One of my favorite weeks of the year is the Palm Springs Photo Festival.

I love the people and creative spirit of the entire community.  The overwhelming sentiment is that it doesn't matter what type of photography you do so long as you are really good at it. You are fully embraced for mastering your craft, whatever that is.  It’s always an eclectic group of professional photographers, mostly fine art but also documentary, editorial, celebrity, and even experimental.  I spend the week soaking up all that creative spirit and total non-judgmental acceptance of others.  It’s refreshing and fun and relaxing.  

I’m often asked if I give workshops and I’ve got to tell you that this is the best opportunity to take a comprehensive, in-person workshop class with me.  This will be a smaller class than usual and a great opportunity not only to learn “how” I do what I do but the thinking that goes into it, the “why” of it all.  To me, the “why” has always been more important than the “how.”  

We will be working with ewa-marine underwater housings courtesy of BH Photo Video, Nanlite Pavotubes in underwater housings, and the most wonderful underwater models Emilie and Alisa.

There is detailed information on the www.palmspringsphotofestival.com website regarding the workshop and associated events of the week. They are admitting attendees until the class fills, or Oct 3rd, whichever happens first.

THERE IS CURRENTLY 1 SPOT AVAILABLE.

PALM SPRINGS PHOTO FESTIVAL 2023

Underwater Photography Workshop with Cheryl Walsh

3-DAY WORKSHOP

Orientation Monday, October 9th, 4:30pm – 5:30pm

Tuesday, October 10th – Thursday, October 12th 9:00am – 4:00pm.

Thursday, October 20th 9:00am – 11:00am Pacific Standard Time VIA ZOOM

Limited to 12 Attendees only

Anyone who has tried underwater photography knows that it’s far more challenging than it looks. If photography is an art and a science, underwater photography is an art, a science, and a science. Photographer Cheryl Walsh has spent the past 15 years conquering the science of underwater studio-based fine art portrait photography. Her mastery of the science allows her to express her own unique artistic vision.

This introductory class is an opportunity to spend three days experiencing the special challenges of working in a liquid environment. Cheryl’s goal is to help you begin to break through those challenges to develop your own unique artistic style.

The class will begin with the hows and whys of photographing underwater. Cheryl will share her knowledge of the technical aspects of underwater photography including safety, equipment, weights and buoyancy management, backdrops, underwater housings, water clarity, lighting techniques, styling and wardrobe choices, and working with models.

Day One: Cheryl will start the day with a tutorial on underwater studio photography and instructions on the equipment involved. The afternoon session will include your first introduction to photographing underwater and conquering the challenges.

Day Two: Attendees will have two underwater sessions photographing models.

Day Three:  Cheryl and the class will start the day reviewing the work made on the prior day, then photographing in the water with models. The day will end with a lesson on a post-processing workflow for printing underwater photographs, including file and color management, appropriate editing, and paper choice.

Follow-Up Zoom: The class will include image reviews and Cheryl’s Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop post-processing techniques.

Experience for yourself how water affects light, color, movement, and the human body. Photo shoots will take place in a private swimming pool using modified natural and underwater constant lights. Cheryl will demonstrate coaching and working with models. Underwater housings will be made available so that each attendee can use their own DSLR or one of ours.

Attendees need to wear swim shorts and a long-sleeved UV protective rash guard top and hat, provide their own eye goggles (preferably with the nose covered), CF or SD cards, a digital camera with a lens of the equivalence of between 16 and 24 mm focal length, an underwater camera housing (if available), and something with which to take notes. A detailed list of imperative workshop prep instructions will be provided a month before the class.

For Safety reasons, this class will be limited to 12 attendees.