eLearning

The internet may be full oF VIDEO tutorials about pretty much anything but they are no substitute for having someone (virtually) at your shoulder, guiding you every step of the way, on your own computer, and answering all your questions as you go along. that’s what we do here, with just one student and one teacher at a time. Only from a distance, on zoom. WE DO THE hard WORK SO you GET THE INFORMATION AND HELP THAT YOU NEED.

WE’VE DELIVERED MANY ON-LINE COURSES DURING THE PANDEMIC AND SINCE AND HAVE STREAMLINED OUR OFFERs BASED ON WHAT WE’VE LEARNED FROM YOU DURING THAT TIME.

THE FIELD STUDIO

the field studio - basic AND ADVANCED

Niall has been largely responsible for popularising this particular style of nature photography during the last 15 years and has written the definitive guide on the subject.

During the three-part Basic course you will master the techniques to capture, process and and do basic compositing of field studio images. Each session lasts around one hour and fifteen minutes and is delivered over Zoom, indoors and outdoors, with the recording to keep permanently for reference.

The Advanced course, lasting one-and-a-half hours, elaborates on what you have learned already and explores more compositing techniques and creative possibilities in both Affinity Publisher/Photo and Photoshop

Basic, £350, includes Field Studio eBook, acrylic background and front diffuser (shipped worldwide); with Advanced course extension, £500.

“Having just completed on-line learning about The Field Studio I can thoroughly recommend Niall’s eLearning programmes. Knowledgeable, patient and clear in his teaching, I now feel ready to tackle what is for me a new area of photography. I have no hesitation in recommending these programmes.”

/ Steve C /

AFFINITY PUBLISHER FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS WITH A PROJECT

DOING MORE WITH YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS, THE PROFESSIONAL WAY

If you want to make an e-book, a zine, multiple-image collages, books or magazines for press or anything else that requires you to combine words and/ or pictures, by far the best way to do that is with a desktop-publishing application. And unless you want to be locked into the full Adobe subscription plan, Affinity Publisher V2 is the natural choice. As a professional application, it is every bit as capable as the industry standard, Abobe Indesign, but is very competitively priced and in many ways, more intuitive. Nevertheless, learning either of these applications is a steep hill to climb.

Our starting off point is to identify your project. Once we’ve done that, I create a template for you then teach you over four, one-and-a-half hour lessons how to populate it. That way, you’re learning exactly what you need to learn. We leave enough time between lessons for you to practise what you learned during the previous one and for us to resolve any problems you encounter, before the next one. And of course, there are always the Zoom videos to re-watch, for reference.

£450 for your template and 4, one-and-a-half hour lessons on Zoom with a screen recording at the end of your sessions.

“I found the [Publisher] course very enjoyable and can see many applications for what I have learned. Working 1:1 means learning can be paced to suit the individual, and Niall is generous in sharing the knowledge he has acquired over time. E-learning is by no means a poor relation to an in-person workshop, and increases accessibility”.

| Michela |

CHOCOLATE BARS AND COLOUR TRANSECTS

CHOCOLATE BARS AND COLOUR TRANSECTS

We’ve combined these two popular courses into one now, and have created new Affinity Publisher templates for both. If you don’t use that application, there are also Photoshop ones. Over two one-and-a-half-hour classes you will learn how to chose images to work with, the technicalities of populating the templates, as well as employing typography and making your own templates.

£250 for templates and two one-and-a-half hour lessons. You will also have a Zoom recording of each one for reference.

“I really enjoyed learning from you and look forward to having time to experiment as I know that there is so much scope for becoming really creative.”

| Juliette S |

KALEIDOSCOPES, QUILTS AND OVERLAYS

getting creative with in-camera multiple exposures

Since Niall published his first in-camera kaleidoscopic images in 2022, the work has garnered a lot of interest as other photographers realise the intriguing images the technique can produce. He continues to evolve his own practice through creating “patchwork quilts” and bizarre “eco-psychedelia”. This two lesson course, each lasting one-and-a-half-hours , addresses the practicalities of making these images in the first place, the robust processing required to get the best out of the RAW files then compositing techniques in Photoshop, Affinity Publisher or Affinity Photo.

£250 for two one-and-a-half-hour lessons, with Zoom video recording for reference.

