Mastery Workshops on on DVD Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1 - Do the Workshops on DVD work on both Macintosh and Windows?
Yes. The Workshops on DVD work perfectly on both Macs & Windows (or PC’s), either desktop or laptop.  They will also work on any platform that can run Adobe Acrobat, and play mp3 and movie files, including ipod, ipad, iPhone and other brands of portable devices, tablets, phones, etc.

2 - Are the Workshops on DVD included in the fee for your Seminar or Fine Art Summit ?
No.  The Workshops on DVD are sold separately and are not included in the fee of any of our workshops or seminars.  The Workshops on DVD and the physical workshops and Seminars are entirely different products, each with unique advantages and benefits.

3 - Will the Workshops on DVD play on my television set?
No. These are DVD Rom designed to run on your computer.  A computer is needed because there are links that open eBooks, movie files, audio files, Photoshop files as well as internet links and links to other types of files such as Adobe Acrobat and other.

4 - Do you provide updates to the Workshops on DVD contents?
Yes. We provide updates through a dedicated Mastery Workshop on DVD Owner Update Site. These updates are released when significant changes occur, when software updates are released, or when I introduce changes in my workflow, or in the tools and supplies I use. Updates are also released when students ask questions. When this happens answers to student questions are posted to the updates area. You can ask any question as long as it is related to the actual contents of the DVD.

5 - Is there a cost for these updates?
No. Updates are free for as long as you own the Workshops on DVD.

6 - Do you keep any secrets for yourself rather than reveal everything you do on the Workshops on DVD?
I don't keep anything for myself and I don't 'play close to the chest.' When I decide to provide a tutorial on a specific subject, I cover the entire subject in depth, and I give you everything I know about this subject.

The Workshops on DVD series is a description of the approach I use and of what I do everyday in my personal work. It is a comprehensive list of each and every technique I use, have developed and have refined over the past 15 years.  I do not keep any secret because I wanted the Workshops on DVD to be both teaching tools and a faithful record of what I do to create and marketing my images.  If there is a secret, it is called Mastery, and this secret will be yours if you practice the steps described in each Workshop on DVD time and over again (see section 14 below for more information on Mastery)

7 - How are the Workshops on DVD priced?
The Workshops on DVD is priced similarly to my 2 day seminars because the Workshops on DVD contains the same knowledge as the seminar.  The price of the Workshops on DVD will go up as the Seminar Price increases.  The best time to buy the Workshops on DVD is now as it will not be offered at a lower price in the future. the knowledge offered on the Workshops on DVD will always be cutting edge because it will be updated as new software, hardware and techniques are introduced.

9 - What are the main differences between the Workshops on DVD and the seminars?
You can watch the movies on the Workshops on DVD, listen to the audio files and read the PDF’s as many times as you want, wherever you want and whenever you like.  In the seminar, you only hear each presentation once and you must be physically present.  This means the Workshops on DVD saves you a significant amount of money in travel expenses including airfare, hotel, car rental, dining out, etc.  You also get to study at your own pace.  You can take a year for example to learn this material until you master it.  The seminar on the other hand only lasts 2 days. 

10 - What is Mastery?
Mastery allows you to save time by increasing control and efficiency. It is based on knowledge and practice. Once you master the process, your knowledge guides you towards conducting the process quickly and efficiently while exercising total control. In other words, you are able to do a world-class job in the most time-efficient manner. Mastery comes from repetition, from doing the same thing until it becomes second nature. I discuss the concept of Mastery at length in the Workshops on DVD.

11 - How cutting edge is the information on the Workshops on DVD?
It is totally cutting edge.  In fact, it is the exact process I use right now for my images.  The Workshops on DVD features the latest software and hardware I use.  The updates guarantee that you continue to get the latest information as my process changes and evolves. 

12 - What is the main idea behind the Workshops on DVD?
The main idea behind the Workshops on DVD is to create a series of high end tutorials on each aspect of photography.  Each Mastery DVD features from 15 to 30 sections. I could have published each section separately on separate DVDs, but this would have meant a huge number of discs and the potential for losing discs or not knowing where specific content is located. I wanted to make things as simple as possible, so I decided to publish a single DVD for each subject.

The Mastery Workshops on DVD  is comparable in quality to my Navajoland portfolio, except Navajoland  is a fine art project while the Mastery Workshops on DVD are tutorial projects.

When you look at how long it took to create both products you will find additional similarities.  The images in the Navajoland portfolio took me 7 to 10 years to create.  The portfolio itself took over a year to assemble.  The Mastery Workshops on DVD features everything I learned over the past 15 years. Each single Workshop on DVD takes two years of work to complete. 

