As many of you know, I started teaching some live, online classes last fall. One on Landscape Photography, one on Night Photography and a third on Wildlife Photography. So far, I’ve taught several sessions of each and have had over a hundred students. I will be teaching those classes again starting mid-January (Wildlife is now sold out, a few spaces remain in Landscape, starting Jan. 13 and Night, Jan. 14, 8-9:30pm Central time). You can see short video previews of what the classes are like by following the links here: https://reedhoffmann.com/new-workshops/

If you’re interested in any of them, let me know, and if you have friends who might be interested, please pass this along. Here’s more detailed information:

Each class is taught via Zoom, and attendance is limited to no more than ten people. They run for three weeks (one night each week), which consist of three, 90-minute online sessions. In addition, each student gets one-hour of private instruction from me, that can be taken as two 30-minute sessions or one full hour.

I record each class and make it available for the attendees to watch as many times as they’d like for up to three months afterwards, via a password protected link on Vimeo. That’s also handy in case anyone has to miss a class the night it was taught.

Over the course of those three weeks I’ll lead you through a presentation with hundreds of slides covering the technical, as well as creative steps that are the keys to that type of photography (details below). The small class size allows time for questions (there’s an open Q&A halfway through and at the end of each evening), and the private sessions will be tailored to whatever each of you wants to discuss. That time can be scheduled any time that’s convenient for you (and me!) over the next couple of months.

The fee is $175 per person for the approximately five-and-a-half hours of instruction, a great deal considering that my fee for private online sessions is $85/hour. In other words, you could think of it as only paying $90 for the three online classes, with the other $85 for the private time.

Mesa Arch, Canyonlands National Park. Composition, use of light and color, tripods, filters and more are all part of my Landscape Photography class.

Landscape Photography Class

Here are some of the topics I’ll cover:

• Qualities of light and how to play to their strengths.
• Using the histogram for better exposures..
• How to benefit from RAW format.
• White balance do’s and don’ts.
• sRGB vs. Adobe RGB color space.
• Filters, from polarizing to graduated neutral density.
• How to improve sharpness.
• Diffraction, depth of field and hyperfocal distance.
• Focus stacking.
• Composition – the guidelines to better pictures.
• Plus, self-assignments each week for those who’d like to practice what we cover.

Tilting at windmills on the Kansas prairie. The techniques used to create this are some of what I’ll teach in the Night Photography class.

Night Photography Class

Here are some of the topics for this class:

• Camera and lens features that make for better night photography.
• RAW format advantages.
• Tripods, plates, releases how to get the most out of them.
• Learn how to make sure you get sharp photos at night.
• How to manage exposure, with ISO, shutter speed and aperture, for this very different type of photography.
• How to avoid, or how to create, star trails.
• Noise, and how to work with it.
• How to judge exposure at night.
• Color, and what role Kelvin temperatures play in it.
• Tips for planning successful night shoots.
• How to deal with special situations.
• What is light painting, what gear do you need, how to do it.
• What is “Low-Level Lighting,” how does it differ from light painting, what tools are necessary and how do you figure exposure.
• Tips for processing photos made at night.
• Plus, self-assignments for those who’d like to practice what we cover.

 Brown bear, Alaska. Camera features, autofocus modes, lens choice, best techniques for sharp captures and tips on behavior are just some of the topics I cover in the Wildlife Photography class.

Wildlife Photography Class

Here’s some of what I’ll cover during this class:

• Camera features, from pixel size to frame rate to weather sealing, that are important for great wildlife photography.
• A deep dive into exposure, how best to take advantage of the different modes, including a conversation on metering modes and use of Auto ISO.
• An even deeper dive into today’s autofocus modes and how to get the most out of the various options.
• Lens considerations, advantages and disadvantages to zooms and fixed, as well as teleconverters and wide-angles.
• Options for steadier (meaning sharper) photos.
• Compositional guidelines applied to wildlife photography.
• Working with available light and occasionally flash.
• Animal behavior, human behavior, and ethics.
• Practice advice.
• Tips for processing images.

Email me if you have questions or would like to register for one of the classes. Once I have enough people for a class (minimum of five), I’ll send a note with days and times. If those work for you, payment can be by check, PayPal or Venmo. Once you’re registered, I’ll send you more information about both the class and how to pay.

(If you like this story, please share it with your friends and let them know about the links on photography that I post on my business Facebook page. I’m also on Instagram and Twitter, @reedhoffmann. And if you’re curious about the workshops I teach, you can find them here. And, you can subscribe to this blog on my home page.)