Winter Private Tutoring Special!

Book a private tutoring session for any course with either Rhonda or Gemma for a winter date and save $10 off of each course.  :)  We have availability during the week, daytime or evening, and limited weekend availability.  This special is for all new bookings for dates in January, February or March.  Please email for availability.  Until we see you, don't let a little snow and cold stop you from documenting your everyday life!

Making Buns... A Step-By-Step Photographic Journey

The other day, I was flipping through a cookbook when I saw some recipes for breads and buns, and I thought to myself....Nah!  Then I flipped one more page and there was a recipe simply titled "Rolls", submitted by Marcella Hodgins, my grandmother, and I just knew that I was supposed to bake those rolls. My grandmother passed away when I was tiny, so unfortunately, I never saw her in her kitchen and I never got to taste her delicious rolls.

A quick trip to the grocery store to buy some ingredients I don't stock in my pantry, accompanied by a little advice from a kind lady at the same store, "Knead those rolls!", and I was off to try to make something I had never made before. Here's the photographic and not-as-easy-as-I-thought-it-would-be journey, with instructions on how to make your own rolls.  :)

Above is what I needed.  In my skim-milk household, there was no homo milk in sight, but I knew my grandmother would have used fresh milk that was far from skim.

2 cups milk, warmed but not boiling hot

1/2 cup shortening

3 tsp. salt

1 cup potato water (I'll get to that.)

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 packages regular yeast

4-5 cups flour

1 cup lukewarm water

Potato water, supposedly a key ingredient, was the first thing on my to-do list. So I peeled and boiled about eight potatoes.  Unfortunately, when the potatoes were ready, I drained the water down the sink, as that's what I always do.  First error! So I added some more water and boiled them to very-well-done potatoes and soldiered on with my potato water.

I can honestly say that I didn't have any shortening in my pantry, but here it is and the big question is, how long does it now last?  One tip I got was to make sure that all the shortening melts in the next step.

Add shortening, salt and potato water to warm milk.  

Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water to which 2 teaspoons of sugar were added.  Leave for 10 minutes.  

Reading ahead in the recipe, I realized that as a beginner bun maker, I would definitely need some clarification on the next steps of the recipe, so I used my 10 minutes to make an emergency call to the woman who put together this collection of recipes in the first place.  She also happens to be a family friend, a former farm neighbour, my high school home economics teacher, and most importantly, my godmother!  

My questions for Eleanor consisted of, "How long do I let the dough rise?" and "How much do I knead it?" The answers were to let it rise until it about doubles in size and not very much at all.  She also shared a few tips.  For example, at this time of year, when the air is still cool, someone walking in the front door and sending a draft into the kitchen could disturb the rising of the dough.  She told me to heat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit, and then turn it off.  Cover the dough with greased wax paper and let it rise in the oven. So that is exactly what I did.  

Mix eggs and sugar to milk mixture.  Add yeast and stir before adding enough flour(4 to 5 cups) to make a soft dough.  Place dough in a large greased bowl, cover and let rise.  

Note the time.  It's almost an hour after I started boiling the potatoes and I am now just ready to let the dough rise.  This roll making sure does require a lot of time and patience!  :)  And this is what happened to the dough:  

I'm not even sure it's supposed to look like this, but then again, I am just thankful it rose.  Once I turned it out onto a floured surface, I really knew that this was DEFINITELY not what it was supposed to look like. How could I even knead this runny dough?  I probably should have added more flour.  :) 

Knead and shape into balls and place on cookie sheets or muffin tins.  Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 to 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and brush butter over the top.   

And out they came!  

I won't be winning a roll ribbon at a fair any time soon.  My rolls are not as high as they could be and I would agree with people's description of roll-making as being "finicky", BUT my rolls were tasty and my whole family gobbled them down. My youngest even told me that I was a "sweet mom", so they must have passed the test.  :)

This was the first time that I attempted to photograph a recipe from start to finish and I would encourage any of you to try the same.  Photographing such sequential steps is unlike how I normally approach photography. Usually, I'm grabbing the camera for only a moment or two, or when the light is just right, or when I'm feeling inspired or love the look of something I see.  But I really do see the value in trying to photograph a set of steps.  It's a great way to practice your photography skills as you're forced to get each shot "just right" to you before you move on to the next step.  

