Letter & Exciting New Classes by our Photoshop Expert Instructor, Jeanette Smith

Hello!

We have added some great new Photoshop classes at Aperture Academy photography gallery and classroom in the Pruneyard Center in Campbell, right next to Rock Bottom Brewery.  Our instructors are here to guide you along the path of creativity, wherever you are with skill, experience or level of expertise.

I have enjoyed teaching the wonders of Photoshop for eleven years, am an Adobe Certified Expert in Photoshop and can teach you just about anything. We go on some wonderful workshops too, check ‘em out!  It’s easy to register online.

• Photoshop: All About Camera RAW!
If you're wondering what Camera RAW is all about, why it's so important, or if you want to edit your RAW images in the most powerful way possible, this is the class for you! You will see amazing results as we thoroughly explore the capabilities of the Photoshop RAW processor. This class is an essential foundation for any digital photographer shooting RAW. Often times, this is all the post-processing you’ll need! [Register here]

• Photoshop: Easy and Powerful Basics!
You'll be amazed at how easy it is to make effective adjustments to your photos! This class will give you the basic rules for size, resolution, file formats and how to save photos for e-mail, web and print. You'll see your images come alive with effective cropping and straightening, give your photos more depth and understand the importance of light. Working with Photoshop layers, you will marry several images, or portions of images, together and apply blending and transparency effects to create your own masterpiece.   [Register here]

• Photoshop: Selection and Masking Techniques
Have you ever wanted to edit a portion of your photo, change one color, switch the background, separate very fine edges like hair or branches? This class will give you a collection of techniques for editing parts of an image. Working with Photoshop layers, channels and tools, you will feel the full power of Photoshop as you perfect a selection and create complex layer masks.  [Register here]

• Photoshop: Introduction to HDR
What's all this talk about High Dynamic Range? Do you mean I can achieve amazing detail in highlights AND shadows? I can create supernatural color saturation? If this sounds too good to be true and you just have to see it to believe it, this class is for you! Proper use of HDR processing will allow you to create a final image that truly represents what you see with your eye!  [Register here]

• Photoshop: Portrait Enhancement Techniques
The look of perfection! Learn quick and easy techniques to add subtle highlights and shadows, brighten eyes, whiten teeth, hide blemishes, add color to lips, hair, clothing and more. Beautify your professional head shot, family portrait, favorite photo of you or your favorite person.  [Register here]

Hope to see you soon. We love our students!

Jeanette Smith
Instructor, Adobe Photoshop for Photography
jeanette [at] apertureacademy.com

The Magic of Creation

Post written by Jeanette Smith, Creative Arts Instructor for Aperture Academy

What is it that motivates us to create, to share for the pure pleasure of expression? Where does this energy come from?
 
We seek ways to express our uniqueness, connect with people who share the same excitement, and acquire knowledge so we can communicate more thoroughly. Then, one day we find ourselves in just the right place, at just the right time, and we are happy.

As a teacher of creative arts, I am lucky to witness, on a regular basis, the eagerness, that "ah-ha" moment of clarity and the ensuing satisfaction that comes with learning something new. I wish students could see themselves at that moment. See themselves gazing back at me with such wonder; confident that the knowledge they take with them will become a vehicle for a deeper channel of creativity.
 
My first classroom experience at Aperture Academy, the Photoshop® for Photographers class, awakened this magic.

"I loved the class, it was just what I needed for a boost to help my picture-taking."  - Brenda Bresnahan

My advice to students learning Photoshop? Focus on doing one thing at a time.
 
Photoshop is a big animal, it does many things; not difficult things, but there are many, many things Photoshop can do. However, it's very methodical, and Photoshop will do exactly what you tell it to do. By defining one task at a time, and achieving just that, you will enjoy a powerful feeling of accomplishment.

In my class, our goal is to teach you to leverage the power of Photoshop as a modern day darkroom. Our on-site workshops blend perfectly with this digital classroom experience...at Aperture Academy, we provide a whole soup-to-nuts package for the digital photographer, no matter what experience or skill level.
 
When you join us in our workshops, you will shoot at beautiful locations, with the lighting at your back and a fantastic view in front of you...then come into my classroom and watch your images come to life!
 
Please visit our Website, sign up to come with us and join the fun!