The Chicago Cultural Center is home to the largest Tiffany dome in the world and since its restoration in 2008, the dome looks as it did in 1897 under Tiffany’s vision! Nicknamed the People’s Palace, the Chicago Cultural Center hosts a variety of cultural, artistic, and educational events underneath the fabulous dome. You can enjoy a blues concert, a theatrical production, or even a wedding in the heart of Chicago culture! Join your Digital Photo Academy instructor as you photograph the beauty and culture of the Chicago Cultural Center and its magestic Tiffany dome.
In the Cultural Center, you will photograph light streaming through the Tiffany windows and mosaic plaques dedicated to some of the greatest Western thinkers and writers. Find a new angle to capture the large hanging lamp against the blue Tiffany dome and the way in which light and shadow dance across a friend’s face.
You will also capture the Center’s stunning architecture, from marble staircases to elaborate ceilings. Control the response of those who view your photographs in all different ways as you shoot the staircases straight-on or even upside-down!
Right outside of the Chicago Cultural Center where you will be spending most of your class time, you will get a feel for a whole different kind of environment. Photograph outdoor architecture of elaborate windows and stately columns, and street scenes of taxis zooming by and passerbys bundled up as they fight the wind.
You will learn a wide variety of techniques in this dynamic shoot as you photograph alongside a professional photographer in the field. Learn to play with light and shadow to highlight or darken your subject in a new way. Whether you own or plan to buy new lenses, your instructor will teach you about the various options from macro photography to accentuate the details of a charming architectural detail or a wide-angle lens to photograph the towering staircase.
Learn to manipulate your depth of field to focus your subject while blurring the background and change your shutter speed to freeze or blur motion, from a running child to a zooming taxi.
We will meet under the Tiffany dome in the Chicago Cultural Center located at 78 E. Washington Street, Chicago, IL 60602. Please bring your DSLR or another type of digital camera that you use, a fully-charged category, and the equipment that you can carry. You should dress for the weather, as we will be inside and outside, and wear comfortable shoes.
Each Composition in the Field class begins with a talk with one of our experienced instructors, and then you and your fellow students take a stroll through one of a variety of photogenic locales (in any of the 20+ cities the DPA encapsulates). There is street photography, magnificent interiors, farmers markets, zoos, landscapes, and more, photos of which are included within. These photos are a mix of student and instructor images in many different venues and cities across the United States and Canada.
You will have fun in the three hour session, learn to shoot strategically, get more interesting photos of the event, and walk away with a foundation to improve your photographs in the future, whether you’re traveling, or at a birthday party and everywhere in between.
Please note – if a class must be cancelled due to weather or other circumstances beyond our control we will be happy to work with you to reschedule. If you should need to cancel and require a new class date, contact us. A $25 transfer fee will be imposed without a 3 day notice before the scheduled class.