Texture & Negative Space

Something else to look for is texture. And texture really is a pattern in many ways. It's something else though that we might have a little bit more awareness of what it feels like, is it hot, is it cold? We're gonna relate to that subject in a different way. Does anyone know what this is? Raise you hand, let's see if we can get? Okay, what do we have over here? Get your microphone. Elephant skin? That is correct. It's a close up of an elephant. An elephant got so close to me when I was on safari, my big lens didn't do much good, but I figured this is a good opportunity to get a nice close up of it. But I think it would make a nice backdrop on a desktop for a computer screen or something. It's nice, simple, clean background. And so, texture. The smoothness of those rocks is something that you can almost reach out and feel. It's aluminum siding. And that's sidelighting, all that detail in there, really makes you feel for what that might be like to walk on. Or feel with your own hand...

s. And when you can really identify with that subject on another level, just beyond the visual level, you start imagining what that would feel like, you're drawn a little bit more closely into understanding what that is like. I love these old walkways in some various small European countries, 'cause they're just so slick and smooth, I would hate to be there on a rainy day 'cause you just know how smooth they are. And you can tell at how slippery this is and how hard it must be to walk around on this and get photos because it's very, very slippery. One of my favorite textures is the fur on the baby King penguins, which are really the soft brown bears, they call them bears with beaks and flippers and when it gets wet the texture completely changes and so then you know it's just kind of that wet coat, wet cat feeling there. (audience laughing) Another concept to think about and this is the reverse of filling the frame. This is having some negative space around your subject to give it context in size and location and this is so for those times where you don't need to fill the frame with every bit of detail and maybe you need space for one reason or another, maybe you're gonna use it for a poster and you need to put text in there, or maybe you just want to show size and scale as I say of what else is around that subject. What's filling that space. And so it's okay to have a bunch of blue sky, from time to time in your photographs. I was up in northern Canada and we were canoeing down this river and there was just nothing, but I really felt like this was a good picture of nothingness. This is what it felt like just nothing around, everything was just very, very far away. And so showing your subject within their environment. This one of my favorite photos of cars in Cuba and it's unusual because generally cars don't have smooth clean paint jobs and I wanted to show as much of the smooth clean paint job that this really is all that very, very smooth. You know, giving the idea of that dark cloud just hanging above there a little bit. Giving space a little bit of direction for that chair, that curve of that chair, leaning forward. What it's like to be in the Mali desert, the Sahara desert here and there's just a lot of big open sky above you, big open expanse. And having that negative space there, helps you give a feel for that area. And this might be my favorite slide of the whole class, so we have a little bit of scale here but we don't have to get in close, we just like to have this person sometimes, little bit to show us where we are in this giant expanse of this beautiful place.

Class Description

As a photographer, you will need to master the technical basics of the camera and form an understanding of the kind of equipment you need. The Fundamentals of Digital Photography will also teach something even more important (and crucial for success) - how to bring your creative vision to fruition.

Taught by seasoned photographer John Greengo, the Fundamentals of Digital Photography places emphasis on quality visuals and experiential learning. In this course, you’ll learn:

How to bring together the elements of manual mode to create an evocative image: shutter speed, aperture, and image composition.
How to choose the right gear, and develop efficient workflow.
How to recognize and take advantage of beautiful natural light.

John will teach you to step back from your images and think critically about your motivations, process, and ultimate goals for your photography project. You’ll learn to analyze your vision and identify areas for growth. John will also explore the difference between the world seen by the human eye and the world seen by the camera sensor. By forming an awareness of the gap between the two, you will be able to use your equipment to its greatest potential.

