Have you seen CM’s brand new editing workshop for photographers who use Photoshop Elements? The lovely and knowledgeable Erin Peloquin of Texas Chicks Blog and Pics will be teaching this extensive course (along with April Nienhuis, Melissa Gibson, and Melissa Koehler helping as teaching assistants). When new courses are added to the CMU line-up there are often many questions that arise and what better way to answer some of the most common questions than with an interview with Erin herself!
Erin, you’re a long time member of the CM forum, a professional photographer, and author of the popular website Texas Chicks Blogs and Pics. Would you mind taking a moment to tell us a little more about yourself?
I’ve studied photography and post processing for about ten years now. I say “studied” because, for me, constant learning and improvement are vital! My favorite photo is always the one I’m about to take, as some great professional said before me.
I have a wonderful husband who indulges me in my passion for photography and 2 beautiful daughters. We live in Austin, TX. Aside from my camera, I love the royal family and anything British. I even went to the royal wedding and got a great shot of the Queen smiling at William and Kate. This is my 2nd favorite photo ever!
In a few weeks you will begin teaching your first workshop geared toward Photoshop Elements users for Clickin Moms. What are some of the topics you will be covering during class?
I am so excited to teach this workshop at CM! We will cover everything a photographer needs in order to have a strong foundation of editing in Elements – whether she is a professional or a hobbyist. From organizing your workspace efficiently, to understanding layers and masking, to correcting exposure and white balance – we’ll cover it all. We’ll also create a wide variety of creative enhancements, plus prepare images for printing or posting on the internet.
Who is the ideal student for your four week course? What photography knowledge should they have before entering your class?
This class will be great for all levels of photographers. A basic understanding of the exposure triangle will help but shooting in manual is not at all a requirement. No knowledge of Elements is required but even students who have used Elements before will take away a comprehensive understanding of all its tools and an efficient workflow to apply to their photography.
Will students need to take photographs during the course of your class or will it be okay for them to edit old photos?
Students can absolutely edit old photos!
Since this workshop is focusing on Elements, is it only for hobbyist photographers or can professionals participate too?
I am a firm believer that professionals can use Elements. Especially if combined with Lightroom, PSE can provide a cost-effective and complete toolkit for photographers. And of course, it’s also great for hobbyists, scrapbookers, and moms with cameras!
Why take the workshop as opposed to scouring the internet for all the free tutorials out there?
There’s nothing wrong with scouring the internet for tutorials about Elements. That’s how I learned. It only took me, ummm, 4 years! Thank goodness for Clickin Moms otherwise it would have taken me 4 decades! The workshop is the best choice if you’d rather learn Elements in 4 weeks, plus:
• Have an instructor to provide feedback on your work
• Be able to ask questions anytime
• Have a well organized set of PDFs and videos to refer back to at any point
Is there anything important we should know about this new course to CMU?
Elements users sometime feel left out in the photography world. Students will complete this course feeling empowered to fully edit their photos with no sacrifice of quality. Whether they use Elements forever or consider it a stepping stone into full Photoshop, they will be prepared to use Elements like the pros do!
Thank you Erin for taking the time to answer some of our questions for us! Do you have more questions? Please feel free to ask Erin in the comments below! Want to sign up for the workshop? Registration is now open and class starts on October 15th. You can read more and sign up here!
I'm so excited to help out with this workshop!
I can’t wait, Erin! And I’m a wee but jealous of your shot of the Royal Family.
I am really interested in this course but bad timing. Will it be offered again in the near future?
We will decide the timing for future runs of this course after the October workshop has been completed. Most likely the Elements workshop will run again in early Spring 2013!
what a great workshop!!!
Can't wait to get started!! :)
Amazing workshop. The lighting is brilliant. From pale looking pictures to a very lively looking one.
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