 “You are a patient and, I think, a very imaginative and gifted teacher.” 

| Dave C |

GETTING TO GRIPS WITH LIGHTROOM

Not just another lightroom class…

For one thing, we look at processing RAW files created with the iPhone. Only once they are in Lightroom can the qualities (and limitations) of the iPhone 14 camera and its successors be appreciated. But even if you shoot with a regular camera, Niall will help you to get the best out of your files. This is a three lesson class, each lasting one-and-a-half hours. The first lessons looks in detail at establishing an easy and efficient digital workflow, importing files, and the Library module. In the second lesson, you will be asked to provide some of your own files which Niall and you will process together in the Development module. And in lesson three, you will work together once more, on more challenging files this time, so that you can tackle any image with confidence in future.

£350 for three one-and-a-half hour lessons, with Zoom video recording for reference.

The Field Studio, at a distance

THE OBJECTIVE

- is to teach you the skills you need, in the field and at your computer, to produce high-quality field studio images of the sort you see on this site. There is time between the lessons to absorb and practise what you have learned.

HOW IT WORKS

• Send us your booking form. The button is at the bottom of this section.

• If you are a new client, we will set up a trial Zoom call to ensure our connection is good and you are familiar with screen-sharing. Assuming all is well, you will be invoiced for the course.

• On receipt of payment, we will send you the materials you need, by courier and the course eBook, by MailBigFile.

• In the first lesson I will demonstrate how to set up the equipment, including flashes, background and diffuser, and determine the right exposure for background and subject. During this time you can either set up your own gear or just ask me questions. We will set a date for the next lesson.

• After that lesson, I will ask you to send me two images you’ve taken, in DNG format, that we will process together in Lightroom during the next lesson. They can be sent using MailBigFile or WeTransfer - both free services.

• In the second lesson you will learn how to process your images in Lightroom; there are some fundamental differences in the method compared to regular photographs. We will set a date for the third lesson, based on your rate of progress.

• I’ll ask you to send me five photographs we can use for the third lesson, using MailBigFile or WeTransfer.

• In the third lesson, we will work with your photographs, and drawing upon my collection as needed, I will guide you through using Photoshop and/ or Affinity Publisher or to create composites - with ease.

• If you elect to take the Advanced class too, we will delve further into compositing, colour grading and the creation of brushes.

Equipment and level of knowledge required

This course is intend for those ready to give field studio photography a go, for participants rather than spectators. The investment in equipment needn’t be great to get you started - you may have it already - and we will provide the diffusion and background materials. You can download the equipment guide here.

You will get most from this course if you are familiar with your computer, have Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop or Affinity Publisher loaded and licensed and shoot RAW. I will provide you with the knowledge you’ll need to use these applications for this work.

Naturally, you’ll need a reasonably stable internet connection, something we can determine at the outset, as well as a Zoom account, which is free.

Affinity Publisher, at a distance

the objective

- is to help you extend your creative practice by giving you the tools to present your photography professionally, be that in the form of e-books, zines, posters, newsletters, calendars, books or guides. If this sounds daunting, don’t be deterred—I be guiding you each step of the way.

HOW IT WORKS

• Send us your booking form. The button is at the bottom of this section.

• If you haven’t taken a class with us before, we will set up a trial Zoom call to ensure our connection is good and you are familiar with screen-sharing. We will also discuss your project to give me an indication of the sort of template you’ll need. Assuming all is well, you will be invoiced for the course.

• On receipt of payment, I will start work on your template and notify you when we’re ready to begin and ask you to select some text and pictures that you want to use.

• In the first lesson, we will establish good practice for using the template, in terms of organising your assets. We will look in detail at Publisher’s User Interface - menus, tool bars and tabs - as well as using shortcut keys. I’d like you to be familiar with the main controls before we go too much further.

• The second lesson will start with showing you the template settings I’ve made and tweaking them to your taste. This will include things like fonts and colours and I will show you how to generate colour swatch selections automatically from an image. We then look at establishing the Baseline Grid (for perfect text alignment), Snapping, Guides and other features to make your layouts more consistent and less frustrating.

• The third lesson will focus on working with fonts and images, including font choice, character adjustments, text flowing and image placement and wrapping. We will also review the revised template and make any final modifications needed.

• Lesson four will look at further design refinements to your pages as well as the export options to realise your document. I will also introduce you to the creation of your own template for your next project.

EQUIPMENT AND LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED

You will need a computer with Affinity Published loaded and licensed. Ideally this should be the latest version (v2), but we can work with earlier versions too. You also need a Zoom account, which is free, and a stable internet connection.