Looking for a few tips?  Earlier in the day, I had a little less light in my kitchen, so I used a higher ISO than later in the day, as well as an open aperture.  I found it helpful to have a high step stool on hand so I could shoot from above, getting the counter as my backdrop and eliminating some of my kitchen mess from the pictures.  For the image of my hand greasing the blue bowl, I had to shoot one-handed, and need a nice high shutter speed to eliminate shake.  And when my hands got too messy to shoot, I enlisted the help of my husband, who was more than willing to help with the promise of fresh rolls.

Nice buns baby!

Happy Baking,

Rhonda   

Flash Sale: One-on-one Learning!

Looking for the perfect last-minute Christmas gift for the photography-lover in your life??  The Clicks elves are offering incredible savings on our popular beginner and intermediate series of courses!!

Book a January or February session time with one of the Clicks experts before the end of this year, and receive a $15 discount off the cost of Focus on the Features, Focus on the Frame or Step it Up, Shutterbug.  This is our one and only sale for 2013.  :)

Private tutoring is the most convenient way to enjoy and learn the tips and techniques shared in the Clicks courses.  There are many benefits including flexible scheduling for a two-hour block that works perfectly for you, the time to ask your own questions, and individualized help with your particular camera.  Each course is two hours in length, so one of us is all yours for that block of time.

With this promotion, you save $15, so choose your course:

• Focus On The Features, beginner - reg. $75 taught privately, now $60 for a limited time
• Focus On The Frame, beginner - reg. $75 taught privately, now $60 for a limited time
• Step It Up, Shutterbug, intermediate - reg. $100 taught privately, now $85 for a limited time
• OR you can pre-purchase all three sessions for $200 (a total of $50 in savings!).  You will be able to book each course with either Gemma or Rhonda and learn at your own pace.

 

*** Please note, for 2013, and moving forward into 2014, Clicks Gone Wild will only be instructing our courses in group gatherings through our Clicks In Your Home program, or in a one-on-one format.  We will offer the occasional public session of our most advanced course only, The Magic of Manual Mode (which we are teaching on Saturday, Jan. 11th starting at 10 a.m. - there only two spots remaining). Keep updated on our Facebook page to see any other news or future dates offered for Magic. 

If you are interested in taking our beginner or intermediate courses, this is the perfect way to do them and save!  *Discounts are only available for those who book and arrange payment before December 31, 2013.*

For a detailed list of what is taught in each course, please see here.  To book your very own one-on-one session or sign up for the Magic of Manual Mode on January 11, please send us an e-mail to clicksgonewild@gmail.com. 

We look forward to helping you learn more about your camera and photography, whatever your level of current understanding!

• Happy Holidays!!

What is Kickstart Your Clicks For Spring?

We realize that most people don't take as many pictures in the cold months as they do during the warm ones.  And so after a long winter, what most of us need is a little inspiration and motivation to get going in the Spring.  This is the perfect time of year to get back into the groove of taking pictures, especially in the great outdoors.

We have developed a month-long, online course for May that will help inspire you to not only get shooting again, but also, to try taking images that you would not normally take, and to get your creativity flowing!  The course is aptly called "Kickstart Your Clicks For Spring," and the cost is $25.

Is the course strictly online and what do I need to take it?

Yes, this is an online course, which means you can participate from wherever you are.  It will occur in a private Facebook group, so anything you share will only be seen by the other registrants in the course.  You require a Facebook account to be added to the group.  Anyone who owns a digital camera (point and shoot or dSLR) and is interested in photography (beginner to advanced) can take this course, as the focus of the month will be on inspiration, creativity, and the content of your images.  There is no judgement of your skill level.  Clicks always creates a welcoming environment that supports your learning, wherever you are at.

How much of a time commitment will I need to make?

You can spend as little or as much time on this experience as you want!  If you only have time to check the group every few days to read the information shared and try out a few challenges, without posting images, you are more than welcome to join and participate quietly while being inspired.  If you have the time and energy to follow along everyday, post your images from challenges, and comment on other participants' questions and posts, go for it!  The more activity there is in the group, the more everyone will take away from it.

