The Friedman Archives High-Impact Photography Seminars Information

The Friedman Archives High-Impact Photography Seminars is designed to provide photographers with practical, effective advice that goes beyond common online suggestions.

I started the Friedman Archives High-Impact Photography Seminars because I got tired of seeing so much poor advice disseminated on the online discussion forums when a beginner would ask how to improve their photography. “Start shooting in Aperture priority mode”, one person would opine. “Learn Photoshop” blurted another. “Examine the EXIF information of pictures you like online and see what they did!” And the most ill-prescribed advice which I see all too often: “Shoot RAW!”

Well, that kind of advice may be well-meaning, but it’s not effective. Never in my life have I seen a rank beginner switch to RAW (or shoot in Aperture Priority mode) and then suddenly start producing “Wow!” type images. Clearly the secret to high-impact images must lie somewhere else. And so I thought it was time to share the (seemingly) forgotten knowledge that all successful Kodachrome shooters knew back in the day – how to take pictures that make other people say “Wow!” with nothing more than a point-and-shoot. (Even Photoshop is optional if you know what you’re doing!)

And so the seminars were created with the goal of dispelling no end of online myths and explaining what’s REALLY important in photography. And they’ve been a hit with both newbie and experienced photographers alike, all over the world!

In 2014 I had the seminars professionally videotaped, and now the “essence” of both days are now available to be streamed to any device you own, wherever you are in the world, in the comfort of your home!

Geared toward anyone who owns a digital camera, this video course is for anyone who has ever said to themselves, “I spent money on a great camera. So why aren’t my pictures better?” They are geared toward those who would like to learn more, reinforce what they already know, experiment, and become inspired to become better photographers.

This course is presented by the photographer behind the stock photography website www.FriedmanArchives.com, and is structured differently from almost all other photo courses. Whereas most other courses bombard you with the technical stuff first, The Friedman Archives Seminars recognizes that modern cameras do a pretty good job with focusing and exposure, but do a miserable job with composition and the art aspect of photography (realms best left for the HUMAN). So the first day emphasizes composition, light, art, capturing emotion, and how to get high-impact photos — all without ever leaving AUTO mode. These are the forgotten skills that the Kodachrome shooters once knew to get awesome images without shooting RAW and without ever using Photoshop.

In Day 2, the subject matter delves into the technical aspects of digital photography, making for a very well-rounded weekend. As many past customers can attest, this video course cuts through the confusion and gives you everything you need to know to start shooting confidently, improve your creativity, deepen your technical understanding, and give you the means to realize the shot you have in your head.

What You’ll Learn In The Friedman Archives High-Impact Photography Seminars?

Day 1 (“The Creative Class”, or “The camera can do quite a bit by itself. Teach me about creativity, composition, and light and things that only the human can do!”)

• The compositional secrets of the National Geographic photographers
• What the Kodachrome shooters knew about high-impact images (hint: they never needed Photoshop!)
• How to “see” light like the Hollywood Cinematographers do, and make the most of available light
• Compositional rules derived from the world of fine art
• The difference between snapshots and photographs (and why both are important)
• Add drama to your images with wireless flash (with live demonstrations)
• The secrets to outstanding travel photography
• Making the most of available light
• Color balance and Human Perception
• In-class exercises for creativity and composition
• The “inner game” mindsets used by all the photographic masters
• A practical “zen” approach to compelling images without having to get bogged down in technical stuff

Day 2 (“The Technical Stuff”)

• How your exposure meter thinks (or “Why can’t the camera just make it look the way I see it?”)
• The three variables of exposure, explained intuitively.
• The three types of metering, and which ones are actually useful.
• The RAW vs. JPG dilemma explained without religious ferver
• Histograms, explained intuitively.
• How to avoid horrific .jpg compression artifacts
• The important problem of print vs. screen resolution
• The only eight Post-processing functions I use:
  • How to cut through haze
  • How to clean dirty windows
  • Saving Lenin with Curves
  • Make Stuff Go Away
  • Recommended Unsharp Mask values
  • Expanding Dynamic Range using RAW.

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