By Derek Schlennstedt
Photography is a wonderful hobby, but for some, a hobby just isn’t enough.
Some of us get so infected with the craft that we instantly know we want to one day spend all our time on it. So what skills should a hobbyist photographer focus on?
That’s where Healesville photographer Jesse Graham can help.
Mail readers will be familiar with Jesse Graham’s work as a former photojournalist with the Mail, and now he is sharing his knowledge of photography.
In three, four-hour workshops over May and June, participants will learn how to make the most of their camera’s manual settings.
Jesse said that over the course of the workshops, participants will learn how to use depth-of-field; lighting and simple posing tips to take simple yet eye-catching photographs.
“I really wanted to do this because when I was learning to take photos my learning experience was mainly playing around with dials,” Jesse said.
“As much as that was fun it was a longer process than it could have been and I really love the idea that if someone was in the same position as I was seven years ago, they could come along and skip that year of playing around with the aperture dials.”
The workshops are ideal for beginners and no previous experience is needed.
Each workshop is different and over the course of three Saturday’s participants will learn photography 101, how to take interesting and engaging portraits, shooting with film, and how to set up an online portfolio.
“I liked the idea of separating the workshops into three days,” Jesse said
“The first one is on how you use your camera and what the terms mean, and then we take a deeper dive into the fundamental elements of portrait photography – posing and making sure people are comfortable in front the camera to create a storytelling affect.
Jesse told the Mail that the third and final workshop will focus more on engaging social media platforms and how to get ‘your work out there.’
He said the workshop will briefly delve into film photography and that they would cater to various experience levels.
“If you’re starting out it can be really hard to share you work, so you can use this as a launchpad to grow your photos and confidence.”
“No previous experience in photography is necessary. You just need to bring along your camera and lenses and take part in activities and one-on-one conversations to start (or re-start) your journey with photography.”
Each workshop runs from noon to 4pm on Saturday 18 May, Saturday 1 June and Saturday 8 June. For more information or to book visit bit.ly/healesvillephotoworkshops