We are currently organizing one (maybe two!) optional outings for the participants in this course, to help inspire and practice photography.   Any outings will occur in May, and we will let you know the dates as soon as we can so you can plan to attend if you want to or are able, but there is no pressure to do so.

What will happen during this course?

Either Gemma or Rhonda will post something in the group daily, whether it be a small photography challenge for you to attempt, a photography tip, or an inspirational image or anecdote.  There will be four main themes and we will spend approximately one week on each.  Remember, this course is intended to help you kickstart YOUR clicks, so this is a month about you.  The themes are:  The New You, You and Me (there is Mother's Day tucked in there!), Colourful You, and Sentimental You.  We know that there will be a lot of comments, discussions, and questions in the group.  All of the participants in the course are encouraged to connect with each other, answer questions when you can, and post as much as you would like.  Either Rhonda or Gemma will check the group once daily to help encourage and guide discussions.

How do I register?

Send us an email at clicksgonewild@gmail.com and we will send you registration details.  The last date to register for this course is  April 30th, as you won't want to miss the start on May 1st.  We will add everyone to the Facebook group when the course begins.

Those of you who have taken courses with us before know that we are passionate about photography and love sharing with others.  We came up with this concept to reconnect with some former students, learn from new students, and also to push our own creativity, as well as yours!  We are as excited about this inspirational month, and the opportunity to create and connect, as you are!

Rhonda and Gemma

Kick Start Your Clicks in May - An Inspirational Month with Clicks Gone Wild!

Join Clicks Gone Wild (professional photographers Rhonda McMaster and Gemma Robillard) on an exclusive month-long, inspirational journey.  This is for anyone, anywhere!

Sign up to participate as much or as little as you want, in a private online group, with other photography-loving people.  Any skill level is welcome as we focus on creativity and the actual content of your images.  We will inspire you to get going with daily tips, images, anecdotes, or small challenges, that will help you out of the cold-weather rut and kick start YOUR clicks for Spring!

Take time to focus on YOU with our weekly themes of:

• The New You
• You and Me
• Colourful You
• Sentimental You

Intrigued?  Join us on this adventure by registering at clicksgonewild@gmail.com.

What this month includes:

• an invitation to a private, temporary Facebook group
• a daily post or posts from Rhonda or Gemma, that tie into the above four themes, including inspirational images and stories, photography challenges, and photography tips
• the opportunity to share your images with others for support and comments
• networking opportunities with other photography-loving people
• the opportunity to be part of a group driven by creativity and inspiration
• gentle nudges to push you out of your comfort zone and get new and fresh images
• the month should result in a series of images you love and motivation to continue clicking into the beautiful weather
• and surprises for participants throughout the month!

The cost to join us is $25.

And because Gemma and Rhonda love to give back, and registration starts in April (Cancer Awareness Month), Clicks Gone Wild will donate $5 from every confirmed registration in the first two days of registration to the Canadian Cancer Society.

If you would like to gift yourself with "Kick Start Your Clicks" and help others at the same time, register starting today, Thursday, April 18th, up until Friday, April 19th at midnight.  Deadline for all other registrations is Tuesday, April 30th, the day before "Kick Start Your Clicks" begins.

Don't miss this!  We're going to have a lot of fun!
Rhonda & Gemma

A Sunny Sunday Shutterbug Moment...

While making my morning coffee today, I glanced over at our dining room table to notice the gorgeous morning light streaming in on the small bouquet of flowers sitting there.  It was creating a natural spotlight on the beautiful pink gerbera daisy in the centre.  The light in these types of scenes always stops me in my tracks!! 

I also couldn’t help but think of how so many of the principals of our Step It Up, Shutterbug! course come into play for this one scene – White Balance, Metering Modes, Adjusting Aperture, Colour in Photography and Exposure Compensation.  Immediately I ran over to my desk and grabbed my camera to share the beauty of the moment with you all and let you know that you can learn about all of these topics this week!!  J

With my fancy-dancy dSLR, here’s how my camera interpreted the scene in Automatic Mode (“the green box”):

Automatic Mode

Can I just be honest here, my photo-loving people??  These are not the beautiful flowers I saw in that kiss of sunlight.  L  This is way too dark and this camera (or any camera, for that matter) can do so much better when I take control of a few of the settings and use my equipment to its fullest capabilities. 

