Photography Workshop / Paris Tennessee

This was just advertised in Paris Tennessee -

PHOTO SAFARI- Saturday June 19th the Paris Henry County Arts Council is bringing Professional Photographer Jeff Roush back to Paris for a unique photography workshop called a Photo Safari. This workshop will be for outdoor enthusiasts who with camera in hand yearn to capture the beauty that they see in nature. The Photo Safari will take place at Paris Landing State Park Inn, 400 Lodge Road, Buchanan, Tennessee, the third Saturday in June beginning at 4:30pm. Inside Conference Room B the Photo Safari begins with an informative seminar that will include dessert and a drink. At 6pm the group will leave for the nature part of the Safari which will conclude at dusk. Comfortable shoes are recommended! The cost will be $25 per person. For registration go to http://www.roushstudios.com/register.aspx or call Jeff Roush at 731-676-1520.

COME JOIN US FOR THIS UNIQUE AND FUN FILLED EVENING!!!!

Come and join us if you are close enough. It will be a fun and educational experience.

Jeff Roush

Free Photo Courses & Discounted Photo Courses

Hi Everyone -

I know it's been a while since I've posted here - it's been a busy few months and all of the new enrollments have kept me pretty busy. I've got some new exciting things planned for the upcoming year with the online photography courses. RoushPhotoOnline will be publishing a few new "eBooks" about photography that will be available soon. I will be posting them on their own site as I don't want to confuse folks signing up for my photo courses. These eBooks will not replace the course materials but will be simpler versions of some of the materials. I'll post the link to view them once we get some of them posted.

I also have a few discount coupons left over from a promotion I did last summer for both the Premium Photography Course and the Standard Photography Course. They range from 5% to 30% off. They are active for another couple of weeks so if you have been thinking of signing up this might be the time. Act quickly and you can use one of these coupons.

I also have one coupon that is for a FREE course. I'll be doing an electronic drawing for this one in ONE month on March 15th, 2010. Drop me an email if you would like to enter this giveaway. So far there are only two entries in the hat. This is a valuable prize so don't delay.

Email me at jeff@roushphotoonline.com asap.

That's all for now - keep checking in. And, thanks for all the comments and emails.

Jeff Roush

Photography Courses

Hi Everyone,

RoushPhotoOnline announces some special discounts on our most popular photography classes. Our two  best online photography courses are now being offered with some hefty discounts through the end of this month.
These are complete digiital photo courses and haven't been watered down in any way.  In fact, they are our two most popular photography courses that we have offered the past few years at Roush Photo Online.
Many people are looking for ways to make extra money, add a few dollars to their income, or start a second home based business; doing portrait photography could be your answer.

Email me or Mitzie  if you want to talk about our digital photography programs and what discounts are avaialable now to those interested.  

Jeff Roush - jroush@roushstudios.com

Mitzie Roush - mitzie@roushstudios.com

We plan to keep these discounted photography courses available through the end of this month.

Jeff Roush

Photo Workshop in Dyersburg Tn

Hi Everyone!

This coming weekend is the first of a series of Digital Photography Workshops for the Dyersburg Tennessee area. This program is designed for amatuer and pro-am photographers. We're meeting once a month for the next 6 months on Saturdays to cover the course materials.

Our meeting place is Roush Studios in Dyersburg Tn. The workshops will be from 9AM to 11Am on Saturday Jan. 3rd. We will have a Q&A period following.

We'll be using a lot of the material from the Digital Online Photography Course here on RoushPhotoOnline as we take many amatuer photographers through new material and techniques in digital photography.

We're excited about the response to the program and expect a nice size group of "anxious to learn" photographers.

It's not to late to register if you are close enough to join us. Just drop me an email and I'll get you on the list - jroush@roushstudios.com.

New Courses / Enrollment in Progress

For those of you who have an interest in my Photography Courses now is the time to let me know. I'm in the middle of a graduating group of students right now and spots are opening up for new folks to get registered.

