Digital Photo Workshop

I learned how to better work my camera at yesterday's workshop with John Britt and Joy Tanner. I learned that my colors are not true because I have not matched my camera settings to my light source. I learned that glossy glazes are a pain in the ass to photograph.

I can't say I was able to apply any of that knowledge to my computer or my photo software. I had an abundance of troubles simply getting the images off of the SD card. My card reader is messed up and will only read any card once. Then I have to reboot. We have multiple cameras, so I have two software programs, one of which I have never used. All of the images showed up there, but then I couldn't figure out how to do anything with them.

Eventually I managed to get the images I wanted onto the correct program and was able to email them to John so he could post them to the Clay Club blog.

The top images are the new ones. The bottom ones are my originals. Once I take new ones with my set up at home, I think the difference will be remarkable. I'll post some before and after shots in a couple of weeks.

I think I can figure all this out. First I have to decide which camera to use. My old Fujifilm has more features, but is only 3.2 megapixels. The other camera is a Kodak EasyShare which is 10 megapixels but lacks as many white balance options.

Then we discovered photographing my baskets presents quite a challenge. I have multiple hot spots and for some reason, even with Joy's camera and Joy taking the photo, the far rim isn't in focus. Bah.

Being able to photograph your own work is an important skill to have. John and Joy really know what they're talking about. John even gave us the skinny on being a juror and how quickly a piece can be rejected just because of the poor quality of the photo. They do these workshops a few times a year, and it is well worth the time and money.

Plus, they both love to cook, and lunch was delicious. They posted their recipes on the Clay Club blog.