Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - FE640: Compose the Dog

Course Details

Compose the Dog is where we bring everything together! In many ways, it’s the capstone for the series of photography classes I offer here at FDSA. We take everything you know about exposure and post-processing and add a layer of "how to arrange all the things" and come out on the other side with a beautifully composed photograph.

Compositon is not for the benefit of the photographer. Composition is for the benefit of those with whom the photographer is trying to communicate. Be sure to read the Sample Lecture to get a better understanding of why composition is necessary to becoming a better photographer.

Expect 2 assignments per week, plus additional submissions with revisions to your images based on instructor feedback.

Completion of Shoot the Dog and/or Expose the Dog is strongly recommended. You may sign up for a Gold level spot if you have not completed Shoot the Dog and/or Expose the Dog, BUT knowledge and a mastery of the basic photography skills from those classes will be assumed. This includes, but is not limited to, a strong understanding of and ability to use manual exposure mode to reliably take properly exposed photos.

Computer skills required to be successful in this class:

Strong level of comfort with computers in general
Understand the directory structure of your hard drive (where image files are located)
Where to find files downloaded from a web browser
How to upload photos to Google Photos album
Create screenshots and upload them to a Google Photos album

Students who have taken Adjust the Dog and/or are comfortable in Lightroom are encouraged to shoot in RAW and apply their post-processing skills to their images when instructed.

Students who prefer to shoot in JPG are equally welcome in this class! There will be a few lessons that are geared towards techniques in Lightroom, but there will be accommodations made for non-Lightroom users. Just don’t be surprised if you find yourself thinking about making the switch to RAW as we proceed through the class. :-)

Instructor: Amy Johnson

Amy’s start in professional photography came by taking pictures of her friends' dogs at conformation shows, and quickly grew to outpace both her interest in showing her own dog and the capabilities of film. She was quick to make the move to digital, starting with Canon’s first

Registration

Session starts:

April 1, 2019

Session ends:

May 12, 2019

Enrollment begins:

March 22, 2019

Enrollment ends:

April 15, 2019

Next session starts: April 1, 2019
Registration starts: March 22, 2019
Registration ends: April 15, 2019

Registration will begin at 9:30 AM Pacific Time.

For answers to commonly asked questions see our FAQ page.

Enrollment limits: Gold: 15 students, Silver: 15 students, Bronze: unlimited.

If you are interested in a bronze level subscription, you can sign up at any time during the registration period.

Working Silvers in the photography classes work slightly differently than in the other FDSA classes, but the general concept is the same. In addition to asking clarification questions about the class lecture materials, silver students have the opportunity to submit six photos, accompanied by a specific question about an aspect of the photo. The question must relate to a topic in the class and the photo must illustrate the problem you are having.

You may only post one (1) photo per week and you may not save them up from week to week. Use it or lose it! In addition, you may participate in all of the threads in the Discussion forum and you are strongly encouraged to read the Gold threads. Please see the discussion forum for a detailed explanation - feel free to sign up at bronze, read the explanation, and then come back here to upgrade to silver if that interests you, and if space is available.

Syllabus

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As with all my classes, the syllabus is sketchy and somewhat fluid. This is a very broad overview of the topics we will cover and approximately when they will fall within the course.

Week 1:
Visual Perception
Finding the Light
Balance and Visual Weight

Week 2:
Sharpness and Focus
Negative Space and Simplification

Week 3:
Focal length
Distance between objects

Week 4:
Geometric Principles of Composition
Lines and Shapes

Week 5:
The Decisive Moment
Visual Merging

Week 6:
Final Project
The "It" Factor

Prerequisites & Supplies

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Equipment required for Gold and Silver students:

DSLR camera, lens, memory card(s)
Preferred - Computer (Mac or PC) running the latest version of Lightroom Classic CC or Photoshop CC
Acceptable - Computer (Mac or PC) with a basic photo editor that allows you to crop images

Other Required Equipment

MONITOR CALIBRATION:

You need to calibrate your laptop or desktop computer monitor to get the best and most consisitent color and brightness results from your post-processing. If your monitor is not calibrated, neither one of us can be confident that the photo looks the same on your screen as it does on mine. This is required equipment for all GOLD and SILVER students.

Here's what I recommend as a basic calibration package:

http://a.co/0PObcKl

If it’s out of stock at Amazon, check B&H Photo or Adorama.

If you want to spend a little more, this is the one I use:

http://a.co/ihV7lUM

Sample Lecture

Why do we have to "compose" our photos anyway?

Have you ever taken a walk with a toddler? It’s not a task for someone with an end goal in mind. The pace is dictated by the child and there are all sorts of tangents and detours that are possible. But along the way, you see things that you didn’t necessarily anticipate.

How does a toddler get your attention? They tug on your arm or hand or clothes, and then the point at what they want you to see. Your gaze follows their arm and finger and eventually you see what they caught their attention. You need the direction of their pointing finger to show you what they are seeing — you won’t see it without that visual aid.

In photography, the visual aids have to be found within the photo itself. We can use the lines of the landscape to point us towards the sunset. We can use the brights and darks of the forest to hide or reveal a bird. We use the shapes of the agility equipment to frame and highlight the moment of peak action in a dog’s course. We use the quality and direction of the light to indicate the mood and feel of the moment. These elements move our eyes around the image, but also give us the clues for where our eyes should stop.

If the visual cues are pointing in the wrong direction, we end up wondering which path we should take though the photo.

Sometimes we include things in the frame that make our eyes stop when they shouldn’t. One website I was reading recently called them “Eye Snags.” Eye Snags are not a good thing. If my eye gets caught on a snag, it means I’m missing the point of the photo. It means I never made it to the part you think is the most important.

When you see an image you took, you are flooded with memories of that event and remember what was going on when you took it. You know why you took it. You know what you were trying to say when you took it.

However, no one else has that same set of memories. If I look at a photo you took, I do not have that mental history to fill in the gaps. All I have is what you have put inside the four sides of the image. If you have included clues for me to follow, I’ll be able to find what it is you want me to look at, just like I can see what the toddler is pointing at when I’m on my walk because I can follow their pointing fingers. If the clues are missing or confusing or obscured, I’m going to have a hard time with the photo and I’ll probably move along quickly to something else. You have to grab my attention like a toddler pulling at my arm and then point me towards what I should see.

Compositon is not for the benefit of the photographer. Composition is for the benefit of those with whom the photographer is trying to communicate. By learning the language of composition, you will be able to more clearly communicate the message captured within the boundaries of your image.

Testimonials & Reviews

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A sampling of what prior students have said about this course ...

Thank you for your attention to detail, prompt responses, well-thought out lesson plans, and flexibility with your students. I am so glad I have had the opportunity to learn from you!

Amy, you are awesome! I love your classes and learn so much from you. Your teaching style, support, lectures, and assignments are perfect!

Fabulous course. I learned so much even at the bronze level. I got brave enough to rent a few lenses and had a blast using them. I can't wait for Adjust the Dog to start - I already have the requisite software and recommended reading.

Amy does an excellent job of providing positive and helpful feedback. She's also great at breaking down complex concepts so even us novices can follow along.

I have dabbled in photography for years but despite books and short workshops, I never have understood the basics. In this class and STD it is finally starting to stick. Love it.

FE640: Compose the Dog - Photographic Composition