I am looking for a photography mentor in NJ - anyone know of someone?

I would like to take some private photography lessons, as many as it takes until i'm happy! I'm looking for a kind of mentor figure. I live in Teaneck NJ so someone around that area would be great.. Asked by mookle 59 months ago Similar questions: photography mentor NJ Arts > Photography.

Digital or Traditional I would assume by your topic that you're looking into digital Photography. If you would like I could 'mentor' you online, I live in upstate NY. I have AIM and MSN, send me a private message if you'd like to contact me in any way.

Photography isn't really that hard to get a hang of if you just know where to look. Two places I would highly recommend would be Digital Photography School (1), there they post some tutorials, some equipment reviews, they have forums where you can get feedback etc, and DeviantArt(2); DevArt is a rather(eh hem.. VERY) large community of people, ranging in all ages and skill levels, that are willing to helpout and review your work to help make you better. In the DeviantArt Chats there is a Photography room where there are atleast 10-20 people active at all times.

Every monday at 4:00 EST they hold what's called "ThumbHour" where for one hour they let people post their photos (one at a time) and they have indepth reviews on them. These reviews are not just your average "" They're "The overall image looks good but the lighting on the left side could use some work, I would suggest blah blah, and you could deepen the Depth of Field a bit... etc" which are very helpful. Another very important thing with digital photography is post-processing.

One thing I will link to is a Photoshop plugin called Virtual Photographer(3) which will let you open the image and change around the saturation, the effects, the sharpness etc, to get a look and feel that you like. Another suggestion would be, if you're camera supports it, is to shoot in the "Raw" format and then download Adobe's "Camera Raw"(Link missing) plugin which gives an amazing amount of post-processing options. After shooting for several years in JPG format I decided to try RAW And I have never looked back since!

The quality of the pictures and the ability to edit the photos is just spectacular! Links: (1) www.digital-photography-school.com (2) www.deviantart.com (3) http://www.optikvervelabs.com/ I hope I've provided you with some basic functions that will help you to improve, as I said if you want more help and an online mentor feel free to contact me, If you want to see examples of my photos my gallery is www.jdipierro.deviantart.com (shameless plug ;) Sources: Experience JDiPierro's Recommendations The Digital Photography Book Amazon List Price: $19.99 Used from: $9.74 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 152 reviews) Skin: The Complete Guide to Digitally Lighting, Photographing, and Retouching Faces and Bodies Amazon List Price: $39.99 Used from: $22.40 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 15 reviews) A few books on Digital Photography and Photoshop.

Bergen County Camera I took a great course at Bergen County Camera in Westwood, NJ. They have a beginners and advanced course in digital photography. I know you are looking for a one on one, but I bet if you start there you will be able to connect with one of the teachers who may be able to give you the help you are looking for..

There are lots of different kinds of photography, and you'll want to get a mentor in the same field that you want to shoot. There are many good pros, semi-pros, and amateurs (that should be pros) on fredmiranda.com which also also a "Member Meetings and Events" forum, where people post get-togethers. Also, most give a location in their signature, and I know I've seen several NJ photographers in discussions.

I don't feel that I could ask them on your behalf, but you could become and member and search for yourself. Also, the level of photography is very good at this site (when compared to DPReview, for example), and you'll get good advice and critiques from any photograph posted. One might even think of the FM.com community as a "virtual mentor" for photographers wishing to improve.

Also, you might want to see if there are local clubs or community colleges in your area. Perhaps by searching the NJ Federation of Camera Clubs (njfcc.org/) you can find a local club. But if you're serious of improving, check out the FM.com forums; they're great!

.

Mentor I work for a photographer and have seen in general that mentors are hard to come by in this field because of the competition. I think it also depends heavily on what kind of photography you're into (i.e. Wedding, portrait, candid, landscape, etc.).

If you're in college then your best step is to approach (or even better, take a photography class or two) someone who teaches the art of photography and ask them to give you advice or point you in a good direction. Look for community classes (most community colleges offer community classes at really low prices) or workshop groups that welcome novice photographers. You could call around the local photography studios and see if they could be helpful, but keep in mind most photographers (the good ones) are usually busy working, but again, they'll probably know of someone who is willing to take you under their wing.

I think your best bet would be a community class, as they typically attract a variety of talented artists. Good luck to you! Sources: My opinion .

1 bippee, regarding your answer "Bergen County Camera":This is an addendum to my own answer! Join www.flickr. ComIt is free to join and there are many groups to which you may post your photo and get critiques on them.

I have learned SO much from flickr.

Bippee, regarding your answer "Bergen County Camera":This is an addendum to my own answer! Join www.flickr. ComIt is free to join and there are many groups to which you may post your photo and get critiques on them.

I have learned SO much from flickr.

" "I would like to learn more about photography. " "Considering going on weekend photography course at location such as Nikon Mentor series. Comments anyone?

" "recommendations on a photography book?

I would like to learn more about photography.

Considering going on weekend photography course at location such as Nikon Mentor series. Comments anyone?

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.