- Digital: Before You Buy
- Basic Camera Operation
- Photo I
- Composition I
- HDR Photography
- Slideshow Workshop
- Critical Feedback
- The Art of Being an Artist
- The Business of Photography I
- One-on-One Sessions
- Workshops
My classes are listed and described below. If you have any questions about a class, dates, group instruction, etc. please Contact Me. Gift Certificates are available. Give the gift of photography to yourself, a friend, or a loved one. Call 208.466.9340 or contact me for details. "On Request" listings mean the class does not have a scheduled date but will be arranged when there is a registration or a request for a class time.
Digital Photography: Before You BuyOne 2-hour session
This 2-hour seminar is for people thinking about purchasing their first
digital camera. We will cover the pros and cons of digital photography,
explore the models and brands available, their features, costs, accessories,
and try to fit a selection of camera recommendations to your personal
shooting style and expectations. There are no sales pitches during this
class. I do not sell photo equipment, so you will not be pressured
to buy anything. You will, however, be better prepared
when you are shopping at the store or online, knowing what you want,
what's available, and less likely to get talked into spending more than
you intend or to buy something you don't want or need.
If you would like to schedule a different date please
select "on request" to register and I will contact you after registration
to arrange a date and time.
one 2-hour session
This 2-hour class is a straight up, hands on "what does what and where it is" overview of your camera and how it works, for photographers who are photographing primarily in auto mode and are frustrated with trying to learn from the owner's manual. We'll cover how to use common camera settings: setting the shutter speed, aperture, the various auto and semi-auto modes, exposure adjustments for auto modes, auto and manual focus, frame rate, setting the ISO and other camera settings. This class is for both compact and SLR users.
Four 2-hour sessions
This 8-hour class lays the foundation from which to build a successful hobby or career in photography. Covered are the fundamentals of light and camera operation from the light meter to the histogram, how all these components work together to create the photographic image, and how you are in control of the results. Weekly assignments and reviews help you to practice the principles and techniques learned. When weather permits, we will shoot outside during the class.
Four 2-hour sessions
Composition I is about how to design a photograph, arranging the various picture
elements in a pleasing way to help illustrate an emotion, thought, concept,
or story. We'll cover traditional graphic design concepts and their use in
photography, discuss the "rules" (I call them guidelines) of composition,
the basics of how to properly critique your work and the work of others, and
we'll walk through my EIOE process of creating a photograph.
One 4-hour workshop
HDR photography is one of the most popular tools in digital photography
to increase the dynamic range in your photographs (the ability of your
image to represent detail in the darkest shadows and the brightest highlights).
In this workshop you will learn what conditions and subjects are best
for HDR photography, how to bracket exposures for HDR, using Photoshop, Photomatix Pro, and Nik HDR Efex Pro to create HDR images (realistic and illustrative looks),
create pseudo HDR images from a single RAW file, and more. We'll spend
part of the day in class covering the background and application details,
go out for some photographing, then return to the classroom for hands-on
processing. You will need a camera that allows you to manually change
the exposure, a laptop computer with at least 1 GB of RAM, a means to
download your files from your camera/memory card to the computer, a tripod,
Photoshop, and Photomatix Pro (free trials are available for both applications and I have a 20% discount coupon available for Photomatix).
If you would like to schedule a different workshop date for a group, please contact me to arrange a date and time.
6-hour workshop (2 days)
What to do with all those digital files? How about making a slideshow? Proshow Gold, by Photodex, is a powerful yet easy-to-use application to make beautiful slideshows with music, voice-over, embedded video, and more. You can save your work as an executable slideshow, a Youtube or Vimeo video, a screensaver, even a slideshow for your mobile phone! This software is for PC only.
During this 6-hour workshop, you'll learn:
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We'll meet for 2 hours the first night to cover the basics. The next day (4 hours) will be spent creating a slideshow of your own. For that, you'll need to bring 25 - 50 image files, an mp3 version of a song, and your laptop with a trial or full version of Proshow Gold (download the trial version here).
As a participant, you will receive a 20% discount coupon to purchase Proshow Gold. If you would like to purchase the software prior to the workshop, please contact me after your registration is complete and I will email you the coupon and instructions.
If you would like to schedule a different workshop date for a group, please contact me to arrange a date and time.
4 2-hour sessions
Whether you plan to sell your photographs at art shows or shoot fashion for Vogue, knowing and using best business practices will save you months or years of anguish and second-guessing learning the hard way through trial and error. This class will help you get your feet solidly on the ground and headed in the right direction. In these four sessions you'll learn how to calculate your cost of doing business, understand your legal business structure options, know the difference between selling and licensing your photographs, understand the importance and meaning of copyright, understand and accept the value of your work, how to price your work or service, and working with contracts.
This knowledge is helpful even for photographers who aren't intending to sell or license their work. The way the market is changing, if you post photos on a website, blog, Facebook, Flickr, Smugmug, or other photo sharing/portfolio sites you may be contacted at some point by someone interested in using your work. Having some knowledge of the industry will give you more confidence in those situations and help you receive the appropriate value for your work and/or service.
Six 2-hour sessions
Join photographer Mike Shipman and writer Ken Rodgers for an innovative 6-session workshop designed to help you discover yourself as an artist through self-exploration, exercises, lectures and discussions. We'll discuss influence, inspiration, self-respect and self-confidence, fear, perseverance, barriers, finding and exploring artistic vision, workflow, community, business, and more.
Through discussion topics and exercises, you will discover your personal reasons and background for creating art, be inspired to explore and experiment, explore and remove the barriers to creating your art, and learn ways to get your art out into the world for people to see and appreciate.
Mike is an award-winning freelance and fine art photographer who has been teaching photography and leading workshops since 1998.
Ken has an MFA in Creative Writing and has taught on-line and on-ground for the past 10 years. His newest book of poetry, Passenger Pigeons, published by Jaxon's Press, will be released this fall. http://www.kennethrodgers.com
Call Mike at 208-466-9340 for more information or to register over the phone.
This workshop is open to all artists
One 4-hour session
Many photographers and other artists dread both receiving and giving criticism,
believing (wrongly) that critique is a negative process, only pointing out
failures. While criticism can be judgmental, the purpose of giving and receiving
feedback is positive and, if in the spirit of helpfulness, is one of the
most useful tools available to you for improving your work. Criticism can
be defined as
"informed discourse about art to increase understanding and appreciation
of art". During this 4-hour class I will describe the three main processes
of critique and work through
these steps using our own work and examples from other sources. This is an
interactive class and at the conclusion you should be more comfortable with
receiving feedback, know how to use the feedback you receive, be able to provide
useful feedback to others when requested, and be able to apply this process
to the evaluation of art forms other than photography.
This is a good class for camera clubs and other art groups. Contact me for group rates.
If you'd like to schedule a workshop on a different date than is listed, please select "Open Date" in the drop down list and I will
contact you after registration to arrange a date and time.
1/2 day (4 hrs) and full day (8 hrs) instruction
Sometimes structured class times don't fit your schedule or needs,
or you want to learn something specific that's not offered in a structured
class. One-on-one workshops and classes work around your schedule and
what you want to learn as much as possible. One-on-One Sessions can be
all about camera operation, informal portraiture, off-camera flash, composition,
camera techniques, or a 1/2-day or day-long photography walk in downtown
Boise, in the foothills, or out in the desert. What do you want to learn
today? Register for as many days as you like.
This is generally not a scheduled class. Please register or contact me to arrange a date and time.
| Full Day (8 Hours) |
| Half Day (4 Hours) |