Seminars & Presentations

Photography Presentations Available by Stan Rohrer

Revision: 11/4/2024

I can dust-off and polish up my presentations for the following:

Photo Critique Session: A hands-on interactive session of critiquing images as provided by audience participants (need to actively solicit audience images to be available). A few ground rules can be presented in the first 5 minutes of the first session. Then Stan can walk through a critique in his critique style. Then the audience will be encouraged to critique and comment on the photos on hand. The intent is to have the audience learn and participate in self-image critique and critique of other people’s images. The length of this session can vary from maybe 10 minutes, up to the supply of images running out, or, the time slot schedule expires.

- Used: Many times, after meetings at Focus Photo Club.

Photo Club Judging / Scored Critique: A 40-60 minute presentation of image critique for the purpose of judging a photo contest. Can include a few audience supplied images for critique and/or judge training. The presenter can also supply sample images on request. By skipping the final section on competition scoring, this interactive session can be used with primary focus on critiques.

- Used: Variations presented (with Susan Willin) at Focus Photo Club, Feb, 2023 and 2020, and earlier. Critique portions at Digital Photography Forum, May, 2023.

Basic Elements of Composition: 2-2.5 hours minimum presentation of composition basics. Often an additional 1 - 1.5 hours of attendee image critique discussions which also points out Impact, Composition, Technical concepts. Oriented generally towards landscapes, scenic, and outdoor images. Discussion points include: Subject Positioning, Emotional Impact, Centerlines & Symmetry, Rule of Thirds, Fibonacci’s Golden Mean, Shapes, Leading Lines, Repeating Patterns, 1 & 2 Point Perspective, Rules of Odd Numbers, Negative Space, Contrast, Depth, and Decisive Moment. An audience of 5-10 has worked well but could be larger. With a few breaks within, perhaps a 3.5 clock hour minimum should be considered.

Appropriate fees or donations may be needed to support a standalone meeting room, snacks, and other expenses. Depends on the hosting arrangements.

After the meeting, Stan is often open for joining an ongoing free flowing discussion at a local eatery.

- Used: Saturday morning stand-alone seminars, organized by Stan, numerous times before COVID-19 pandemic. Darke County Photo Club, 2019.

Singapore Night Cityscape: A 40 minute presentation which starts as a general travelog of a Singapore trip in 2013. The significant focus is then on advance planning, real time decisions during shooting, and then post processing, of a dusk cityscape image, where the stacked images were captured while in motion and riding the world’s largest Ferris Wheel. A “how I got this shot” main storyline.

- Used: Focus Photo Club, Feb 2016. Digital Photography Forum, Nov, 2023

Photographing Fireworks: A 40-45 minute presentation starts with camera and operator setup to capture fireworks across the black sky. Touches on Photoshop compositing. Describes how to include a scene and the required camera setup steps. Also, a segment on capturing fun Focus Shift effects and In Camera Motion effects in-camera. Lot’s of fireworks photos as examples. I find fireworks very intriguing if the viewer can get in close and see the details.

- Used: Focus Photo Club, May, 2016. Digital Photography Forum (DPF) (photo club), May, 2024.

Aperture and Depth Of Field: This is a 40-60 minute technical training of lens aperture and settings. Photo examples help show the visual effects. The presentation is a section extracted and polished from the unfinished photography course below.

-Used: Focus Photo Club, January, 2022 (low Covid concerned attendance). Focus Photo Club, April, 2024.

Shutter Speed vs Motion: A 40-60 minute presentation describing stop action, intended motion blur, avoiding camera shake, panning, and a bit about Image Stabilization features of camera systems (time permitting). Photo examples help show the visual effects. The presentation is a section extracted and polished from the unfinished photography course below.

-Used: Focus Photo Club, July, 2023.

Polarizing Filters / Taming Reflections: A 40 minute presentation on taming reflections and increasing color saturation via Polarizing Filters. Describes situations where the filter can be useful and where it can be a nuisance. Polarizing filters are very often useful in landscape and outdoor photography. Also demonstrated is their use on reflective subjects such as car photography.

- Used: Focus Photo Club, May, 2014.

Steps to Create a Photo: A 2 hour walk-around seminar/workshop of finding a scene and selecting appropriate camera settings. This seminar has been done at a local park (Wartinger Park, Beavercreek) so attendees can get some quick hands-on experience. Includes a short special intro segment on understanding Depth Of Field. Discussion points include: Subjects, Target Audience, Time of Day, Lighting, Camera Position, Lens Selection, Depth of Field, Camera Settings: (ISO, Shutter Speed, Aperture, Priority Modes), Simple Composition, Polarizing Filters. A group of 4-8 people is suggested.

