In an ideal world, you’d be getting inquiries from potential clients left and right. They’d find you through your instagram feed, that’s chock full of gorgeous photos that reflect the beauty of your business. Or, through Pinterest, with the lovely pin image drawing them directly to your site.
When you talk with these folks, you find that your message truly resonates with them, because the imagery of your brand drew in the RIGHT crowd.
Instead, you keep being told that to grow on social + online you need to create this beautiful feed + website, but yours looks less planned and more picasso.
Every time you try taking pictures, you end up with this ball of frustrated anxiety growing in the pit of your stomach because what you have in your mind just won’t come through into the camera.
You know that as more people enter your creative field, you need to make your work stand out from the crowd and catch attention, but hiring someone to shoot for you isn’t an option at this point.
You hear people brag all the time about being self-taught, and why can’t you? But I’m here to tell you that’s not what it appears to be. Being ‘self-taught’ just means that they had to struggle alone in frustration for YEARS while making tiny incremental progress — and you don’t have to.
Deciding what lens to invest in is a big decision! In this course we’re going over all the things that make up a lens, and what kinds of lenses to use for which types of shots. Using a good quality lens can make a HUGE difference in the quality of your image, and I have some tried + true recommendations for you here!
Module 1 — Focal Lengths, Aperture Notation, + Full Frame vs Cropped Frame Lenses, including which focal lengths are best for which shooting angles, and why I recommend against using a cropped frame lens.
Module 2 — Zoom, Prime, and Tilt-Shift Lenses, including which you should use for particular captures + shooting environments.
Being able to work with and manipulate natural light makes a huge difference in overall image quality. Working with natural light is free (woohoo!), but that also means that when the weather changes the light changes. A conundrum, for sure! There are things you can do to make it work to your advantage though, and once you understand the important role light plays in images, and what types of light work best, you’ll be a photography master.
Module 1 — Natural Light + White Balance, including how to create soft diffused natural light while keeping shadows, plus the color casts of different forms of light.
Module 2 — Artificial Fill Light for Natural Light Photographers+ Recommended Gear, and nope this isn’t a strobe light. The artificial fill light I recommend is SUPER easy to use and affordable! Plus lots of other equipment recommendations that will make your shooting set up easy peasy.
Learning and tuning into your visual voice is essential in creating a style that clearly conveys you + your brand. Styling is something that most folks struggle with, but do not fret! There are actual tools and techniques you can use to create a visually compelling image that BOTH resonates with viewers AND tells your story. Let’s dive in!
Module 1: Composition + Balance, including tips + tools for crafting eye-catching compositions and techniques for creating balance within the frame, and what that actually means.
Module 2: Color Theory, including working with the color wheel and creating purposeful color ‘themes’ for shoots.
Module 3: Props + Shooting Surfaces + Backdrops, including my FAVORITE prop + shooting surface sources, as well as what to look out for when choosing props + surfaces for a shoot.
Module 4: Plating, including how to keep dishes looking fresh when they’ve been sitting out, how to add dimension + breathe life into to plain-looking dishes.
Module 5: Storytelling, including best-practices for creating a frame that draws the viewer in and makes them feel as through they’re a part of the story.
With all the algorithm changes, growing on social media can definitely be tricky at first. However, there are lots of tools + strategies out there for you to use that will help you reach your key audience, and we’re diving into all of them in this portion of the course! Honing in on what makes your brand unique visually + what you have to offer to your following is a key part of that process, too, so we’ll also focus on that. Get ready to learn all about branding, instagram, pinterest, email lists, and client communication!
Module 1: Visual Branding, including what aspects of your brand should have a cohesive look + feel.
Module 2: Instagram, including growth strategies, posting frequency, hashtag techniques, the apps I recommend to use alongside IG, and lots more!
Module 3: Pinterest Strategy, including ways to boost your site traffic through Pinterest + tools to make pinning easier + automated.
Module 4: Your Email List, including my recommend email list building platform + techniques for growing your email list.
Module 5: Client Communication, including my list of must-ask questions that will save you loads of headaches later on.
The ability to transform an image from ‘okay’ to ‘ah-mazing’ in Lightroom is nothing short of mind-blowing. This application was made specifically for editing photographs, and has all the tools you’ll ever need to correct anything that might be bothering you about any image. Don’t like that stray cat hair? Gone! Annoyed by how dark the tabletop turned out? It’s brightened back up in a couple of seconds! We’re diving deep into the full Lightroom suite, including Classic CC, Desktop CC, and Mobile CC, and I’m going to show you the true magic of their editing powers.
Module 1: Editing in Lightroom Classic CC, including spot correction and selective adjustments to one area of frame.
Module 2: Editing in Lightroom Mobile CC, including the amazing shooting aspect of the app that gives you total control over shooting settings on your phone.
Module 3: Editing in Lightroom Desktop CC, including best-uses for this app vs Lightroom Classic CC.