So knowing what to do in this scenario, I turned the dial over to one of the semi-manual modes and adjusted a few settings that would account for that brighter area over the daisy and the window in the background, fix the slight bluish colour, and my focal area (because I wanted the attention on the centre of the flower, not the front edge of the petals).



Aperture Priority Mode

Ahh, that's much better exposure-wise.  But I used a small aperture here and you can see so much detail in the background (hello top of the electrical plug); my initial vision was that I was going for something a little more soft.

Yes!  That's it!

All I did was dial in a different aperture setting and voila!! It’s exactly what I was intending to achieve with my camera in this situation.  Creating a blurry background brings the viewer's attention in to the centre of the pretty bloom – what an improvement compared to the first two shots, isn’t it?? 

Okay, I hear you... this may all sound a little tricky to figure out on your own, but it’s not hard to achieve these results yourself with your dSLR.  Active kids, landscapes… you name it, we’ll help you get there with a combination of our illustrative examples and hands-on learning.  As we tell our students all of the time, it just takes a little practice and the desire to take better photographs.

Rhonda and I can’t wait to share this exciting information with the fine shutterbuggin’ folks already enrolled for this Wednesday evening’s class.  And don’t fret – there are still a few seats left!!  E-mail us at clicksgonewild@gmail.com for more information and registration details.

Wishing everyone a Fantastic Family Day Weekend,
~Gemma 

** If you are ready to take the your dSLR skills to the next level, a comprehensive half-day course on using Manual Mode is set for March.  We cover a lot of the same content as Shutterbug, plus more, and discuss composition and editing. **

Using Manual Mode In the Low Light of Winter

Picture this.  A woman purchased an entry-level SLR last September and proceeded to shoot on auto mode.  For the most part, the pictures from her new camera turned out okay and about 1/50 were fantastic.  She was pretty happy with her purchase, and could see a noticeable difference in the quality of her pictures since the upgrade, but she really wanted most of her pictures to be fantastic.  Fast forward five months, and she was ready to throw her camera out the window.  How could this beautiful new camera not be working properly?  It felt slow, wouldn't always grab focus, and every second picture was blurry.  The woman was at the height of frustration, as she had paid $700 for her new gear.

Sound familiar?

Photography is all about light.  Simply put, in September, there was more daylight, and the weather was nicer, so the woman took more pictures outside.  Then came along our Canadian Winter, the season of short days and the bitter cold that drives you indoors.  She began to feel frustrated when Auto Mode just wouldn't cut it in lower light.  There wasn't enough light for her camera to grab focus and her camera was slow to recycle on-board flash.  Because here's the deal - Auto Mode may take a decent picture outside the odd time, but you need to be able to control settings yourself, manually, to expose in indoor or lower-light situations.  

Tonight, while I was spending time with my children in their favourite evening hangout spot (the basement craft center), I took a few images to help illustrate the differences between Auto and Manual Modes.  Now think Winter evening, it is completely pitch dark outside, with no overhead lights.  But warm and cozy!  There were only two desk lamps shining on to their work area and collection of papers, stickers, and markers. 

Take a look at the first two images.  Which one do you think best illustrates what I likely saw on the table, the first or the second?  The second; you're right!  If you said the first, that's completely understandable, because you are so used to seeing hundreds of these flashy photos every day; they just seem bright and normal.  The first image was taken in Auto Mode, but that's not what the scene looked like.  :(  The second image would be much more likely to remind me of the evenings I sat down in the basement and made creations with my children.  You can expose properly with available light and avoid flash by learning how to shoot in Manual Mode.  In Auto Mode, the camera chooses all of your settings and you have to take what it gives you, even if the picture is not representative at all.         

Think of the possibilities with low-light photography.  Without your flash lighting everything up unrealistically and your camera choosing focus, ISO, shutter speed, aperture, etc., etc. for you, you can start to take pictures and have scenes look as they actually do.  (And I guarantee you that less people will run away from your camera when you stop firing flash in their eyes!  ;) )

And now this last image should be self-explanatory.

Once you learn how to shoot in Manual Mode, you will never want to give back control of the settings to your camera, because you are smarter than the $700 piece of equipment in your bag.  In fact, you are priceless.