Even if you can't start immediately, please let me know so I can hold a spot for you. Registration fills up fast and I'm not taking as many students this term being my classes at Lambuth University are now starting for this fall/winter semester.

http://roushphotoonline.com is the place to sign up - or drop me an email.

Jeff Roush

Online Photo Class / Online Newsletter

This is the newsletter I recently put out for all of my subscribers. I've had some nice response to it so I thought it might be nice to share it with you here in our blog.

Roush Photo Online Newsletter 02
August 07, 2008 http://www.roushphotoonline.com/

Introduction -
Welcome to our second newsletter from Roush Photo Online. This newsletter is to provide you with some new and useful information about photography. I hope to help you reach some of your own photographic goals and raise your skill level to the next plateau. Each of these newsletters will cover different information and techniques that should help you improve your photographs.

Each of us ultimately has the same goal; when people view our photographs we want them to say "wow!"

Roush Photo Online News-
News from the the Roush Photo Online course program is awesome. There have been some "graduating" students since the last newsletter and the emails I'm receiving from them is all good! Occasionally I'll get an image that someone has shot after graduation, and it pleases me to see so many doing really great work. One student just sold their first "picture package" from a portrait (they were paid to shoot) and made enough money to buy a new wide angle lens. Needless to say, he was thrilled! And, of course, so was I. There is no better reward for a teacher than to see students making a success of their education.If you thought of enrolling in any of the new courses I offer on the web site now is the time to do it. One round of students is finishing this week so there are openings right now for new folks to join. Remember that I limit enrollment so that I can give all enrolled students the proper attention and time needed for the courses, so don't wait too long. Drop me an email if you want to enroll but need a week or so to sign up - I'll happily hold a registration spot for you.A couple of you attended the workshop this past weekend at my studio. I have to say that all that attended created some outstanding images as we studied the whole "fine art figure" & portraiture arena. We studied applications of studio and available lighting along with posing and compositions. I'm getting some of the finished images this week and will share any of them with you if you are interested in this type of photographic work and possibly attending one of the these types of workshops in the future.

Photography Tips -
In the last newsletter we discussed the photographic formula that I use when I'm approaching a new photo project. I was thrilled to get the emails from those of you that wrote and told me of your own successes. Students who applied this new technique to their "mind-set" of shooting have found their images improving dramatically simply by using these few steps in their photography.

In this publication we're going to study a couple of the basic rules of composition. When we see a photograph that moves us, inspires us, or causes an emotional response we are experiencing a photograph that has been created artistically; using the components of composition successfully. The elements of composition are an area of education that a lot of photographers generally don’t study in great depth. We seem to think "we have it" or "we don’t".

I tend to differ. In fact, I feel quite the opposite. Composition is something we can see and learn. A successful work of art, whether it’s a photograph or a sculpture, can be dissected into visual categories and fundamentals that we can see, understand, learn, and duplicate. We are going to explore a couple of rules that make great composition in digital imagery. Learning composition is a never-ending artistic process as are most creative thinking situations so we can hardly cover all of it in the forum. However, there are a few things we can cover and learn now that will assist all of us in creating better images.

Composition is something that any photographic artist can use regardless of the camera equipment they presently own, being it is not related to anything technical we use. It is truly our ability to make the photograph look great aesthetically. Someone who completely understands composition and how to apply it to a photographic creation can shoot their images with a point-and-shoot camera and get great results creatively, even with the limitations of such a camera system.

A simple and easy to use and understand compositional rule is the "Rule Of Thirds". The image below demonstrates how the rule of thirds is used and applied to our photography.

