Back in March of 2007 Ryan and I bought our first DSLR camera. I loved how clear the pictures turned out and that I could snap away without missing a moment with my two {very active} little girls. But, I knew there was so much more to learn when it came to photography.
I would go over online tutorials trying to improve my skills, and attempt to shoot in manual mode. I found myself taking pictures of lots of objects that DIDN'T move....
My pictures always turned out blurry or too dark....
And I had to ALWAYS take pictures in rooms where the light was just right....
Some of my best pictures were the ones I took of ribbons back when I used to do online hairbow tutorials:
Pictures of my girls, on the otherhand? Well, I was hopeless. There was only so much that I could glean from the world wide web. So, I began to turn towards taking a photography course. I searched and searched, but was very wary and overwhelmed by most of the classes offered online.
That was until I came across a friend who was taking a class from a girl named Wendy Schulz. She had trained Erin Cobb, and offered and online courses in photography that included one on one chats to discuss your work. I was intrigued, but there was a waiting list.....A YEAR LONG!
I put my name on the list.
And waited.
Ryan began his final semester of law school.
And I waited some more.
We moved to Arizona.
And I was still waiting.
But in March of 2009 my name made it to the top of the list. I hesitated to commit, but I called my friend who had taken Wendy's course and she told me it was the best thing she had ever done. So I made the plunge into the world of learning photography.
I will tell you here and now.....when it comes to my DSLR, it really was the best thing I could have done!
Wendy took my photography from here:
To here:
And finally to here:
You can even see more of my work on my photography blog here.
I've had a lot of people ask me where I learned to take pictures.
Having a good DSLR is a start....
BUT....even with a nice camera, it helps to know a thing or two about how to work it.
What I'm getting at is, don't just walk.....RUN over to Wendy's site and check out her classes! I've since taken two others and I have learned SO much! She is an amazing teacher! Incredibly patient and has a way of explaining things so even people like me understand. If she could teach me how to use a camera, as dense as I am sometimes, I know she can teach any of you!
She has classes that start May 6th, and from what I've heard there is NO wait list!!!
I waited a YEAR!
Best of all, once you finish your first course she adds you to a forum of alumni. There are so many amazing women and photographers that I have become friends with and learned from through that forum. Worth the price of admission right there!
And if you're worried that she's just some robot behind a computer screen, I can personally attest that she is a real live human being. She lives right here in sunny Arizona, and when I was stuck on a certain lesson she met with me and we went over it together.....perks of living by the teacher I guess!
Be sure to tell her I sent you....
I promise you won't be disappointed!