Embrace the Winter and the low light.  Clicks Gone Wild's next Magic of Manual Mode course is coming up in just over a month.  What are you doing in the afternoon on Sunday, March 3rd?  We'll be teaching, discussing, demonstrating, and watching the light-bulb moments for participants in our advanced course, as they learn Manual Mode for the first time or take the course as an opportunity to fill the missing gaps.  We hope to see you!  Send us an email to register for this course.  

Now, to draw a cartoon or two and consider finishing the basement ceiling and installing some overhead lighting.  :)

Rhonda

Going with the flow - 2013 Clicks Public Course Schedule

Photographers go with the flow; they are adaptable - to different lighting situations, the weather, people and their personalities, creative energy - really, eveything.  And now it's time to go with the flow with Clicks!

The past two years have been ones of amazing growth for Clicks Gone Wild.  We went from one beginner course to four concise and amazing courses leveled by skill.  We were able to grow due to demand by our students.  We have traveled all over and taught hundreds of people how to use their digital cameras and take better everyday photographs, and loved every minute of it!

Up until now, we have taught in three ways - public courses, Clicks In Your Home (home gatherings with friends) and private tutoring sessions.  Throughout 2012, we noted that the majority of our students were those who were part of an enthusiastic group at a Clicks In Your Home workshop or those who wanted one-on-one instruction with their camera.  It became clear that most people wanted to schedule courses at times that worked seamlessly with their already-busy schedules, which is completely understandable.

Meanwhile, the demand for private tutoring, both day and evening skyrocketed, as did requests from groups of people who wanted to learn together.  That is why, for the remainder of 2013, we have decided to focus our instructing energies soley on Clicks In Your Home and private tutoring, while we both juggle the demands of our custom photography businesses, other work, and of course, our families.  We are listening to you and going with the flow!

There is one last round of public courses for 2013, and they begin next week.  If you have been thinking about joining a group of other photography-enthusiasts in a public setting (either as a new student or as alumni who wants a refresher of our beginner and intermediate courses), this will be your last chance this year to register for public courses.  All of our courses require pre-registration, and we would be happy to help you.  Just send us a note here.

We look forward to another amazing year of learning with you!!

2013 Public Course Dates

(The following courses all begin at 7 p.m. and will be held in the Richard John Meeting Room in Arnprior.)

Focus on the Features - January 23

Focus on the Frame - February 7

Step it Up, Shutterbug - February 20

The Magic of Manual Mode - March 3 @ 12:30 p.m.

 

Photographing Everyday Moments With Your Children

Recently, we launched a contest over at Ottawa Valley Moms for a $50 gift certificate to any of our public courses.  We are so pleased to see so many moms and grandmas entering the contest and saying hello on our facebook page!  We love MOMS!!  And it is no secret that Gemma and I both love to photograph our children and adventures as "mom".  So today, I have put together a few tips and tricks to share with all you shutter-happy mommies out there!

1.  Let go of the notion that the only perfect picture of your child is the one where they are staring straight into the camera with a big smile.  While these are beautiful, if they are the only images we capture,  we miss all the other quieter or normal moments.  (Did I say quiet?  I meant LOUD!  And yes, photograph the louder moments too.)

2.  Take your camera out on a regular day, not just special days like Kindergarten graduation and hockey championships.  I want to remember how I really spent time with my children.

3.  Get down at a child's level to photograph them.  Although shooting from above can result in a neat image, when you crouch or lie down, you start to see the world as a little one sees it, and trust me, it makes for beautiful images!

4.  Take pictures of your children doing things they love to do.  Their happiness will show through in the images (and they will love to look at them too).

5.  Get in there and get close-ups of the details.  A picture of the details on their favourite toy or dress, the way they hold their hands at their sides, or a page of a favourite book they are reading, are sure to become  treasured memories for both you and them.

I'm sharing some images from one of the last really warm days of Fall.  Together, they capture the spirit of a 15-minute morning bike ride and explore.

Rhonda

Stop! Or these mamas will shoot!!

( C'mon, you knew it was only a matter of time before we used that line!)  But I couldn't resist. Check it out:

  

These four wonderful ladies are armed and dangerous after taking our Magic of Manual Mode course on Sunday afternoon.  That's right - these fancy cameras are being used as we speak to their fullest capabilities (and that makes Rhonda and I ecstatic!!).  They can freeze a running child's expression with ease.  They understand how to blur backgrounds with the simple turn of a dial and were rocking it all out during our practice time!! 

