EXPERT INTERVIEW WITH PHOTOS N PIXELS

If you have an interest in photography and the snazzy camera to go with it, but are unable to get off the Auto setting, this course is most certainly for you! To get some inside information about this interesting workshop and the history of the company, I spoke to Joy about the creation of Photos n Pixels.

1) Please explain your journey as ‘Photos n Pixels’ so far.

My interest in photography began about 30 years ago whilst studying for a Music degree!  I was at Bretton Hall College which is now the home of Yorkshire Sculpture Park  near Wakefield and the main College building was a stately home. This opened my eyes and taught me to appreciate art, sculpture, architecture and most of all, the countryside around us which inspired and ignited my lifelong passion for photography.

I work in many areas of photography both as a working photographer doing weddings and more recently as a photographer/trainer in large companies and now with my own workshops.   I realise that there are a lot of people out there with ‘all singing, all dancing’  – very sophisticated cameras but who use them all the time on the ‘Auto’ setting!! There is so much more you can do with your camera and so I put together my skills as a communicator with my experience and knowledge of photography and my workshops were the result!!

The workshops provide an environment for like-minded people to indulge in a day of learning about their camera functions and settings without all the usual interruptions of everyday life.   I find it very rewarding as I often have people who have owned a camera of some sort or another for many years but have never had the confidence or knowledge to use it to its full potential  – the best parts of my job are those ‘eureka’ moments when students in the workshop achieve results they never thought possible or were just images that ‘professionals’  take!!

Of course not all cameras are the same and there will be a broad cross section of makes of camera in one workshop – I find out the models of camera beforehand and carefully put people next to others who have the same make and/or model to ensure that they get the best possible experience for their own benefit – whilst also keeping them with their companions if they have come with others.  I love the challenge of keeping up with all the latest features on the latest models as they are constantly evolving and improving the technology.

I get people from all walks of life on my workshops – from new Mums and Dads with babies they want to capture in an image,  to newly retired people who want to take up a challenging hobby – they all have their own reasons for wanting to learn more about their cameras, get them off Auto get better images!

2) Is there any inside information you can give us?

At the workshops in Bakewell we also partake of local ‘pie n peas’ at lunchtime – brought to us straight out of the oven from a local baker – they are delicious and people who live near enough come back time and again for more!! This all adds up to making the day an enjoyable experience from start to finish.

There are two sides to the photography coin nowadays – you need skills with your camera yes, but the digital age has opened up a whole new world for photographers and has enabled them to enhance and improve images on the computer afterwards using the industry standard software – ‘Adobe Photoshop”.

3) What exciting plans do you have for the future?

At the moment I only run two workshops – ‘Getting to Know Your Digital Camera’and ‘Photoshop for Beginners and Intermediates’  however I do have plans to do more ‘photography workshops’  some on specialist areas like wildlife photography and weddings – watch this space!!

I am also looking into doing the workshops in different areas around the country.

4) What’s your most frequently asked question?

The photographer’s version of Photoshop is known as ‘Elements’ and is a cut down version of the full programme at a tenth of the price – yet is is perfectly adequate for all the requirements of  image enhancement or manipulation.   I think one of the most frequently asked questions I get is :

“Will Photoshop Elements be sufficient for my Photography needs as it is soo much cheaper than the full Photoshop CS suite!?”

The answer to that is a resounding YES definitely!

Photoshop is fun and addictive and is a great way to spend winter evenings when you can’t go out with your camera!

My Photoshop workshop makes a great follow on from the Getting to Know Your Camera workshop!! Check out all our photography experiences here.