Magnificent Magnolias, Mansions & More: Creative Seeing & Camera Setting

Greetings Photographers!
The blossoms are coming! I think this will be a very special Spring for photography. So pick up your camera and get ready for a flower filled spring and summer season. Lets focus on beauty for a few hours.

You may wonder, why take a class when you can find the flowers on your own and take properly exposed photos. The answer is that with a workshop you can go beyond capturing the literal flower photo to something more poetic, ephemeral and artistic. We don't want to just take photos OF flowers, we long to create images ABOUT flowers. About how they make us feel, about how they shine in the light, about how they are bursting with life force and joy. Each flower has a unique personality we can capture in a flower portrait. This requires a different way of being and seeing. You can do it and I will help you discover this way of connecting with your subject. As George O Keeffe reminded us "It takes time to see a flower.... "

This is the first in our flower series. We will also photograph the lilacs at the the Arboretum, and the cherry blossoms along the Charles River later this Spring. And of course there will be many visits to the Boston Gardens as the variety of plantings spring up all summer including the ever popular tulips and allium. I am going to encourage each of you to create a photo book of flowers this year so you can share the beauty you create with others. We can all use a bit of up lifting and your flower photos can do that.

In this beginner and intermediate photography workshop we will focus on the beauty of the magnificent magnolias and mansions of Bostons Back Bay. The mansions of white, grey and brown stone make a perfect background for the blossoms.

Our focus will be on seeing and understanding how to use different qualities of light for more expressive images. If you want to learn how to use your camera better, this is a good class for you. We will go slowly so you can take your time and hone your skills.

It is interesting to capture the flowering trees along Comm Ave since this offers some great composition challenges. You will discover how to make a balanced image that blends this historic mansions and the blossoming trees in one shot.

Some of the creative ideas we will explore:
Back lighting for translucent subjects
Silhouettes
Starbursts
Negative space and shapes
Zoom intentional camera motion
For more advanced students we will work on several painterly techniques to create more abstract images.

This is a good beginner and intermediate class. We will work on these specific camera skills:

• How to use your camera settings and go off auto.
• How to compose images using the rule of thirds and other composition strategies
• How to use different focus modes to select specific parts of the subject.

We will keep the group small so you can receive one on one instruction for your specific questions. I have scouted the area an designed a route that will take us up and down 3 of the most famous streets in the Back Bay. Trees are at varying degrees of bloom along the way.

See more sample photos below. And reminder you are welcome to to visit my studio this Friday to see my collection of flower photos on display. see the event announcement for detail.
Bloom!
Suzanne
https://linktr.ee/curioussoulphotos