We have already seen a few examples of the improvements they've made in their photographs since we taught the course and are so proud!  

You're going down, Auto Mode! 

~Gemma

Magic is in the crisp air!

And so is fall.  The colours all across the Valley are so vibrant and inspiring!

If you would love to create some of your own autumn artwork and own a dSLR, we have just the course for you! 

Our most advanced class, The Magic of Manual Mode, is running on Sunday, October 14, beginning at 12:30.  This is is going to be another information-packed afternoon of learning, hands-on instruction and a complete booklet of reference notes to take home. 

If you're tired of producing images that are only worthy of the delete button, then we want to encourage you to use your fancy camera to its fullest potential by learning how to use M on your dial to create your masterpiece.   You will spend five hours with two professional photographers who present it all with visual illustrations in and easy-to-understand manner.  We walk you through the exposure triangle, metering, metering modes, white balance and even talk about photographing in various lighting situations plus share basic editing techniques!

We have a couple of seats left in the October class and won't be offering Magic again in a public format until 2013.  If you are interested, please send us a note by e-mail or message us on our Facebook page. 

The photo magicians are standing by...

Gemma

Great Results!

I saw some of Carrie Rayner's images last week and asked her if we could share them here with you. Carrie  took our beginner course and has a passion to practice and learn more about photography. We see so much improvement and skill in Carrie's images! Way to go!

Are you ready to get your photography learning on too?? Our new public Fall course schedule is posted here:  Course Schedule

Advance registration is required for our public courses - so don't hesitate to sign up and start taking photos like Carrie's this fall!!  Please register by sending us an e-mail.

Our Vision! Friends and Fun at Clicks In Your Home!

Back in Fall 2010, when Gemma and I first sat down to hammer out the details of Clicks Gone Wild, the idea of home parties, now called "Clicks In Your Home" was our primary vision.  We asked ourselves, "If we were still shooting in Auto Mode and knew a little about photography - but wanted to learn more - what would be the best way to learn?"  The answers included....with friends, hands-on, in-person, in comfort, with multiple viewpoints, picture examples, with humour, without judgement, with FUN, hanging out, sharing, all while using whatever digital cameras the students currently own.  Clicks In Your Home began in Rhonda's living room with two sold-out courses on a Saturday the following January, and we are pleased that this has been a very popular option ever since!

Last Wednesday, we were thrilled to teach a fantastic group of ladies in Burnstown and enjoy lunch with them as well!  Thank you so much for hosting and for allowing us to share this beautiful image!  Friends, learning, and fun - this was and is our vision.  And when the course is over, you have your friends to support you as you continue to learn and grow on your very own photographic journey!

If you haven't met the Click Chicks yet - a big hello to you!  We're standing in the back row on each end.  :)  (Gemma on the left, Rhonda on the right)

You can read all about Clicks In Your Home here:  http://clicksgonewild.blogspot.ca/p/be-clicks-host.html

Anyone interested in learning more about their camera and better photography skills can also take any of our four Clicks courses at public courses or through one-on-one tutoring sessions.  We have got you covered!

A look inside Focus on the Features – BEGINNER LEVEL

WHO SHOULD TAKE FOCUS ON THE FEATURES?
Anyone with a digital camera - it's perfect for true beginners, new camera owners or anyone who needs a "photography refresher"

THE COST?
$50 (Public Class or Clicks in Your Home); $75 (Clicks One-on-One)


WHAT KIND OF CAMERA DO I NEED?
Any kind of digital camera - a point and shoot or dSLR

HOW LONG IS THE COURSE?
Just 2 hours in length

Our introductory course to digital photography teaches all of the essentials “beginner tips and tricks” along with more in-depth photography concepts.  It is aimed to get anyone with any level of experience behind the camera understanding how to efficiently and properly operate their digital camera and produce better everyday photographs.  Often many lucky new camera owners are intimidated by all of the buttons on their fancy new camera and we designed this class to help true beginners and more experienced camera users alike. 

