Class Summary
March 5 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
This online class will meet Wednesdays March 5th & 26th, 7-8:30pm EST
Join Charles and Melissa for this 2-part online class as they walk you through how to capture, create, and edit images surrounding you in everyday life using nothing more than the camera that’s always with you: your smartphone!
This is a 2-Part Class! During the first session, Charles and Melissa will discuss elements of shooting with your smartphone and in the second session, they will discuss creative editing!
In part one, Charles and Melissa will demonstrate how you can go beyond “point and shoot” with your phone, including how to get the most from your native camera with all of its hidden features, as well as a review of helpful accessories. The duo will then take a deep dive and discuss key shooting apps in a “live” demonstration format with their phones projected on the computer screen. Some of the key shooting apps they will discuss and demonstrate include: Halide Mark II – Pro Camera (Lux Optics, Inc.), Average Camera Pro (Dominik Seibold) and Slow Shutter Cam (Cogitap Software).
In the second session, they will focus on creative editing, giving you the tools to unleash your creativity and transform average, “not-quite-there” images into expressive, painterly masterpieces. In this session, Charles and Melissa will discuss several creative editing apps, such as Prisma (Prisma Labs, Inc.), Artista Impresso (JixiPix Software), Color Splash (Pocket Pixels, Inc.), Waterlogue (Tinrocket, LLC) and a few others. Then, using the same “live demo” format as Part 1, they will demonstrate Image Blender (JHND i Sverige AB), Prisma, Artista Impresso and Snapseed (Google)’s “Double Exposure” tool.
You’ll come away from these jam-packed sessions with new knowledge that will empower you to make images you never imagined possible with your smartphone!
*Note: Android users are welcome with the understanding that Charles and Melissa use and will demonstrate various apps and camera features using an iPhone. Many apps and techniques work on both iPhones and Androids, and the instructors will highlight similar Android apps when possible.
About Melissa and Charles
Charles and Melissa Needle are award-winning, husband-and-wife, Colorado-based fine art photographers with 35 years of combined teaching experience. They are sought-after speakers, having presented many in-person and online workshops and conference programs for national and international audiences, including the Royal Photographic Society (UK) and hundreds of camera clubs.
Charles has led photography workshops and tours in the US, Canada and Europe for the past 25 years, including locations such as Monet’s Garden (Giverny, France), Keukenhof Gardens (Netherlands), The Butchart Gardens (Canada), and private & public gardens in the UK… many with exclusive, private access. In addition, he has authored three cutting-edge instructional books: Tiny Worlds: Creative Macro Photography Skills, Impressionistic Photography: A Field Guide to Using Your Camera as a Paintbrush, and Creative Macro Photography: Professional Tips & Techniques.
Charles is a North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) Showcase Award winner for 17 years in a row and placed in the Top Ten and Top 26 image categories for two of those years. In 2024, he made the shortlist for the Close-up Photographer of the Year international contest. And in 2018 and 2021, Charles earned honorable mentions in the Macro and Visual FX categories of the prestigious Annual International Mobile Photography Awards Contest. He was also a semi-finalist in the 2014 Nature’s Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards photo contest. In 2011, Charles was selected as a finalist, among 15,000 entries worldwide, in the International Garden Photographer of the Year photography contest, sponsored by The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (London, England). This exhibition traveled throughout the United Kingdom.
Melissa has assisted Charles in workshops, classes and online teaching sessions since 2016. She enjoys literal image making but really loves exploring her creative side with various post-processing methods. She is a full-time professional photographer whose journey began at the age of 12 with the family camera. Her career has blossomed into a passion she enjoys, having presented at numerous camera clubs and conferences, including the New England Council of Camera Clubs (NECCC) annual conference in 2018, the New Hampshire Audubon Society and several online events.
Melissa has received numerous awards and honors over the past 33 years. Some of her notable awards include: Gold Key and Blue Ribbon awards for “Postcard Dreams” from The Boston Globe Art Show, cover features in Cape Cod Guide magazine, MUSC Humanitas, Neuroscience, and Cancer Research, blue ribbons in the Greater Lynn Photography Association (MA) camera club monthly contests, and recognition in the Mobile Photography Awards Contest and NANPA Showcase Competition, where she won a prestigious Top-24 Image Award in 2020. In addition, Melissa’s work was selected to appear in three books: Charleston: A Photographic Portrait, Savannah: A Photographic Portrait, and Massachusetts: A Photographic Portrait. She currently leads the Greater Lynn Photographic Association (MA) smartphone specialty group and was awarded the title MNEC, Master Member of NECCC in 2022.
Registering and what is needed
After you register for this class, you will receive a confirmation email that will include information about how to access the online class, including an online ID code that you will need to get into the class. Make sure to save this information. We will also send a reminder email about 24 hours prior to the class time with that same information.
Layout of the class
The class will begin promptly at the time listed. The majority of the class–90 minutes to 2 hours– will be a presentation on the topic, followed by a short Q&A. During the class, you are welcome to type in questions in the Chat box if you have specific questions as they are asked. We will do our best to answer those questions, but if not, feel free to ask them at the end.
“You Are Being Recorded” (And Other Note Related Items)
We will be recording this class! The video will be available for download about 24-hours after the class for all attendees, so don’t worry about taking unending notes. We will send this link attendees to download and rewatch at any time. In addition to this, we will generally send out a PDF of the presentation (when applicable) and handouts on the topic. If handouts and PDFs are included, we will send it out with the link for the video.
Can’t attend the class?
If you can’t attend the class but still want to download the video, no problem: Just sign up for the class! You don’t need to attend and we will send the video link the next day!
Want to get this class after it’s been run?– We have an online store where you can purchase all our previously run classes here: https://edu.huntsphoto.com/buy-previous-courses/
No online classes should be shared and cannot be shared in a public environment, including with camera clubs
The online content is the copyright of Hunt’s Photo Education and/or the Instructor. Please support our education team and instructors by not sharing this material! We appreciate your support, and it’s thanks to that support that we are able to continue producing content!
