Join us for a special additional program!
Wednesday, December 2nd 7-9:30pm
Susan Gertz
"Graphic Design for Photographers"
Free to Members! | Guests $39
If you can't make this meeting, but would like to see the presentation, good news! All registered participants will have access to a recording of this presentation for 30 days!
As a professional photographer, your expertise in lighting, posing, lenses, and composition shows with every shot! The last thing you want is to take away from your hard-won professional image with amateurish graphic design. Just as being a professional photographer is much more than knowing how to open Photoshop, graphic design is much more than opening software and typing words in a document!
In this program, you will learn how to make your own DIY designs look less like “crap” using the using the CRAP design principles: Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity. You’ll also learn how to select and use typefaces to create the right mood and choose the right file formats and color spaces for digital and print uses.
Improving your design skills needs to go hand-in-hand with learning better production skills so you can execute your idea. We’ll focus on using Photoshop as your graphic design tool since it’s what you already own and use. These skills will translate to other Adobe Suite applications if you decide to branch out to dedicated tools for document design (Adobe InDesign) or vector drawing (Adobe Illustrator). You’ll leave this program knowing how to control every aspect of type spacing. You’ll also learn when (and how) to create vector objects in Photoshop.
Improving your DIY skills is valuable, but understanding when and how to work with a professional graphic designer is important too. So, we’ll end the program with what to look for when hiring a graphic designer and how to get the most out of that relationship.
A bibliography of learning resources will help you build your skills after the program.
About Me
I have a Master’s Degree in Technical and Scientific Communication from Miami University which includes coursework in graphic design. I taught a graphic design course for that program for several years after graduating. I have worked as a graphic designer and technical writer for the Center for Chemistry Education (CCE) at Miami University for 30 years. My design work for CCE includes logos, promotional materials, educational materials, and websites. One of my specialties (and favorite jobs) is designing long books using Adobe InDesign and producing both digital and print versions from the files. In recent years I have been learning animation using several different programs. As a freelance designer, I design many of the same types of materials, often for fellow photographers.
As a photographer, I have had a pet photography studio in Middletown, Ohio for 10 years. I am a CPP and Master Photographer and have been a Bronze, Silver, and Gold photographer in IPC competition in the Photographic Open and Master Artist categories. I have had three images selected for the Grand Imaging Awards top 10 in the pet category.
Register Here!