We ease into ‘what all of the buttons do’ by giving a brief rundown of universal features on all cameras – from deleting pictures to showing the difference between a compact point-and-shoot camera to a more sophisticated digital  SLR (and what SLR stands for!).  Focus on the Features helps you to venture off of “the green box” by covering: explanations of the standard preset shooting modes, how to achieve great focus, controlling your flash, we introduce the concept of ISO, and end with a section on best lighting situations for a beginner photographer. 

Our main goal of this course is to teach our participants that cameras create some incredible photographs when the user takes control and turns the dial away from Auto Mode.  We give you the confidence to try new shooting modes, tweak a few settings and get you to do much of it it as we go through our presentation.  All of our courses are accompanied by a visual illustration of everything we teach to help the learning process.  We’ve also provided many comparison slides (a photo taken in Auto Mode vs. a photo taken in Landscape Mode, for example) to show you exactly why you should be taking control and playing with your camera.

After this two-hour class you will not only have demystified a lot of the buttons and knobs on your camera, you will be inspired to try out a few new techniques and have some great pictures to show for it!

When, Where, and How Much?

We offer a lot of options for learning and people often ask us, "What is the best way to take a course?" and "How much do your courses cost?"  Information about pricing is always available on our blog, but we thought it would be helpful to give you a breakdown of costs in a post.  :)  Choose which option best suits your learning style, budget, and schedule.

There are four different ways to learn about photography with Clicks Gone Wild:

1.  Take a public course.  

We offer all four of our courses to the public throughout the year.  The majority of these courses take place in Arnprior, but occasionally we offer them in other places.  Anyone can register for a public course and join other people at a similar level of photography.  Each beginner course is $50.  The intermediate course is $75.  The price for the intermediate course reflects the more in-depth level of information being taught.  Also, as the difficulty level of our courses increase, class sizes are smaller.  We need a minimum number of participants in all courses to cover our time and rental of space.  The cost of The Magic of Manual Mode is $215.  It is our most advanced offering, four hours in length, and includes a booklet of comprehensive notes.

2.  Host a Clicks In Your Home Party.


You can choose to have Gemma and Rhonda come to you and your friends and teach any of the courses.  These courses are the exact same as the public offerings, except they are taught at a place and time that is most convenient to you.  Every host or hostess receives a $20 gift certificate to be used at a future course or to give away to a friend.  More details about Clicks In Your Home are available here: http://clicksgonewild.blogspot.ca/p/be-clicks-host.html  We make hosting easy for you by customizing an e-mail for you to send out to all your friends and providing the education and entertainment at your gathering.  This is so much fun!  Also, if you do not have the minimum number of participants, you and your friends can decide to split the minimum cost for a Clicks In Your Home party.

3.  Take a course one-on-one.


Both Rhonda and Gemma are available to teach any course to you one-on-one in a private session.  There is an increased cost for this option.  For example, a beginner course which is $50 in a public group, is $75 in a private session.  We are available at your convenience, with a focus on weekday days or evenings, and the occasional weekend date.  Contact us and we will find a time that works for you.

4.  Book us for private tutoring.

If there is a specific area of photography that you would like to learn more about, private tutoring may be for you.  This is different from taking a course with set topics.  For private tutoring, one of us will contact you to discuss exactly where you are at in your photographic journey and what topics you would like to focus on in your session.  The hourly rate of $50/hr. includes this phone or e-mail consultation.

Please see the below chart for all costs associated with our courses and if you have any additional questions, feel free to contact us.



Our final public courses before Summer are being offered in Arnprior on June 11, 13, and 25.  After that, public courses will resume in Fall.  We are still available for private tutoring and Clicks In Your Home over the Summer months.  :)

Amazing Colours!

If I have the time, one of my favourite things to do on a Monday afternoon is spend some time in my kitchen chopping up good food to have as easy-grab snacks throughout the week.  Today's treats were so colourful, I couldn't resist photographing them to show you what proper colour can do for your images - make them pop!

If you find colour is just "off" in your photographs, we can help you figure out why in our intermediate course, Step It Up, Shutterbug! being offered this Wednesday, May 30th in the Richard John Meeting Room at Lorne's Electric, starting at 7 pm, and again on Monday, June 25th, same place, same time.  To register for either of these courses, send us an email here.   In Step It Up, Shutterbug, we teach you how to get proper colour in your photos and use colour effectively when composing your images.  We also teach how to adjust shutter speed and aperture, and why, as well as metering modes, and more.