When we are viewing an scene / image that we plan to shoot through our viewfinders dissect the image with lines as shown above on this boat photograph. The vertical lines are dividing the scene into thirds vertically and the horizontal lines are dividing the scene into thirds horizontally - thus, the name "rule of thirds". The places were these vertical and horizontal lines intersect is the place that you want to place the most important subject matter of your photograph. Doing this creates impact in the image that would not be there if it were simply centered and/or bigger.Also, in the above sample there is another rule of composition that it easy to understand and apply. This other rule is called the "Rule of Motion". Motion in a piece of art does not mean "moving subject matter", it means artistic motion as it relates to the subject space and the other space in the artwork. In this sample there is more room in front of the boat than behind, leaving room for this subject to visually "move" to the open space. This off balance feel gives the artwork a natural tendency of movement as it is viewed

"The Golden Rule" is also a compositional technique that is present in this particular photograph. This rules applies to the sizes of the subject matter and the size of the other space around it. In simple terms to use this rule properly one needs to think of these two elements and size them properly. The "subject matter / other space" relationship size-wise should be something close to 1/3 vs 2/3 of the total area. In this particular image the boat, although it's the smaller, is the 1/3 and the lake and sky is the 2/3. This careful balance of these two unequal halves creates a more aesthetically pleasing arrangement of the image content to the viewer.
These three rules of composition are something you can do now as you take photographs. They require no special equipment or gear, and work with ALL cameras. You'll find that if you try to learn these and implement these concepts in to your own photographic work you'll find your images improving easily.

Student Showcase -
Over the past month or so I've been amazed with the assignments people are turning in. I've specifically included a couple of images that are from the "composition" portion of the photography course. I plan on using this newsletter to showcase some student work for two reasons. One is, they deserve to be in the spotlight for doing such great work. Two, seeing what students are doing in any educational program is good for all, including those only along for the ride.

These are students that have excelled in the application of photographic techniques and deserve a "pat on the back." from me as their teacher, and from you as their audience. Students come to my program with different skill levels; each starting at a different spot in the curriculum. However, everyone eventually goes through the same process of learning.

Applying photographic principles and techniques like "depth of field" control and "composition" can be a tedious learning process as it involves nearly all of the knowledge of cameras/camera operation/settings/lens choice and so on. I'd like to share a few of these outstanding images.

A lot of time is spent in my course on the "artistic" elements and applications in photography. Many of us can expose images properly, buy learning to control all of the components in design with the equipment and then using it to your advantage to create impact, message, and beauty is a tough goal. These students accomplished this beautifully with these three excellent images. Congrats to you both- you now have some new excellent imagery to add to your portfolios.
Until next time, I hope you enjoyed this newsletter. Any comments or suggestions are encouraged and welcomed. I'd also like to invite all of you to visit my commercial web site. There is where my online portfolio resides. You can view it at http://www.roushstudios.com/

Thanks for reading -
Jeff Roush - photography instructor
jeff@roushphotoonline.com
http://www.roushphotoonline.com/

Student Showcase

Over then next few weeks I plan to showcase some student work. These are students that have excelled in the application of photographic techniques and deserve a "pat on the back." from me as their teacher, and from you as their audience.

Students come to my program with different skill levels; each starting at a different spot in the ciriculum. However, everyone eventually goes through the same process of learing.

Applying photographic principles and techniques like "depth of field" control and "composition" can be a tedious learning process as it involves nearly all of the knowledge of cameras/camera operation/settings/lens choice and so on. I'd like to share a couple of outstanding images.

The above image was part of an assignment in composition. It clearly demonstrates usage of some compostional techniques we studied in our lessons. It is nicely composed and arranged using the design elements we learned through the program. Being a better "photographic artist" can be learned through practice and knowledge. Composition is a big part of the program, and we spend a fair amount of time learing the design elements and applying them.
Great job "N.T"

This image was part of assignment on "depth of field" control. Along with deomonstrating excellent DOF - shallow in this case - there is excellent composition and design exhibited in this image.

Each of the above samples shows perfect exposure / correct equipment choices / proper selection of settings (f-stop & shutter speeds) and great all around execution photographically. Excellent work "T.B."