13 - How does the Mastery Workshops on DVD fit into your teaching goals?
My teaching is divided in two parts : the first of these two parts is my “live” workshops, an environment where we study in person, either in the field or in the classroom.  This is a personal experience where exchange is favored, questions are encouraged and contacts are made.  It is also a wonderful opportunity to discover new places, make new friends, create new images, have them reviewed, work 1 on 1 and more.

The second part are my Workshops on DVD tutorials. These tutorials feature knowledge that can be used at a distance, without the need to travel, attend a class or be in physical contact with each other. The Workshops on DVD tutorials offer extremely high value for your money because you do not need to pay for travel cost, lodging expenses, car rental, restaurants, gas and other related expenses. They also save you a lot of time compared to learning on your own because you are taught the correct approach immediately. YOu do not need to 'reinvent the wheel' or look for the answer yourself, or worst, learn something inaccurate then have to unlearn it and learn the correct way afterwards which would be a waste of time.

The Mastery Workshops on DVD goes further than other CD and DVD tutorials. The Mastery Workshops on DVD Series is a support system that operates at a distance, without the need to be in physical contact.  The idea behind the Mastery Workshops on DVD is to provide a “club-like” environment .  Membership is acquired automatically when you purchase one of my Workshops on DVD.  Afterwards, Mastery Workshop on DVD owners continue to receive free updates for as long as they own the DVDs. These updates are published as they are introduced and you have the option of asking questions about the DVD contents.   The Workshops on DVD provide unique advantages that are particularly valuable and that make this series uniquely efficient in learning fine art photography.

14 - How does the Mastery Workshops on DVD compares to your Books and eBooks?
There is no crossover and no duplication of information between any of my books or ebooks and workshops on DVD. Each Workshops on DVD features information that is not available on my books and eBooks. I decided to follow this approach because it is efficient and simple and guarantees the highest value for your money.

Questions specific to the Printing Mastery Workshop on DVD:

15 - Can you give me a short list of the different areas covered on the Workshops on DVD?
The Printing Mastery Workshop on Workshops on DVD is a complete course in 28 steps and 80 sub steps covering every aspect of digital photography from the Raw file or scan to the final, mounted, matted, curated and ready to display fine art print. The course is based on my personal approach to digital image processing, approach developed and refined over the past 10 years. It covers the following areas:

- An introduction discussing what is a fine art print and what to look for when your goal is to create a fine art print
- An in-depth theory of color and black and white and how it relates to digital image processing
- An in-depth tutorial on how to calibrate your entire system from scanner to monitor to printer including all the settings you need to use in the different software packages you work with.
- How to understand color management and why it is so important
- How to decide which color spaces to use, when and why
- How to do Raw conversions with the 5 leading Raw converters
- How to scan on 3 different types of scanners: drum, Imacon and flatbed
- How to perform Global image enhancements, when, why and how
- How to conduct local image enhancements, when, why and how
- How to conduct black and White Conversions following different approaches
- Digital and film "defects" removal
- How to do color optimization
- how to optimize a file for printing
- How to print from Photoshop and from 3 different RIPs
- How to curate your print including why curating is one of the most important steps in the whole process
- How to mount your prints - including dry mounting and other techniques
- How to Mat your prints - including 3 different types of matcutters from the simplest to the most sophisticated
- How to protect your prints from damage
- How to display your prints

These and the rest of the 28 steps are taught through audio files, movies and PDF files. There are a total of over 300 files on the Workshops on DVD, each focusing on a specific area of the total process.

16 - Why 28 Steps?  Why not 30 or 14 or 72 for example?
When I first listed the different steps I follow from raw file or scan to finished, matted print ready to display or sell, I found that I went through 18 separate operations, or steps.  I taught these 18 steps at the Expressive Print Seminar in Spring 2006.  After the seminar I went back over the steps and realized I had overlooked a number of very important steps, so I re-worked my system.  I tried to keep the number of steps to a minimum, but I still reached a total of 28 separate steps.  I also found that I go through 80 sub-steps. It took me a total of one year to finalize the exact number of steps I follow. This conclusion is based on 10 years of experience doing digital image processing.

17 - Do you conduct each of the 28 step on every one of your photographs?
Yes.  I do go through the 28 steps with each image, with the exception of 1 or 2 steps that are specific to unique types of images (such as conversion to Black and White for example).  However, after one develops mastery of my system,  a number of these steps are in place and can be conducted without having to think about it.  In other words, the system is working for you.  This is when you start saving time. 

18 - What about the 80 sub-steps? Do you conduct those on every photograph?
The 80 sub-steps are not all used on each image.  Instead, they offer different ways to perform one of the 28 main steps.  Which of the 80 substeps you choose to use depends on the exact requirements of each image.  Basically, you study your image and then you decide which  sub steps are the best for this image.  It is actually very simple once you learn my system.



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