And if you’re still looking for a great gift idea, you should know that you (or the shutterbugs in your life) can learn to love your camera back for less than $20! Available at both Barnes & Noble and Amazon, it’s easy to ring in the holidays with better photos!

Here’s an excerpt from the most recent review: “It’s funny how many photo guides and books are out there, but when it comes right down to it, only you will know when the book in question is “the” book for you. Like that crush you had in grade school…. you didn’t know what was happening, but it just felt right. Well, Your Camera Loves You should be your crush of the season.” You can read the rest of the review here.

PS: If you already have the book, let others know how much you’ve enjoyed it and write your own review here!

I’m honored to be presenting next Tuesday, Oct. 11th at 7pm CST (5pm PST/8pm EST), and you’re invited to join the fun! Register here!

The idea for it started years ago while teaching an introductory class about photography and digital cameras, and has blossomed into a full-blown book published by the incredible team over at Peachpit Press (seriously—they are sensational!).

You can get your hands on a copy by pre-ordering from Amazon, Barnes&Noble, or Peachpit. The best part? You don’t have to wait long before it ships—it’s coming out in less than 4 weeks! (You can find and like it on Facebook too!)

Also—the next two editions of the camera class (the one that inspired the book) are coming up!

Friday, Aug. 12 from 1-5pm
Wednesday, Oct. 5 from 5-9pm (This one is a special edition evening class—don’t miss it!)

Mark your calendars! Contact SCC’s Continuing Education Department at 402.437.2700 to sign up!

Here’s a video to give you an idea of what to expect in the book. Enjoy! :)

I’ve gotten a lot of questions about the software I use and recommend. My favorite combination includes Lightroom, Photoshop, and InDesign. But the guide is about so much more than software—it’s about the philosophy of building a wedding package with your clients’ best interest at heart, ultimately making their lives (and yours) easier. It’s about setting up a system so that no one (you or your clients) has the chance to drop the ball and delay the process. And it’s about the potent combination of efficiency and effectiveness.

You can download the first 2 chapters to see for yourself, or you can hop on over to PhotoDough and get it while the gettin’ is good! :)

I hope it truly changes your life! Here’s what other folks have had to say:

“I thought my workflow was ok—but after reading the guide’s tips on how to cut images down, how to design and set up a winning wedding package, my workflow has been blown completely out of the water! No wonder I hated the whole process before!” —Carly Rodgers

“Being new to the business, I was overwhelmed at what seemed like never ending post production.  I’ve read about photographers finishing in 8 hours… but no one was telling me *how* to do it…  Until now! Khara’s guide laid out everything… from leaving the wedding, to ordering the album. She even talks about the steps she takes before the wedding to make sure everything afterwards is seamless.  My New Year’s resolution is to have proofs and album design back to the client in one week!” – Lauren Mingus

“I just put the finishing touches on the edit from this past Saturday’s wedding thanks to Rock My Workflow this season!” —Sandra Regier

Written especially for beginners, it’s called, “Your Camera Loves You: Learn to Love it Back.” The message is: cameras don’t take great photos—people do. If you want better pictures, don’t buy a new camera—learn to use the one you’ve got!

This ain’t your average camera book! Believe it or not, I’ve found a way to combine Law & Order, sumo wrestling, cookie dough, and a chapter called, “Death by Cropping,” into a fun and snappy book to help you get the most from your camera—whichever one you already have. But you’ll have to get the book to see what I mean… ;)

It recently went live on Amazon and is available at a special price for pre-ordering, so treat yourself, your family, your friends, and learn just how how awesome your camera truly is!

The book is based on one of my favorite classes that I teach on a regular basis (at least 4-8 times per year). It’s a super basic, start at the beginning, sort it all out digital camera class embracing the premise that any and all cameras are capable of being pretty rad… if you know how to work them.

The problem is that most people don’t.

They buy a camera, set it to “auto” and keep it there until they become frustrated. Eventually they hunt around for a newer model with hopes that the fancier camera will magically make their photos look better. Of course, it doesn’t… and they don’t… and the poor sap ends up back at square one, with only a bruised bank balance to show for it.

In an effort to break the cycle, I teach folks how to get the most they can from the camera they already have. You don’t have to have a fancy-pants pro-level dSLR (or any dSLR) to get great shots–You just have to know how to work it. (As I tell people in class, “Don’t be afraid to get bossy!”)

To prove it, I thought I’d share with you a couple of sample photos I shot for the book while Emir and I were camping in Morocco’s Sahara Desert. These were both captured (only moments apart) in the black of night with my Canon S95 (a super compact point & shoot camera retailing for less than $400).

This first image was captured with the camera (and flash) set to “auto.” Needless to say… it looks awful. Where were we? The Black Hole?

This is literally the same scene, captured with the same camera only a few seconds later in a different shooting mode (in this case, manual mode). It is not a product of Photoshop, but rather… something much better. I like to call it… knowledge. I simply canceled the flash and increased the exposure time (by slowing the shutter waaaaay down). And… BAM!

Now, you can not only see the camels and the twinkling stars, but you can feel the warm glow from the campfire that was roaring behind me the whole time!

The book is slated to hit the stores sometime this summer (I will definitely keep you posted!). In the mean time, the next class is on the calendar for Friday August 12, 1-5pm. Contact SCC at 402.437.2700 to get signed up!