Digital Photography Workflow and Editing
ART-40705
Learn the Art of Digital Photo Workflow
9 Weeks | No Prerequisite.
Unlock the full potential of your digital photography skills with our comprehensive Digital Photography Workflow course. This 9-week journey is tailored for both novice photographers and hobbyists looking to streamline their workflow and elevate their craft. You’ll gain hands-on experience with industry-leading tools like Adobe Lightroom Classic and Photoshop, mastering everything from efficient file management to photo editing techniques. Whether you’re organizing a sprawling photo library or refining individual images, this course equips you with the skills and confidence to deliver impressive results.
Course Details
Led by a seasoned instructor, this course combines expert guidance with a structured, practical approach to learning. You’ll start with foundational topics, such as importing and cataloging images, before advancing to sophisticated editing workflows and seamless integration between Lightroom and Photoshop. As you progress, you’ll explore creative techniques like split toning, HDR imaging, and localized adjustments, all while developing a portfolio that showcases your growth. By the end of the course, you’ll be equipped to output professional-quality images for both web and print, meeting the needs of a client or personal project.
This course is designed to be both flexible and engaging, offering opportunities for interactive feedback, collaborative critique sessions, and direct access to an expert instructor. Through weekly assignments and hands-on projects, you’ll not only build technical proficiency but also refine your artistic vision. Prepare to transform the way you approach digital photography with a workflow that’s efficient, creative, and industry-ready.
What You'll Learn
- Establish an Effective Workflow: Create efficient processes for importing, cataloging, and organizing images using Lightroom Classic.
- Learn Photo Editing: Perform detailed image corrections, including exposure, color, and contrast adjustments, and explore black-and-white and split-toning techniques.
- Integrate Lightroom and Photoshop: Seamlessly transition between Lightroom and Photoshop, utilizing layers, masks, and advanced selection tools.
- Create Stunning Outputs: Export and optimize images for web and print with proper color space, size, and watermark settings.
- Produce HDR and Panoramas: Learn to capture and edit HDR and panoramic images, enhancing dynamic range and composition.
- Apply Local Adjustments: Use Lightroom tools like the Adjustment Brush and Graduated Filter to refine specific areas of your photos.
- Work on Your Portfolio: Assemble a cohesive digital portfolio featuring your best work, formatted for web and print display.
- Explore Creative Modules: Dive into Lightroom’s Book, Web, and Slideshow modules to create unique presentations of your images.
- Conduct Professional Critiques: Gain valuable insights through group and individual feedback, fostering continuous improvement.
Course Information
Quarters Offered: Fall, Winter, Spring
Equipment/Software: Fully adjustable DSLR or prosumer camera. A Mac or PC meeting Adobe’s system requirements, with an optional external hard drive for storage. Creative Cloud Photography Plan required (or full Adobe Creative Cloud plan). Lightroom Classic needed (not Lightroom Creative Cloud).
Recommended Items: Tripod, additional lenses, Adobe Bridge, and Photo Mechanic.
Flexible Enrollment:This course is a requirement for the Photography: Images and Techniques Professional Certificate but is open to all students, even if you're not enrolled in the Certificate Program.
Academic Calendar: The Academic Calendar shows the open enrollment dates and term start dates for each quarter. Courses do not necessarily start on the first day of the term.
Course sessions
Section ID:
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This course is entirely web-based and to be completed asynchronously between the published course start and end dates. Synchronous attendance is NOT required.
You will have access to your online course on the published start date OR 1 business day after your enrollment is confirmed if you enroll on or after the published start date.
Textbooks:
All course materials are included unless otherwise stated.
Policies:
- No refunds after: 7/11/2025
- Early enrollment advised
- No UCSD parking permit required
- No visitors permitted
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Schedule:
Instructor:
Melanie Fiander
Melanie's work has been featured in Destination Weddings & Honeymoons Abroad, New York Weddings, PDN, The Vendor Report, Scotland Wedding, Tie the Knot Scotland, Ländle Wedding's "Seasons of Yes", Whimsically Wed, Bermuda Weddings and Honeymoons, Bermudian Weddings, How They Asked by The Knot, The Gray Collective, Wedding Wire, United With Love, National Geographic, It Started With Yes, Glittery Bride, 100 Layer Cake, Lets Bee Together, The Newport Bride, and Wedding Chicks.
Melanie has also shown her fine artwork at Masterworks Museum and the Bermuda Society of Arts in Bermuda, The Dunes in Washington D.C., Jason Simon’s One Minute Film Festival in New York, The Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA, The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, Space Gallery, and Portland Museum of Art in Maine.
Although still photography is her passion, she also has experience in time-based media and video. A large portion of her work created during graduate school was centered around video and audio; one of which was shown at the Portland Museum of Art in Maine.
Melanie has also hosted and curated a short film festival called the "Fiander Film Festival" in February of 2012, a sold-out event that was held at The Dunes in northwest Washington D.C. Artists and directors from all over the US, England, Italy, and Bermuda were screened at the festival including her video created in collaboration with her husband, Jim West, titled "Heartbeats". Directors with many different levels of experience in film entered their pieces into the Fiander Film Festival.
Melanie has worked as a photography professor at The Art Institutes, Sessions College, Southern Maine Community College, and McIntosh College.