore many compositional techniques that will help you take your photography to an entirely different level. We will also discuss how to express oneself through photography so that your images convey exactly the mood and feeling you intended.
Morning session (3 hours) – In this lesson we will take the basic photography skills to the next level. We will discuss proven compositional guidelines and explore yet more features of your camera to give you all the control you want over your photographs. This lesson is designed to provide you with yet more tools and techniques to give you complete freedom of expression with your camera. We will learn about using the built-in features of the camera to control mood in your photographs.
Afternoon session (3 hours) – This is a hands-on practice and critique session. Practice the new skills you just learned in the morning class. We will spend the first half of the session shooting and experimenting with various camera settings. In the second half of the class, we will look at the pictures you shot and critique them. This is a great way to immediately put your new skills into practice. You will be guided through various shooting situations to put into practice and understand all that you learned in the morning class.
What to bring: Your camera, lenses and your camera’s manual.
Prerequisite: Essentials 1 or equivalent knowledge and/or camera usage experience is required for this course. My teaching method includes 1 on 1 interaction, demonstration and if appropriate a critique. $700 (Full Day) Sign Up NowSign Up Now
[Note that Techniques 1 and Techniques 2 can be taken in any order.]
Techniques 3 – Flash Photography
This class is for those who are familiar with their cameras and would like to learn flash photography techniques. We will be working with hotshoe flash in this course. (A hotshoe flash is the one you mount on top of your camera as opposed to the built-in flash that comes with your camera).
Morning session (3 hours) – This class will explore the various situations in which you can use your flash to control the lighting in your pictures. We will explore the use of flash in ambient lighting situations, fill flash, outdoor flash and other techniques including the difference between manual and TTL modes.
Afternoon session (3 hours) – This is a hands-on practice and critique session. Practice the new skills you just learned in the morning class. We will spend the first half of the session shooting and experimenting with your flash. In the second half of the class, we will look at the pictures you shot and critique them. This is a great way to immediately put your new skills into practice. You will be guided through various shooting situations to put into practice and understand all that you learned in the morning class.
Prerequisite: Essentials 1 or equivalent knowledge and/or camera usage experience is required for this course. My teaching method includes 1 on 1 interaction, demonstration and if appropriate a critique. $700 (Full Day) Sign Up NowSign Up Now
What to bring: Your camera, lenses, hotshoe flash and your camera’s manual
Gift Certificates Available
If you would like to purchase a special gift for a loved one or a friend, gift certificates are available. Purchase a gift certificate in $300, $300, $700$700 or $2,000$2,000 options for specific lessons or the digital imaging course.
Additional Information
These are hands-on lessons and all questions are welcome! If you’ve never used your camera before, you will leave with a very solid grasp of the features it offers AND how to use them. Concepts are explained and demonstrated and then you will try it out for yourself. There is no better way to learn than by doing!
You WILL be using your cameras throughout the lessons and answers to your questions will lead you through your cameras functions and the fundamental concepts of photography. You will practice your skills and increase your confidence level. The lessons are intensive and immersive all the while being fun and exciting! This is your opportunity to learn the basic concepts required to get better pictures, to understand what all the different settings on your camera mean and when to use them and to improve your skills and become familiar with aperture, shutter speed and ISO settings. These lessons will show you the difference between the different functions on your camera and what settings to use for various shooting situations.
A laptop computer running Photoshop will be required for most but not all lessons.
All lessons and workshops are held in Miami, Florida. Lunch is not included in full day classes. Restaurants are always nearby or you can bring a lunch. Local taxes are added to lesson fees at the time of purchase. Lessons are available on a first come, first served basis. Payment in full must be received to reserve your spot in any lesson or course.
Please note that if you have a fully automatic camera (i.e. you cannot adjust settings such as aperture and shutter speed) or a point-and-shoot (i.e. you cannot change lenses), you will not get a lot out of these lessons or course.
All prices are subject to change without notice.
Cancellation Policy
David Siqueiros will refund any fees paid for course registrations (less a $50 administrative fee) for any cancellations received more than 14 days before the course or lesson start date. Any cancellation received 14 days or less prior to the course or workshop start date will not be refunded. David Siqueiros retains the irrevocable right to cancel any lesson and reschedule for any reason at any time.
Lessons affected by holidays and natural disasters will be rescheduled at no fee for the student.