Lessons
Session 1
1Introduction to Craft Photography Fundamentals
04:59 2What Your Visuals Say About Your Brand
04:56 3How to Become a Photographic Author
10:44 4How to Use Natural Light for Your Product Photography
10:00 5Setting Up Your Photo: The Basic Rules
09:07 6Becoming the Viewer to Take Better Photos
10:30 7Shooting 3 Setups: Creating the Backstory with Images
34:32Shooting from Top Down with an iPhone
19:49 9Shooting Paper Products with an iPhone
10:54 10Shooting Jewelry with an iPhone
19:01 11Editing on your iPhone
15:28 12Finding Your Brand's Aesthetic
18:39 13Find Your Product and Customer Target: Exercises
11:12 14Figuring Out Your Audience
08:46 15Interview with Gilit Cooper of The Bannerie
08:45 16Branding Beyond Instagram
19:47 17Looking for Natural Light in Your Home
19:36 18Building a Styling Prop Collection
08:22 19Creative Backdrops
13:52 20The Essential Product Photography Props
11:18 21DSLR Basics
02:39 22Understanding Shutter Priority And When To Use It
26:29 23Understanding Aperture Priority And When to Use It
37:16 24The Basics of White Balance
12:52 25Photographing Jewelry
37:27 26Setting Up a Bedroom Set and Photographing Pillows
19:59 27Photographing Greeting Cards
06:53 28Shooting Products on a White Background
17:24 29Top Down Photography on a White Background
13:06 30Shooting Products on a Black Background
07:23 31Shooting Reflective Items
12:20 32Shooting with Backlight
04:01 33Top Down Photography: Shine & Reflection
24:50 34Basic Editing in Lightroom
31:37 35Batch Editing in Lightroom
06:00 36Editing Jewelry in Lightroom
10:01 37Editing White on White in Lightroom
06:54 38Editing Shine and Reflection in Lightroom
17:03Session 2
Lesson Info
DSLR Basics
So in our previous lessons we got to talk a lot about branding, and words, and styling. And we're still gonna be talking about those things today, but we're gonna add in a lot of technical aspects. So we're gonna shoot a whole bunch in all of our next few lessons and really let you see how I create the images that you see on the websites, like My Mind's Eye, and just how I create really beautiful images using natural light. So the really important thing when you're doing that is to know how to use your camera. And I do, while as in previous lessons, I showed you you can use your iPhone to create really beautiful images, I do highly recommend if you are a small creative business owner to have a DSLR. Doesn't matter if it's the most basic DSLR, just having a DSLR is gonna make a big difference. So today I am using a Canon DSLR, it's the Mark III, but if you have a Rebel, if you have a Nikon, it's okay, I'll still like you. And we can all work together on this. So let's just start out and...
talk about some DSLR basics. I think it's really important that you learn at least a few of the settings on your camera, as opposed to just always using it in automatic. There are just certain scenes and settings that your camera will see differently than you, so I'm gonna teach you about that today. And there are two in particular, two settings that I really want you to learn how to shoot in. The first is your shutter speed priority. And we're gonna learn all about shutter speeds. And then the second is aperture priority. We're gonna talk a lot about why tripods are really important when you're doing a still life or product photography. I actually hate being on a tripod, but it is key sometimes in getting really good images, so we're gonna talk about when that is and why that is and why it's a worthwhile investment. Then we're gonna talk about aperture priority, what they are, what they do, how they make your images better or worse, and teach you all about that. We're gonna talk about focal points. And I'm gonna talk about how to use live view on your camera, which is extremely helpful when you're doing top downs with a DSLR.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
a Creativelive Student
This class taught by Candice was amazing. She teaches in such a step-by-step, easy to understand pace. She shares so much of her own tips and tricks she uses to create beautiful images without spending a fortune or having all kinds of expensive equipment. Having the DSLR lessons included was really great for anyone who wants to do more than the camera phones are capable of. Learning the basics of how to use a DSLR is confusing for most people, but Candice broke it down in the simplest way possible. Social media is all about imagery, so if you want to put out the most beautiful eye-catching photos, then you want to learn how to use more than the camera phone. I don't have a business where I need to take photos of things I sell and I still enjoyed her class so much. As a photographer, I am going to use her ideas and insight when I photograph things for fun. There is so much to gain from this class. I would highly recommend taking her class. She is a wealth of great ideas and information and has that friendly personality of someone you'd want to sit and have coffee with.
yomichaela
A wonderful class to get you going with craft/product photography. Candice provides (and shows) fantastic examples and it's really fun to watch her work through a shoot, moving items, etc. to create the final image. She also covers some basic photography tips which is very helpful. Great class! I definitely recommend to others!
Melinda Malamoco
I loved this class! Candice is so personable, clear and relatable. I would want to hang out with her and be creative! I have been taking pictures for YEARS, and for my Etsy store for over two years, and I still learned a lot in her class. The lessons are set up in a way that you can follow, take what you want and don't worry about what you don't need. I will say that I got a TON of ideas for how to better display my brand, what my personal style is and how to be consistent with it. I so recommend this class for anyone who has small business or just wants to be able to take better pictures of their products. Okay, off to build a prop kit!