You should be familiar with your computer although your knowledge of Publisher is expected to be at an entry level.

Chocolate Bars and Colour Transects, at a distance

the objective

- is to familiarise you with those aspects of Photoshop (or Affinity Publisher) you need so you can make Chocolate Bar collages and Colour Transects using our templates, then confidently create your own and evolve the technique.

HOW IT WORKS

• Send us your booking form. The button is at the bottom of this section.

• Next, we will set up a trial Zoom call to ensure our connection is good and you are familiar with screen-sharing. Assuming all is well, you will be invoiced for your course.

• On receipt of payment, we will send you the complete set of Photoshop and Affinity Publisher templates for making a variety of Bars and Transects. You should ensure at this stage that you can open them.

• Ahead of your first lesson, I will ask you to select 12 processed images, for us to use as we populate the templates. These should be exported from Lightroom or Photoshop RAW at full resolution and stored in a folder you can easily find. If you have any issues doing this, we can sort them out in the first lesson. The templates cover a variety of aspect ratios and allow different numbers of images to be assembled.

• In the first lesson, I will work with you to populate the Chocolate Bar templates and help you to modify image stroke, background colour and texture.

• Before the next lesson, I will ask you to have a go at using the templates yourself and note any problems you have for discussion in our second lesson.

• The second lesson will focus on the Colour Transects and colour sampling techniques. We will also look in detail at the use of typography as part of the finished image.

EQUIPMENT AND LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED

You will need a computer with Adobe Photoshop and/ or Affinity Publisher loaded and licensed. Ideally this should be the latest version of each but the templates will work with earlier versions too. You also need a Zoom account, which is free, and a stable internet connection.

You should be familiar with your computer although your knowledge of Photoshop and Affinity Publisher need only be at entry level.

Kaleidoscopes, Quilts and Overlays, at a distance

the objective

- is to show you how to create “kaleidoscope” multi-exposures in-camera, in the field, then help you to create a variety of novel works from these basic elements. We will draw upon my ideas and work together to come up with new ones.

HOW IT WORKS

• Send us your booking form. The button is at the bottom of this section.

• Next, we will set up a trial Zoom call to ensure our connection is good and you are familiar with screen-sharing. Assuming all is well, you will be invoiced for your course.

• On receipt of payment, we will send you a folder of images we can practice with while you master the technique in the field

• In the first lesson, I will demonstrate the technique, in the field and we will determine the right settings for your camera. We will then process the images.

• Before the second lesson, I will ask you to produce 6 kaleidoscopes of your own, processed, ready for the second lesson. If you run into difficulties, you are encouraged to get in touch so we can resolve them before the next lesson.

• During the second lesson you will learn, as we work with your own pictures and mine, how to apply the kaleidoscopes as textures to objects, gaining experience of using Layer Styles, Blending Modes and Clipping Masks. We will also consider other uses, such as creating “quilting patterns”.

EQUIPMENT AND LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED

To make the kaleidoscopes, you will need a lens with a tripod collar (such as a 100-400 mm or 70-200 mm) and a camera capable of making up to 8 exposures on the same frame. Some do only two. You will need a computer with Adobe Photoshop and/ or Affinity Publisher loaded and licensed. Ideally this should be the latest version of each. You also need a Zoom account, which is free, and a stable internet connection.

You should be familiar with your computer although your knowledge of Photoshop and Affinity Publisher need only be at entry level.

Getting to grips with Lightroom

the objective

- is to help you to get the best image possible from your digital file, whether it’s shot with an iPhone (above) or a “big camera”.

HOW IT WORKS

• Send us your booking form. The button is at the bottom of this section.

• Next, we will set up a trial Zoom call to ensure our connection is good and you are familiar with screen-sharing. Assuming all is well, you will be invoiced for your course.

• The first lessons looks in detail at establishing an easy and efficient digital workflow, importing files and the Library module. If you have a workflow that works already, that’s fine; if not, we’ll start afresh.

• In the second lesson, you will be asked to provide four diverse examples from your own collection which we will process together in the Development module.

• In lesson three we will work together once more on more challenging files this time and in the process learn the possibilities and limitations of your ‘phone or camera’s files as well as Lightroom’s.

EQUIPMENT AND LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED

You will need a computer with Adobe Lightroom Classic loaded and licensed. Ideally this should be the latest version of each. You also need a Zoom account, which is free, and a stable internet connection.

You should be familiar with your computer although your knowledge of Lightroom need only be at entry level.