The Secrets to Success When Turning Pro!
Greetings,

Welcome to "The Secrets To Success When Turning Pro!"
 
I appreciate all of you getting back to me and letting me know you are getting my e-mails. I will be communicating with you a lot, so please check your e-mail at least every other day. 

IF you REALLY love me, then you will continue to visit our class page on Facebook. Keep those questions and comments coming. 
I want you to know that I am very excited and honored you are taking my class. I promise, you will be amazed at how much we cover in that short week. I have taught this class many times at Texas School and at Imaging USA, so I know you are going to be changed.

Over the past few months, I have had the opportunity to meet with some of you at various guild meetings, iHeart, or workshops. Some of you I have “met” through e-mail and phone conversations.

I know from my previous experiences as an instructor at Texas School that each student comes to class with a broad range of interests and expectations, and a fairly wide range of experience levels. This is to be expected.

Interestingly, it is not the “diversity” among those of you whom I have visited that has intrigued me, but rather it is the similarities among you that has me so excited about this class.

I have observed that as a group, we all seem to share: a passion for photography, a hunger for knowledge, and a strong desire for success. It is with these three common threads in mind, that I am putting the finishing touches on the 2023 edition of The Secrets of Success When Turning Pro.

As promised, I am sending you several emails leading up to our class with some "homework" that you can start working on before we get together, live.

These little assignments should help you maximize your understanding of the some of the fundamentals of photography.

I hope that you will find this helpful and insightful as you prepare for the exam.
Assignment #1: Do Yourself a Huge Favor
If you want to help yourself with your studies, begin by memorizing the "whole stops" for f-stops, shutter speeds and ISO numbers.

Here they are:

F-stops: 1.4 - 2 - 2.8 - 4 - 5.6 - 8 - 11 - 16 - 22 - 32 ...

Shutter Speeds: 1sec. - 1/2 - 1/4 - 1/8 - 1/15 - 1/30 - 1/60 - 1/125 - 1/250 - 1/500 - 1/1000 - 1/2000 ...

ISO's: 100 - 200 - 400 - 800 - 1600 - 3200 - 6400

Memorize them forwards and backwards.

I have created a nice little series for you to begin studying and getting ready. You can find the first lesson here: Lesson 1: F-stops | Pass the CPP


Also remember:

  • Next time you are out and about, pick up a pack of 3x5 notecards.
  • Gather about 4 – 5 of your all-time, favorite images that YOU have taken. These do not have to be your best work, nor do they have to be all that recent – I just want you to find the images the mean the most to you. Select your two most very favorite among them and have an 8x10 printed of each. You will bring them to class on Wednesday that week of Texas School. They can be of a client, a friend or a family member – but it is going to be most helpful if these are images of a person or people and not a landscape or scenic image.

I will be sending you a complete list of things to bring a little bit closer to class.
 
That’s it for now! 
 
Steve
PS. I still need to hear from Johnathan, Ram and Elizabeth Hamill.

I also need Johnathan, Ram, Elizabeth, Katie and Virginia to check in on our class page on Facebook.