Master Photo Workshops : Photography DVDs

Reviews

December 3, 2009 – David in Vermont

I loved this set of Videos… i put them on my iPhone and watched them all about 3 times each! My favorites where walking along and looking over Tony’s shoulder while on a photography trip to Great Smoky Mts. Seeing how another photographer works is always valuable, but to see how hard and how fast Tony works every location for images was inspiring!

December 2, 2009 – Mary Reynolds

I Love everything this man does. His videos are fantastic. I want to learn photography in this style. Love doing macros. Had been trying flowers and landscapes, his books, videos and how to’s have been a godsend. I’ve gained more from his stuff then from a professional class. I buy everything the man puts out. It’s well worth the money. I watch where he shoots his videos and want to get in the car and travel to all these beautiful places. Great! Excellent! Beautiful!

Tony is a true master of his craft and watching him in this video his passion for teaching photography is obvious. I have long wanted to attend one of his many workshops he does, but due to my location and money I have never had the opportunity to do so. This video is the next best things as he you get to see how he goes about his shots while listening to him tell you why he chooses to take a shot this way or with a certain lens over another.

He also goes into his equipment. Many books and help guides do this, but Tony does so in a way that you don’t feel like he is endorsing anything specific. He uses Nikon, but as a Canon user I felt I could get very nice shots with what I have now and ideas for pieces I might want to get later as funds allow.

The first part of disk 2 Tony shows us some of his earlier photos and the thought process behind them. His critique of them are invaluable and well worth the price of the DVD alone. It’s great to see someone you look up to in a field point out flaws they did. It’s like “Wow, he’s made the same mistakes as me. I have hope after all!” lol. Of course he also shows some of his newer stuff which is just breathtaking.

Anyone looking for a DVD to help improve their nature photography cannot go wrong with this purchase. I will defiantly be buying some more from this collection by Master Photo Workshops.

Once again I’ll mention that I’m in my 60’s and a dinosaur who has a 1970’s Master’s Degree in Photography. I understand photography but am learning digital. I have looked at a number of HDR images and was fascinated. I wanted to know how they did it. Someday I may try this technique. I have watched the DVD and find it very well done. Another block in my digital education foundation.

I’ve always been a fan of Tony Sweet – he’s got a unique eye and creative style that help to improve my creativity.

Tony Sweet’s Visual Literacy is an intimate look in the field with Tony to learn how one of Nikon’s Legends approaches a variety of opportunities.

This is a two DVD set. The first DVD takes the viewer along with Tony for a multi-day shoot in the Smokies in the Spring of 2008. Tony visits Cades Cove, Roaring Fork, Greenbrier, Tremont, and Clingman’s Dome to create images at some of the prime locations in the park. Having been to the Smokies many times, these locations were very familiar. But it was interesting to see how Tony worked the locations and the lighting.

Here’s an example of how the DVD flows. At the Ogle cabin in Roaring Fork, Tony goes to a familiar composition and talks you through his thought process for composition. Tony creates multiple compositions to work the site with everything from long lenses to close ups and IR and talks you through everything he is doing and why.

The second DVD takes the viewer into the studio to explore a variety of close up and macro techniques for florals. Then the DVD covers the editing process, the commercial side of professional photography, and the gear Tony uses in the field and the studio for photographs, editing and printing. I found the section about photographing flowers in the studio a little slow, but worth it to pick up important nuggets.

Each DVD has extra features that are worth a look. The Extra feature of the first DVD puts you in the car with Tony while he scouts locations in Cades Cove. Buckle your seat belt!

This is certainly one of the better purchases I’ve made. I own several of Tony’s books, and have spent a great deal of time in the Smokies at these locations. But there is something about seeing these locations and the thought process of a great photographer at work. What’s more – Tony is just a nice guy – intense about his craft but genuinely interested in helping those who view this DVD set.

- S. Snow (LA, USA) May 31, 2009

“Photoshop isn’t difficult to master, but there’s a lot to remember,” Jim Zuckerman told us in class and on this DVD.

In his online class, as in this DVD, he was extremely organized and helpful, but reading the lessons, I found I skipped pertinent sections, and learned after the fact, that order is paramount to success.

By hearing Jim’s voice, which guided me in class via telephone calls, and repeatedly guides me in his DVDs as well as my being able to see what he’s doing, pure success has been repeatedly accomplished. The beauty of DVD’s is that I can listen to the instructions over and over again, and actually see what Jim is doing to make the action happen.

I’ll purchase as many DVD’s as he puts into the marketplace because they are so helpful in giving me the tools I need to be more creative with my work.

I strongly recommend Jim Zuckerman’s books, DVD’s and classes. He’s an awesome instructor!

This is an excellent introduction to HDR photography. While the process section for each image is probably more important, I also found the set up section both useful and interesting. Tony is an enthusiastic teacher who knows how to impart knowledge to his viewers.
Buyers should be aware that it is assumed that you have some knowledge of Photoshop. This is not a complete course on Photomatix

Jim Zuckermans “Be a Photoshop Guru” DVD is a wonderful training tool for people who edit & enhance images in Photoshop. Jim shows you how to create actions, use selection tools, easily replace skies & backgrounds, make composites, add reflections, simulate polarizers & many other editing tools.
I have been using Photoshop for 8 years and have taken a couple of Photoshop classes with Jim, so I already knew many of these techniques (I consider myself an intermediate/advanced user) but I still learned new tricks and better ways to accomplish editing tasks more efficiently after watching this DVD.
If you are a beginner/intermediate PS user and are not familiar with the tools & editing techniques listed in these lessons, you will be using these tools with ease very quickly. They are essential tools for everyday Photoshop users and will elevate your image editing capabilities. You will be able to transform that dull/flat photo with a white sky into a rich, vibrant work of art in just a few easy steps.

- by Snake (Brisbane, Australia), January 31, 2009

Visual Literacy just arrived in the mail today all the way from the U.S. and have watched both dvd’s already. I’m still only a beginner but am searching for as much info as possible, and like another reviewer says, it’s like you are right there with Tony, what i really like is the location he made this dvd, instead of going to the Rockies or Grand Canyon, or some place like that, where they’re the only place like that in the world, he chose the Smokeys.

I’m from Australia which has plenty of places you can find that might be simular to Smokeys, with nice mountains, running rivers with rocks and moss on them, forests with nice old buildings, parks with picnic tables and nice trees, and he shows how you can take nice photo’s anywhere.. One of the things I found most interesting though was the second dvd where Tony goes through alot of his photo’s when he was beginning, and tells what he did wrong and what he would change now.. and then also goes through some other great photo’s on his pc and explains about each.. I could have sat there all day watching this.. He also shows his whole kit, with lenses, filters and different camera’s he uses..

I found the whole dvd very entertaining and helpful, and highly recommend it to anyone, beginners or professional.