Mamas With Cameras January Introduction to Digital Photography

Mamas With Cameras Workshop: Introduction to Digital Photography
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Workshop Leaders - Mary Balmaceda  (The Canon Mama!) & Wenmei Hill  (The Nikon Mama!)Â
Description: Â
This is a small, women-only workshop  geared towards mamas who are new to their digital cameras or are still shooting mostly in automatic mode, with tips and information geared specifically towards how to create beautiful images of kids. We'll get friendly with basic photography terms and the settings on your camera that you… Show more may have heard about but may not understand (such as aperture, shutter speed, ISO and white balance). You'll get hands-on exposure to settings outside of the automatic ("green box") mode: aperture priority, shutter priority and P mode. (Due to the length and introductory nature of the workshop we don't cover shooting in Manual mode, which is covered in Level 2!) We'll also go into some creative and compositional techniques that will instantly improve your photographs of your kids!Â
Bring all your questions:Â our motto is there are NO silly questions! We create an open, warm, and fun environment where you and your fellow Mamas will feel empowered to explore and play with your cameras! We strip away the technical jargon and let you know the practical settings and tips that you need to photograph your child from babyhood to soccer camp.Â
Requirements:Â
- D igital SLR camera  (trust us, you will be super bored if you don't have one with you!) Your camera is an SLR if you can interchange the lens at the front.  If you're not sure about your camera, check with us before registering!Â
- "Bra." Â You don't have to have children (or wear a bra, really), but this is a workshop for women and the tips are geared towards mamas who are interested in photographing their kids. We aren't trying to discriminate against men, but we also know that men do silly things like spend time reading the manuals for their cameras and we just don't have time for all that. ;-)
- Portrait lens. If you don't have one already, please purchase, rent or borrow a 50 mm portrait lens in advance of the workshop. This is going to get you those nice buttery backgrounds that you've been (or will be) craving. Typically, the 50mm/ f1.8 lens can be purchased for about $95-100 (if your birthday is coming up though, go for the 50mm/f1.4 :-).) Glazer's Camera rents lenses by the day if you're not ready to buy. Â
[Note: If you have a Nikon D40, D60, D3000, D3100, D5000 or D5100 please see the FAQ's below.]Â
FAQ's:
"What if I can't make it after I register?"Â
Please note our policy before you finalize your registration: Your ticket is not refundable, but it is transferable.  If you secure your place and your plans change, then you will be refunded your money only if you can be replaced by someone on the wait list ( there have been wait lists for many previous workshops). You are also free to sell your ticket and inform us that you are transferring the registration to someone else.  If a conflict comes up, please contact us asap to find out the wait list status.Â
Is my lens a portrait lens?
If you only have the lens that came with the camera, it is not a portrait lens. Look at the number on the lens that's after the letter "F". Â We are looking for a number after the "F" that is 1.8 or less!
What's the deal with the Nikon D40, D60, D3000, D3100, D5000 and D5100?
The camera bodies in these models don't have the autofocus mechanism built in, which means that you'll need to use a more specialized lens, one that includes autofocus. Nikon labels these lenses as AF-S (not just AF). The portrait lenses you can use are the AF-S 50mm f/1.4G (~$485) and the AF-S 50mm f/1.8G (~$220). In a pinch, you can also use the AF-S DX 35mm f/1.8G or the AF-S 85mm f/1.4G. The AF-S lenses are quite a bit more expensive than the AF versions, so you may want to rent the lens for the purpose of this workshop. You can do that at Glazer's Camera for about $25 for the weekend. Just be sure to reserve your lens early and specify that you want the AF-S lens, not the AF! (Note: If you have any other Nikon camera model, you can use the AF version of the portrait lenses.)
More questions?
Feel free to email us at mamaswithcameras@gmail.com.
We're looking forward to a fun afternoon of mama bonding and fabulous pictures! We are thrilled to have you join us!Â

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