I'll pass any comments on to each photographer when you post.

Thanks for reading, and thanks to my hard working students!

Jeff

Image Quality

Recently, I've had a lot of questions concerning "Image Quality" and different file types of images - jpg / tiff / raw. Here's the techinical lowdown on this topic - taken from one of the tutorials I've written as part of my online photography course.

Maintaining Image Quality - the story on jpgs
For those of you who shoot only jpgs digitally here's a word of caution. First of all we must understand some technical features of image files. ALL jpgs compress when saved every time. The image eliminates un-needed information every time we re-save it to a drive. So, by default a jpg is designmed to loose quality. If you are going to retouch or color correct a jpg, save it as a tiff first, do your retouching on the tiff and then save it back to a jpg again. Tiff files, inherently do not compress and loose information when retouched and re-saved. This is why Tiffs are bigger files than jpgs; they retain ALL the information.

If you do this religiously your jpgs will retain quality. If you don't do this and continually open / retouch / re-save a jpg eventually you'll notice the image quality has been

compromised and has deteriorated. You will not necessarily notice this on your computer screen since digital files retain way to much information for most screens to capture and reproduce, but you will notice it if you try to print it large or provide that image to magazine or publication.

I hope this helps in this controversial topic. These facts are not my opinions. This is technical data that is true of all digital files.

Jeff

Photo Course Testimonials

Last month I ask some of my previous students to write a short testimonial for me to post on the web. Both of these have completed the 8 Segment Course.

Here are a couple of them -

"I finished my course with Jeff about 2 months ago and I'm already booking some photo work. I've learned how to talk to potential customers and how to price my photography. I'm a lot more confident in the whole aspect of taking photographs now, and I thank this class for that. I've learned so much but still refer to the PDF booklet of information that I got from Jeff. All I can say is "thanks!"
Gerald P / Austin, TX

"I just finished the Online Photography Class, and I have to say that it was awesome. I'm not going to say it was easy, Jeff is tough and made me learn the information, but I'm glad he did. There were so many things about photography that I didn't understand and it showed in my work. After a few months of work I'm a lot more confident and my portraits are great. I love all the different tricks I learned to control the way my photographs look. Thanks, I'm a happy, satisfied student."
Thomas G / Sedona, AZ


I am really proud of what some of them have accomplished in the course. Both of these people were "average" when they started and now they are producing images that are awesome. It's amazing to me to watch them through the learning process and improve their skills and their confidence. Gerald has started doing location portraiture as a sideline business to his "real" job and Thomas is starting to shoot stock as he travels during his retirement. Both are excited and motivated about the new prospects they now have in reaching artisitic and financial goals.

Good work to both of you! Keep it up.

Should I take Photography Classes?

This is a question I see on all the major sites in the "question & answer" areas. Oh Yahoo questions there are always nurmerous posts about this topic. Well, here's my take on it...and even though I'm an instructor (roushphotoonline.com) I'll try to give an unbiased opinion.
Through the years I've taught students at many different skill levels, lots of amatuers and a fair amount of "wanna be pros". The thing that is common among all of them is the their lack of knowledge. It's not that they can't expose properly, it's not that they can't operate the camera. Knowing how to use all the components that are available and how to apply them to different shooting situations, different lighting environments, and effectively delivering a message in a visual format is where the "lack of knowledge" becomes evident. Most studentes look at a pro photographers photos and say "I want to do that!". Well, to DO "that" it takes a very complete understanding of lens choice, speed choice, Depth of Field choice, and then be able put this together in a properly and powerfully composed visual layout and design that impacts the viewer.
That's where most photographs fail. When I critique portfolios, and I critique hundreds, it's always the same ... the same reasons and problems in the execution.
So, yes, photography classes will enlighten you to things you might not know you need to do, or need to think about when doing photography.

