Black Creek Arts Council - Photography 101 with Kirsten Bailey

January 20, 2023

PHOTOGRAPHY 101
with Kirsten Bailey

Do you have a camera sitting on the shelf collecting dust? Get a camera for Christmas and have no idea how to get it to work? Always wanted to learn photography but using your phone is just easier? Well now is your time! Bring your DSLR or mirrorless camera and learn the basics of photography. In this 6 week course, we’ll unbox your camera and teach you all you need to know to keep it from going back in the box and hidden under your bed. You’ll learn the basics of caring for your gear, manual mode, lighting, white balance, and composition. You’ll be able to move from “point and click” to be able to manually set your camera to take that beautiful photo. So grab your camera, your favorite notebook and pen, and join the world of photography!

Required:

DSLR or mirrorless camera

Memory card that fits your camera

Lens

Battery & Charger

Recommended:

50mm lens

f/1.8 is pretty affordable

f/1.4 is even better but more expensive

(Learn the difference in class)

18-55mm is considered a kit lens and will work for the sake of the class, but you’ll quickly learn why they are not ideal

DATES & TIME:

Tuesdays from 6:00 - 7:00pm

Feb 21, Feb 28, Mar 7, Mar 14, Mar 21, & Mar 28

(Last two days are styled shoot/workshop days)

COURSE INVESTMENT

$500 Regular

$395 Early bird (end Feb. 1st, 2023)

ABOUT THE TEACHER:

Kierstin is a recent transplant to South Carolina from Utah, where she spent the last 11 years. Growing up in beautiful New England, she is happy to be closer to both the beach and the mountains once more. She is married to her best friend, Aaron, and together they have two beautiful children.

Kierstin’s love for photography started as a teenager when she saved up enough to purchase her very own…. point and shoot camera. Yes, that’s right. But she loved that camera and took it with her everywhere. One day, on a very windy afternoon driving through New England, she got back into her car from an ice cream parlor and looked in the mirror to fix her hair. That’s when she found a little green bug stuck in here hair. Ew. But it was so cute at the same time. She carefully and quickly pulled out her camera and took a photo of the bug on her long fingernail. The light was coming in just right and illuminated that little green bug…and oddly enough, that was the moment she fell in love with photography.

As Kierstin started taking more and more images with that little point and shoot camera, she found that she loved portraiture. She was given a local photographers old DLSR camera when she was 19, but she didn’t know what to do with it, so she dabbled but didn’t get far. The camera ended up back in its box and stored in the closet.

While attending college, a photography program was added and Kierstin jumped so fast on the opportunity that she was the first person to switch majors. Unfortunately, because the program was so new, it was not taught very well, and she did not learn as much as she had hoped by the end of the program. She kept trying, but eventually put her camera away for several more years.

It wasn’t until after the birth of her first child that Kierstin started pulling her camera out again. It was a slow start, but she eventually started working with other photographers and took some online courses to really get back into the photography world again. Kierstin learned so much more this time, including how to simplify the photography process and is excited to teach people what she wishes she learned right from the beginning. After 15 years of stop and go in the photography world, she found the help and support that she needed to be able to move forward in her career as a senior and couples photographer.