Lessons

1Class Introduction
2Photographic Characteristics
3Camera Types
4Viewing System
5Lens System
6Shutter System
7Shutter Speed Basics
8Shutter Speed Effects
9Camera & Lens Stabilization
10Quiz: Shutter Speeds
11Camera Settings Overview
12Drive Mode & Buffer
13Camera Settings - Details
14Sensor Size: Basics
15Sensor Sizes: Compared
16The Sensor - Pixels
17Sensor Size - ISO
18Focal Length
19Angle of View
20Practicing Angle of View
21Quiz: Focal Length
22Fisheye Lens
23Tilt & Shift Lens
24Subject Zone
25Lens Speed
26Aperture
27Depth of Field (DOF)
28Quiz: Apertures
29Lens Quality
30Light Meter Basics
31Histogram
32Quiz: Histogram
33Dynamic Range
34Exposure Modes
35Sunny 16 Rule
36Exposure Bracketing
37Exposure Values
38Quiz: Exposure
39Focusing Basics
40Auto Focus (AF)
41Focus Points
42Focus Tracking
43Focusing Q&A
44Manual Focus
45Digital Focus Assistance
46Shutter Speeds & Depth of Field (DOF)
47Quiz: Depth of Field
48DOF Preview & Focusing Screens
49Lens Sharpness
50Camera Movement
51Advanced Techniques
52Quiz: Hyperfocal Distance
53Auto Focus Calibration
54Focus Stacking
55Quiz: Focus Problems
56Camera Accessories
57Lens Accessories
58Lens Adaptors & Cleaning
59Macro
60Flash & Lighting
61Tripods
62Cases
63Being a Photographer
64Natural Light: Direct Sunlight
65Natural Light: Indirect Sunlight
66Natural Light: Mixed
67Twilight: Sunrise & Sunset Light
68Cloud & Color Pop: Sunrise & Sunset Light
69Silhouette & Starburst: Sunrise & Sunset Light
70Golden Hour: Sunrise & Sunset Light
71Quiz: Lighting
72Light Management
73Flash Fundamentals
74Speedlights
75Built-In & Add-On Flash
76Off-Camera Flash
77Off-Camera Flash For Portraits
78Advanced Flash Techniques
79Editing Assessments & Goals
80Editing Set-Up
81Importing Images
82Organizing Your Images
83Culling Images
84Categories of Development
85Adjusting Exposure
86Remove Distractions
87Cropping Your Images
88Composition Basics
89Point of View
90Angle of View
91Subject Placement
92Framing Your Shot
93Foreground & Background & Scale
94Rule of Odds
95Bad Composition
96Multi-Shot Techniques
97Pixel Shift, Time Lapse, Selective Cloning & Noise Reduction
98Human Vision vs The Camera
99Visual Perception
100Quiz: Visual Balance
101Visual Drama
102Elements of Design
103Texture & Negative Space
104Black & White & Color
105The Photographic Process
106Working the Shot
107What Makes a Great Photograph?

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Love love all John Greengo classes! Wish to have had him decades ago with this info, but no internet then!! John is the greatest photography teacher I have seen out there, and I watch a lot of Creative Live classes and folks on YouTube too. John is so detailed and there are a ton of ah ha moments for me and I know lots of others. I think I own 4 John Greengo classes so far and want to add this one and Travel Photography!! I just drop everything to watch John on Creative Live. I wish sometime soon he would teach a Lightroom class and his knowledge on photography post editing.!!! That would probably take a LOT OF TIME but I know John would explain it soooooo good, like he does all his Photography classes!! Thank you Creative Live for having such a wonderful instructor with John Greengo!! Make more classes John, for just love them and soak it up! There is soooo much to learn and sometimes just so overwhelming. Is there anyway you might do a Motivation class!!?? Like do this button for this day, and try this technique for a week, or post this subject for this week, etc. Motivation and inspiration, and playing around with what you teach, needed so much and would be so fun.!! Just saying??? Awaiting gadgets class now, while waiting for lunch break to be over. All the filters and gadgets, oh my. Thank you thank you for all you teach John, You are truly a wonderful wonderful instructor and I would highly recommend folks listening and buying your classes.

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I don't think that adjectives like beautiful, fantastic or excellent can describe the course and classes with John Greengo well enough. I've just bought my first camera and I am a total amateur but I fell in love with photography while watching the classes with John. It is fun, clear, understandable, entertaining, informative and and and. He is not only a fabulous photographer but a great teacher as well. Easy to follow, clear explanations and fantastic visuals. The only disadvantage I can list here that he is sooooo good that keeps me from going out to shoot as I am just glued to the screen. :-) Don't miss it and well worth the money invested! Thank you John!

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Wow! John is THE best teacher I have ever had the pleasure of learning from, and this is the most comprehensive, eloquent and fun course I have ever taken (online or off). If you're even / / interested in photography, take this course as soon as possible! You might find out that taking great photos requires much more work than you're willing to invest, or you might get so excited learning from John that you'll start taking your camera with you EVERYWHERE. At the very least, you'll learn the fundamental inner workings and techniques that WILL help you get a better photo. Worried about the cost? Well, I've taken courses that are twice as expensive that offer less than maybe a tenth of the value. You'll be much better off investing in this course than a new camera or a new lens. I cannot reccomend John and this course enough!