Classes are taught by Scott Gietler and Todd Winner, and are held in Santa Monica. They are generally 2.5 - 3 hours long.

Classes start at just $100. Ocean, pool and in-the-field sessions will be available for an additional charge. Email sales@bluewaterphotostore.com for more info, or to sign up.

Class Schedule 2013:

Feb 19th (Tuesday) - Underwater Photography - Classroom Session, 6pm, Santa Monica

April 4th (Thursday) - Underwater Photography - Classroom Session, 6pm, Santa Monica

June 17th (Monday) - Underwater Photography - Classroom Session, 6pm, Santa Monica

August 13th (Tuesday) - Underwater Photography - Classroom Session, 6pm, Santa Monica

October 15th (Tuesday) - Underwater Photography - Classroom Session, 6pm, Santa Monica

December 10th (Tuesday) - Underwater Photography - Classroom Session, 6pm, Santa Monica

If you are interested in other classes or private sessions, please email travis@bluewaterphotostore.com or call the shop at 310-633-5052.

Classes offered:

Lightroom for photographers

Learn how to tag & organize your photos so you can find them when you need them, maintain libraries, ratings and backups, perform white-balance, color, and tonal changes, sharpening, noise reduction, global and local changes, create slideshows, resize and create watermarks.

Photoshop for photographers

Basics of photoshop for photographers, including removing distractions, backscatter. Color, tonal and contrast changes. Sharpening, noise reduction, cloning, dust removal. Blurring the background. 

Underwater Photography Basics 

Equipment, settings, lighting, use of your strobe, composition, macro, wide-angle, subject selection, and camera maintenance are all covered. Class is tailored to the needs of the students, and is also suitable for intermediate level photographers.

Underwater Photography Boat Session

Most students take the classroom and boat session as a unit, one right after another. The boat session is where you really get to learn composition, lighting and subject selection "hands on" underwater. The instructor does 3-4 dives with the group, giving feedback below and above water, reviewing images in-between dives and giving assignments.

Advanced Underwater Photography

Topics are tailored towards the students, and may include close-focus wide angle, supermacro, off-camera lighting, slow-shutter speed photography, panning, shooting action, sunbursts, backlighting, snooting, and artistic shots.

Topside Photography basics for dSLR shooters and advanced compact users

We'll cover how to shoot nature, wildlife, people, moving objects, and indoor photography. Aperture, ISO, shutter speed, lens selection, focal length, and camera technique will all be covered.

Nature and Wildlife Photography

We'll cover how to shoot landscapes, seascapes, flowers, birds, and mammals. Use of a tripod, polarizing filter, neutral-density filter, low-light shooting and long-lens technique are all covered. We also discuss some of the best spots in Southern California for this type of photography. More extensive field workshops are available.