There is no pre-requisite to this course.  If you feel you are ready for intermediate photography, then this is for you!  Also, if you took Mastering the Basics, Part 2, in the past, you can come back for a refresher and qualify for our alumni rate for this course.  This is a great deal seeing as we have added more topics!

My two oldest kids better hurry home from school, because Little Miss got her hands on the fruit and is making a good dent in the bowl!

What do you think I should do with this beautiful rhubarb that my mom passed my way?  Make strawberry-rhubarb crisp for dessert, of course!  But first, I'm heading back outside to enjoy this beautiful day.

Have a happy Monday!

Rhonda

Capture The Moment With Manual Mode

"Flowers" picked for Mommy last a little while.  An image lasts forever.  How do you want your forever-memories to look?

These two images were taken moments apart with a beautiful camera.  Your camera is a fantastic tool that can help you take pictures, but the important part of this equation is you and your knowledge and skill.  Do you own a dSLR and still struggle with proper exposure, focus, and colour?  Learn how to take control of your settings on that camera and shoot in full Manual Mode with our course The Magic of Manual Mode, Sunday, May 6 at noon, just outside of Arnprior, Ontario.  Contact us today by email at clicksgonewild@gmail.com for last-minute registration. 

Thank You, Women of Renfrew!!

Rhonda and I are recovering this morning from a busy afternoon and evening of spreading the word about our courses and passion for photography! We were proud to be one of the 60 vendors with a display at the 6th annual Girls' Night Out in Renfrew.

I grabbed this photo of our display quickly before the doors opened at 5 p.m. There was a steady flow of ladies through the door until 10 p.m., we were beyond impressed with the turnout. (The no kids/no men allowed in the building policy proved to be an excellent excuse for many gals to get together and enjoy the night.)  We heard that more than 700 gals attended the event - WOW!!!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our table to chat and learn more about what we do - the feedback and encouragement was incredible! (We both were losing our voices around 9 p.m. from talking non-stop to so many lovely ladies about our program!) A special big thank you to our former students who kindly shared glowing reviews of their experience with us. :) It means a lot to us to hear the positive response from the friends we've made on this exciting Clicks journey.

We look forward to hearing from our new Clicks friends who expressed interest in our public courses, Clicks in Your Home program or private tutoring. If you're just checking us out today for the first time, take a peek at the tabs above to learn more about the topics covered in each of our courses and learn more about Rhonda and I as instructors. We also invite you to pop over to our Facebook page and 'Like' us, and share our information with your friends.

I've noticed there's already a few new Facebook likers and e-mail inquiries this morning... we can't wait to help each of you demystify those buttons, make sense of your settings and let you go wild taking beautiful photos!!  :)

Have a fantastic rest of the weekend, everyone!
Gemma

Capture Your Everyday Moments Confidently

There were big smiles all around yesterday as I sat at my computer with my three-year-old and showed her pictures of this cat.  This is our neighbour's pet, and earlier in the day, my daughter was quite concerned that she was "stuck" in the culvert at the end of our driveway.

All of these images were taken in Manual Mode, which gives the photographer complete control over the exposure triangle.  Manual Mode allows you to take the pictures you envision in different lighting situations, with all sorts of subjects.  And we can teach you how!  Clicks Gone Wild's next course date for the Magic of Manual Mode is Sunday, May 6, from noon to 5 p.m., in Braeside.  To register, send us an e-mail at clicksgonewild@gmail.com .

Learn Manual Mode and feel the same sweet success that my daughter felt when she "rescued" this feline friend.  :)  Your every day is beautiful and meaningful. Capture it with confidence.

Rhonda

And the winner is.....

We want to give a big shout out to everyone who entered our Everyday Photo Contest over on our Clicks Gone Wild Facebook Page.  It was so wonderful to see all the likes on the images!  We asked some photog friends to help us judge the photos to determine a winner.  We were looking for the best image overall, based on technique, creativitiy, and relation to the theme "This is what my everyday looks like..."  And the winner is Amanda McCue Van Dalen.  She has won up to $75 in Clicks Course Cash or $50 to the charity of her choice.  Congratulations!