Take Better Photographs

There is always a question from someone during a photo lesson about simply "taking better pictures". I talked yesterday about the shooting formula I use religiously to help maintain a higher standard of imagery. The formula is as follows:
Concept / Sketch / Plan / Execute
If you start to follow this simple structure as you develop ideas and stategies for your photography you'll find yourself taking better photographs in no time.
CONCEPT - develop your ideas before even getting your camera out of the bag. Think about what you are shooting, subject placement, composition, message, and all the other elements of artistic development.
SKETCH - Force yourself to draw your idea. This forces us to truly think about our image in a visual format and makes us think about the composition and all the possible variations.
PLAN - make a list of all the things you'll need with you produce your idea. Props, equipment, help, etc.
EXECUTE - If you done all the above three steps correctly you'll be able to shoot with ease. Part of taking great photographs is being able to think clearly and be focused on an idea when you shoot, not being pre-occupied with details.

Moral to the Story - to be a great photographic artist you need to be able to think like an artist as you shoot, not be thinking about solving problems that come with the shoot. When you find yourself having to stop shooting to go get something your forgot or to change your idea because you didn't think about a certain situation being a problem you pretty much going to fail photographically. Do your homework before, be ready, prepare yourself mentally, physically, and visually for your endeavor.

Jeff
http://www.roushphotoonline.com

Digital Photography Tips

Today we start our question and answer blog posts. I have a number of posts to put up so watch our blog over the next few days.

There are two basic types of photographs photographers capture.
One is simple coverage of an event or recording a scrapbook type series of photographs of somthing like a vacation. It's perfectly fine to do "snapshots" for things like this.

The second thing we might photograph is something for ourselves to keep, or print, hang up at home, or to put in a portfolio that is representative of our work. In this case a good "rule of thumb" to follow is my shooting formula. The formula is as follows:
Conceptualize / Sketch / Plan / Execute. I'll talk more of these in the next post, so for now develop your own understanding of what they mean.

We cover this concept thoroughly in the Online Classes.

http://www.roushphotoonline.com/

Jeff

ONLINE Courses now taking enrollment

Our online photography courses are finally ready for enrollment, in fact, a few have enrolled already and are doing awesome. I've added some new features and courses to the roster after getting a little feedback from a few students.
Also, for the rest of this month all classes are sale priced!! -- part of the grand opening of the new site.

If you have any interest please let me know fast. We can only handle so many students at one time and space is becoming limited as each day passes. I'll gladly hold a spot for anyone that shows enough interest.

Jeff

Roush Photo Online Enrollment is OPEN

Thanks to all of you that signed up early for our Online Digital Photography Course. Some of you have finished already and the feedback has been awesome. One women in Ohio is now a lot more confident when she shoots weddings, and another student in Florida has started a portrait business doing exclusively outdoor portraits. My last email from him had a couple of questions about composition and DOF but the images he has emailed me are awesome. Soon I'll have some of this student work posted on the website for all of you to view.

From now on we're going to post some of the questions we receive as students are taking the course and post the answers also, so watch the blog and keep up. You just might learn somthing!

If you have a question or comment please feel free to post it here! We're now watching the blog daily.

Roush Photo Online is LIVE

I have to admit, I had no idea how successful this new website might prove to be...but now that's it's live I'm amazed. We've been "live online" now for less than a week and enrollment in my Online Digital Photo Class is increasing every day. Some were waiting patiently for us to turn it "on" but some people just came out of the woodwork and signed up. Thanks to all of you that waited and help spread the word.
All of the folks who "proofed" the site provided a priceless service to me, but more importantly you helped the student now enrolled. We worked out a lot of the bugs and corrected a lot of small errors with the help of all of you and I extend my sincere thanks! I'm make sure to invite you all to my summer "fine art" workshop.
If you haven't had time to view the new site please do. I would appreciate any and all comments!
http://www.roushphotoonline.com

Thanks everyone!