Cinemagraphs *consistently* give me the best engagement on social media, and I can’t recommend making them highly enough. The motion they capture allows you to create a sense of presence + reality within the frame. Plus, the fact that you can also edit the photo aspect of the image in Lightroom, means that you can easily create a video that is completely in line with your overall visual style. It’s an incredible method for creative storytelling, and an awesome tool to use for growing on social media.
Shooting a cinemagraph, including the techniques for capturing both the still image + the movement portion of the cinemagraph.
Editing the cinemagraph, including how to assemble + export it in the Cinemagraph Pro application.
I’ve included several of the things I get asked most about, and that’s tethering, backing up files, and what gear I recommend. Shooting tethered is a great way to see your image displayed on your computer’s big screen as you’re shooting. It makes it so much easier to spot any issues and make corrections during the shooting process! As for the gear, I’ve spent years testing out various types and pieces of equipment, and I’m sharing the ones that I recommend + love with you!
Video tutorial all about shooting tethered, including shooting tethered with a cable vs shooting tethered with the wireless connection in wifi-enabled cameras.
My recommended gear list, including both physical goods, like my fave tripod, and digital goods, like my favorite email list building platform.
Invitation to an exclusive Facebook group with 2x per month Live Q&A sessions. The power of community is REAL, and me and your fellow coursemates will be there to share insights, tips, workarounds, and support you. Plus, I’ll be doing live Q&A sessions twice a month for 12 weeks so we can troubleshoot and you can get clarity about whatever’s on your mind.
My complete permanent lightroom preset collection of 100+ presets
My best-use guide to utilizing the presets in Lightroom
Email Templates for freelancers + photographers
Client Checklist for freelancers + photographers
My Pricing Guide
Media Kit Templates + Guide
My video + stop motion course, including:
Module 1 — Creating Top-Down Food Videos
Lesson 1 Video Shooting Set-Ups
Lesson 2 Video Shooting Settings
Lesson 3 Shooting the Video
Lesson 4 Editing Your Video in Adobe Premiere
Module 2 — Creating Stop Motion Videos
Lesson 1 Introduction to Stop Motion
Lesson 2 Gear + Tools
Lesson 3 Capturing Stop Motion
Lesson 4 Editing Your Stop Motion Video in Lightroom + Photoshop
My exclusive e-book "A Guide to Food Videos + Stop Motion", which addresses all of the above in text-form (which means no need for excessive note-taking, hurray!)
A Workbook containing 8 hands-on exercises corresponding to each lesson to help you put your newfound skills into practice.
A Gear List with hyperlinks to all the video equipment discussed in the course, so you don't have to worry about googling anything or accidentally ordering the wrong thing.
An Adobe Premiere Workspace Template, so that your Premiere program layout will be set up exactly the same as the one we use in the course.
A Shot List Template, so you can quickly and easily create an organized workflow for your video.
Access to the course NEVER expires. You’ll always have access to it, plus any updates we make to the course as technology + cameras progress!
This course starts with the basics and builds from there to more advanced techniques. This way, you begin with a foundation of knowledge that you can apply the new skills you’re learning to as the course goes along. It’s meant to help you build your skill level as you progress through the lessons + modules.
Yes, you can use a mirrorless camera or a DSLR. A DSLR or mirrorless camera will give you the most control over the final image and have the highest image quality, so investing in one is definitely a good idea if this is something you want to pursue.
All the equipment we recommend for the course is linked to in our Gear List pdf, which will be emailed to you upon purchasing the course. It's full of hyperlinks to all the equipment discussed in the course, so you don't have to worry about googling anything or accidentally ordering the wrong thing :)
Yes, instructions on downloading the videos are in the #1 PDF file you'll receive upon purchasing the course. You can also stream them, too!
If you want to learn Adobe Lightroom, you will need to download the program. I also highly recommend downloading Cinemagraph Pro (you can use the code EVAKOSMAS for 10% off the program via the application link) for the cinemagraph portion of the course.
Take a peek at the below!
Lesson 1 — Camera Settings
First Things First
Knowing the ins and outs of your camera is the first step in creating beautiful imagery. It allows you to take an image out of your mind’s eye and put it out into the real world. Understanding how your camera works will help you shoot faster, and more efficiently. Plus there’s SO many incredible tools within DSLR + mirrorless cameras, it’s awesome to know the mind-blowing things they’re capable of!
In Lesson 1, we’ll go over:
Module 1 — Aperture, Shutterspeed, ISO, and RAW vs JPEG (this might all sound like mumbo jumbo now, but not after going through the course!)
Module 2 — Live View + Focus, including auto focus points, AF Modes, and what modes work best for which shooting settings.
Module 3 — Shooting Mode Dial + Exposure , including metering and continuous shooting mode.
Module 4 — Setting up to Photograph Yourself in Frame, including setting up your camera for wifi, shooting remotely with your phone, shooting with an actual remote, and shooting at intervals solo to capture motion.