Professional associations, education and courses

bfn_2_0_logo Though some people think that if you make enough pictures there always be a good one, the truth is different: with a modern camera all pictures are reasonably well, but none excellent as the camera will always choose the safest exposure. Isolating a subject from a noisy background,

keeping the wedding dress white under difficult lighting conditions, showing the structure of the fabric of the grooms suit, or having only small part of the image tack sharp like the ring requires real expertise. This is why a professional photographer not only must have a proper education, but also keep up to date with his knowledge and skills. The links below give more information on my education.

The Professional Photographers Netherlands organize events and workshops for their members. I am a member of this organization and via them also of Burafo, the bureau guarding the rights of photographers and the Fotografen Federatie (Photographers Federation).
The basic education of the Fotovakschool tells you the basics of photography. I followed this education in the early nineties in Apeldoorn.
The professional photographer education of the Fotovakschool in Boxtel educates you to an all-round photographer. Photography becomes second nature, you already know how to photograph a scene when you enter a room (and often it is another choice than your camera would make). You are an all-round photographer that can play with light and depth of field.
After that comes the specialisation fotovakschool. In my case portrait and fashion photograpy, this is the best education for wedding photography.
To stay up to date I regularly follow workshops at Calumet Photo in Rotterdam or Amsterdam. Calumet offers a wide range of workshops on photography (egWorkshop Fashion- andBeautyphotography, Workshop Product photography, Workshop Redactional Portrait Photography on Location, Workshop Model- and Portrait photography), methods and techniques (Workshop post-processing and printing, Masterclass Retouche, Masterclass Fine Art Black and White) and the use of software and equipment (Workshop Adobe Lightroom 2 Workflow, Photoshop CS4 Basis Training, Masterclass Effects in Photoshop, Canon user day). One of the most important courses is Color-management: how can I guarantee color consistency from camera to print.
Also the NIDF regularly offers workshops and courses on digital photogpraphy. The NIDF is strong in courses on color management, with attention for the right illumination in your workspace, how to calibrate your monitor, how to use icc profiles and how to offer your photo material to a printer so that even in offset print the colors are still correct.
For on-line self study I use Lynda.com. On this site you find on-line courses on photography, graphics design, desigerns and photographers and training for all relevant software like Photoshop, Lightroom and InDesign.
Creative inspiration and knowledge you can find on many internet sites. A beautiful site is Luminous Landscape, with lots of information on photography and equipment.
Books I generally buy at Amazon.