Boost Your Photography Skills with Our New Classes!

The art world can be intimidating. For the first two years of high school, I refused to pick up a camera because I didn’t know any technical terms or own professional equipment (and I was convinced that I would drop any camera I came into contact with).

Finally, with the quote “Don’t let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game” from Hillary Duff’s Cinderella Story ringing in my ears, I ignored my fear and enrolled in photography class. Man! am I glad I did that.

If you are looking for a way to branch out of your typical routine and gain some knowledge about photography, I highly suggest one of these four classes!


Meet the Flower City Arts Center
Thursday Sept. 19 & Monday Oct. 28, 4-5pm

If you have never taken a class at Flower City, this is the perfect place to start! This free tour will give you an insight into the facilities and history of Flower City Arts Center. Chat with our staff and find the right class for you!

Click here to learn more or register!


Flirting with Photography
Wednesdays 6:30-8:30pm, Sept. 18-Nov. 6

Get a taste of all things photography in this eight day class! Students will have projects in the Community Darkroom, Silver Den, Lighting Studio, and Digital Art Studio. The best part? No prior experience necessary! This is an ideal class for those looking to “get their feet wet” in the world of photography.

Click here to learn more or register!


Looking at Photographs
Thursdays 6:30-8:30pm, Sept. 19-Sept. 28 & one Saturday field-trip to the George Eastman Museum 

Want to know what makes a photo great? This class will cover both journalistic and art photos from daguerreotype to digital. You will learn to understand what elements make a photo work and how to apply that to your own photography. Students will share photographs they love and give and get feedback in a final peer-review session. This is a great class for collectors, photographers or those hoping to gain a better understanding of the thought that goes into photography.

Click here to learn more or to register!


Basic Studio Lighting
Mondays 6:30-8:30pm, Sept. 3-Oct. 28

 

If you are looking to improve your lighting skills this is the class for you! Instruction will include various techniques in the use of the studio’s White Lightning strobes in multiple lighting configurations, as well as other equipment such as an incident/flash meter, softboxes, umbrellas, and various other attachment and light modifiers.

Click here to learn more or to register!

 

I hope you found this post helpful in finding some new classes to experiment with! If these don’t strike your fancy, I encourage you to check our our full fall class list.

A Day at the Museum

I had the opportunity to tag along with the Studio Photography for Teens class on their trip to the George Eastman Museum and document the experience. At the Museum we all met David Levinthal who gave us a tour of the exhibition of his work, David Levinthal: War, Myth, Desire. As he walked us though the exhibition Levinthal explained how he began taking photographs of toys and where the inspiration for many of his photos came from. He talked about his love for history and how it has influenced so much of his work over the years, and how pure experimentation and curiosity has affected his work as well.

Levinthal stated that problem solving is a very important part of this work. In fact, he said that was one of the main reasons he began to take photos of toys to begin with. He explained that early on he didn’t like to shoot in a studio and the toy dioramas allowed him to shoot almost anywhere and use simple lighting techniques as opposed to large studio lights.

At one point in the exhibition we saw an example of a diorama he had used. We got to see first hand the scale of the sets he was working with as he explained where he got his materials from, and how he composed many of his dioramas. He also showed us the notes and small stick figure drawings that he makes when planing out a diorama. He stated that he often has an image in his head and used this method to create it.

After Levinthal had walked us though the exhibition and explained his process and the thought behind much of his work, the students had a few moments to roam and take everything in for themselves. We then returned to Flower City Arts Center, where the students then had the opportunity to show Levinthal some of their own work. He helped them with their dioramas and he gave them some tips on how to get them to perform the way they want, as well as feedback on their photos. Then he stayed and talked with the students about their work and their interest in photography until it was time for the students to clean up for the day.

Over the next couple of days the students continued to work and create their own photos in the style of David Levinthal. Not only did the students take digital photos of their dioramas but they had the opportunity to use a Fujifilm Instax Wide instant film camera. After compiling so many great images the students crated an online exhibition of their own work.