Digital Media Workshops 2013

Create a new masterpiece with your camera, or turn an ordinary picture into one. Our digital media classes can help everyone from beginning to seasoned photographers use lighting, exposure, composition, and computer magic to bring their images to life. Bring a USB flash drive or CD to save any work done in your class.

Please be sure to click on the Supply List and Welcome Letter link for each class you plan to attend. They contain important information regarding necessary supplies, equipment, and pre-class deadlines.

Adobe® Photoshop® Elements: Basic

In this computer class, we’ll start each day with a quick rundown of a popular Photoshop® tool. We will then take the second half of each day practicing what we’ve learned; using each tool, one at a time, building our knowledge as we go. We’ll cover everything from cropping and straightening, to removing blemishes and making dull skies blue! Leave class with a photo collage or greeting cards for friends and family. Beginning/Intermediate

D301; Saturday-Wednesday; 1:30pm-4:45pm; $300 Supply List and Welcome Letter (pdf)

Instructor Dennis McGill has been working as a professional photographer since 1970 and operated his own portrait studio in Rhinelander for more than 25 years. Click here for complete instructor bio.

Artistic Available Light Photography

Good lighting is essential to creating artistic photographs, whether they’re going to be printed and displayed, or used as models for other art forms. This class will demonstrate simple but effective methods of seeing the direction of light and how to look for locations that will regularly provide directional light for photography. You’ll learn how to manipulate existing light patterns to improve the situation you face both indoors and outdoors, and then use your cameras most effectively to capture an extraordinary image of any subject. Beginning/Intermediate

A302; Saturday-Wednesday; 8:30am-11:45am; $300 Supply List and Welcome Letter (pdf)

Instructor Phillip Zeisemer, co-owner of Phil Ziesemer Photography, Ltd. in Merrill, has taught photography and digital media classes at the School of the Arts since 2010. Click here for complete instructor bio.

Create a Visual Memoir

Looking to put together a visual journal? Whether it’s photographs, your own poems or artwork, or grandma’s recipes, we’ll create a book with the help of Adobe® Photoshop® Elements in this hands-on workshop. With the discussion of basic design elements we will learn what makes good design work, how to create a visual mood, and the importance of typography in layout. A review of Photoshop® Elements tools will be included, but the focus of this class will be on the design and creation of a book, so basic Photoshop® Element skills are recommended. Printing and printing costs not included. Beginning/Intermediate

A303; Saturday-Wednesday; 8:30am-11:45am; $300 Supply List and Welcome Letter (pdf)

Instructor Nancy Koberle-O'Connell is an award-winning artist with more than 30 years’ experience in graphic design. She is currently a senior artist at UW-Madison Continuing Studies, where she works extensively with the Adobe Creative Suite. Click here for complete instructor bio.

Mastering Your Digital Camera by Learning and Doing

While this workshop does include some classroom time, our true aim is "on location learning.” We'll explore histograms, white balance, and file size and format; and you'll get the camera knowledge you need to handle any photographic subject including wildlife, sports, scenic, and close-up photography. We’ll also study the basics like the Rule of Thirds, the “S” curve , leading lines, symmetry—and when black and white is better than color. Beginning/Intermediate

A304: Saturday-Wednesday; 8:30am-11:45am; $300 Supply List and Welcome Letter (pdf)

Take Your Photos to the Next Level

This computer class will introduce you to software and techniques to elevate the level of your digital photographs from banal to exciting! A good working knowledge of the latest version ofAdobe® Photoshop® Elements is essential for success in this class as you’ll learn how to create artwork that shows how you feel about the scene you photographed, rather than just what you saw. We will be using the user-friendly software from Topaz Labs. Intermediate/Advanced

D305; Saturday-Wednesday; 1:30pm-4:45pm; $300 Supply List and Welcome Letter (pdf)

Instructor Phillip Zeisemer, co-owner of Phil Ziesemer Photography, Ltd. in Merrill, has taught six photography and digital media classes at the School of the Arts since 2010. Click here for complete instructor bio.