After the meeting, Stan is often open for joining an ongoing free flowing discussion at a local eatery.

Appropriate fees or donations may be needed to support a standalone meeting room, snacks, and other expenses. Depends on the hosting arrangements.

- Used: Saturday morning stand-alone seminars, organized by Stan, numerous times before COVID-19 pandemic.

An Eye For An Image: A round-table type group discussion that is led from the perspective of finding motivation to go out with a camera. How do people find an image to capture?  Includes "do you take, or make, an image?". A group of 10-20 people is a useful size.

- Used: Created specifically for Focus Photo Club special event, Nov, 2019.

Holiday (Christmas) Lights – Photography and Tips: A 30 minute presentation including about 25 photos to be examples of photography tips, considerations, venues, and locations, mostly around the Dayton area. Any size group.

-Used: Created initially for the Digital Photography Forum (club) in November, 2023 (16 minute verson).

Nickel Plate 765 Steam Train: A weekend trip to the Akron-Cleveland area which coincides with the NP765 Steam Locomotive visiting Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I get chills up my spine when this 404 ton, 15 feet tall, 4000 horsepower, super monster, shakes the ground under my feet.  Stan will be photographing the locomotive in various locations around the area. A small group of guests can tag-along on this outing. Outings are, of course, dependent on the NP765 being scheduled by the CVSR. (Railroad track repairs might delay the next outing into, or later, than year 2025.)

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Following are some presentation ideas I have in the works. An arm twist might get them to the finish line.

Reading A Histogram: [Needs development for presentation]. Understanding the histogram graph (in camera or editing software) in terms of tonal values and image exposure.

 From the unfinished course below, there could be other technical sections extracted for shorter presentations. They might include: Light Intensity and Basic Exposure, Shutter Speed, ISO, Aperture and Depth of Field, Priority Modes (Dial), Histogram, White Balance, Steps to Create a Photo, more.

Digital Photography Fundamentals: [Presentation In Development - Unable to present full course just yet. I have this digital photography course created maybe 85%.] Sections include: Light, Basic Camera (DSLR vs Mirrorless), Exposure and Metering, ISO, Shutter Speed, Aperture, Depth Of Field, Priority Modes Auto/Program/Aperture/Shutter/Manual/Bulb, Exposure Compensation, Bracketing, Histogram, Blinkies, Exposure Metering Matrix/Center/Spot, Focus, Focus Modes, White Balance, Drive Modes, Lens-Field/Angle Of View, Panning, Tripod, Polarizing Filter, Image Quality, Raw vs JPEG, Monitor Calibration, Photo Editing Software, Gear Sources, Steps To Create A Photo.

I envision a very fast paced, fire hose feeding, seminar for all day on a Saturday (maybe 8 hours?). Do a box lunch, or something order-in for lunch - while talking. Novice photographers will be introduced to a lot of photography and camera concepts (but might be overwhelmed by the finer detail). Intermediate and advanced photographers will be able to pick up some nuggets and even full concepts of information to supplement their existing knowledge.

My goal during Covid was to finish, at least somewhat rough, the PowerPoints I've started. But I'm a slacker. My quandary is to also include some workshop style, hands on your camera, time to shoot some table scenes, to see DOF and shutter speed, et. al. I like the hands-on lab experience but fear I can’t cover the classroom material in the allotted time. I can see this getting bogged down by people who need help finding buttons and settings. I will get bogged down creating the needed tabletop scenes and lighting. Maybe I need some assistants with Canon and Nikon and ??? experience to help attendees.

Appropriate fees or donations may be needed to support a standalone meeting room, food, printed course materials, and other expenses.

Photoshop Basics For Photography: [Presentation In Development – As of 6/2024, I have a Photoshop compatible laptop with which to travel.] Adjusting exposure, color, saturation, spot cleaning, retouching, replacements, dodge/burn, straighten, crop, B/W conversions, and more would be the fair for the time slot.

Light Painting A Christmas Figurine: [Needs some development for presentation, though all the source image material should still be on file.] An eight-inch figurine is light painted with a flashlight to highlight Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus in a Manger. Multiple images are Photoshop stacked and retouched to provide lighting per reference Bible verses and to mimic some old masters painting styles. The added Bible verse creates a final image as a digital Christmas Card.