COMPOSING THE WORLD YOU SEE

a guide to creating dope ass compositions

with Cornell Watson

NEXT SESSION: 2/17/25 TO 3/2/25

REGISTER HERE ON JANUARY 7TH AT NOON EST

Class Overview:

What’s your favorite song? Favorite movie? Favorite book? Favorite photo? Favorite future Illuminate class by me? (ok, I’m kidding with the last one).  What do all these favorites have in common? I’ll bet that if you look close enough, it’s composition. Composition is the sauce to creating art and the key to consistency.  

There was a time when one of my biggest fears was showing up with my camera and not being able to create anything I’d be satisfied with.  What’s changed since then is that I have more control over my photos by being able to recognize and play with the different elements of composition.  Now my anxiety is less about making good photos and more about whether my joints will be sore the next day. In Composing The World You See, we’re going to build, stretch, challenge, and flex your composition muscles to consistently create your new favorite photos. 

What you will learn:

  • Composition is one of the most important facets of photography

  • To identify and use compositional elements to strengthen your photo

  • How to create focal points with color, light, contrast, and depth-of-field

  • The pros and cons of the rule of thirds, the golden ratio, and other rules

  • How to create effective layers in your photos

  • The impact of lens choice on your compositions

  • To see and use lines, shapes, and repetition

  • How to utilize perspective to create unique photos

  • Balance and space

  • Lightroom overlays and how they can help guide your crops

  • To self-critique and cull for composition

Class Mechanics:

This two-week online interactive class will include:

  • Daily interaction and discussion with me on the lessons

  • Video lessons to supplement each of the written lessons

  • Exercises to help you explore compositions through digital and non-digital mediums

  • Two main assignments that explore composition with video-recorded feedback

  • Studies of compositions by renowned artists old and new.

  • All class members will be invited to join a private Facebook group after the class ends for continued help and discussion

Student Reviews:

“The concepts were clearly explained and examples to further our understanding were given. I very much appreciated the diverse artists that Cornell presented because it helped me to dive deeper into my “why” and learn about artists and their work that deserve so much more honor, reference, and respect. I enjoyed the Zoom sessions and Cornell provided a warm and welcoming environment for questions and self-expression. I will definitely recommend this course to other photographers.” -Tiara Ruffin

To read more testimonials from past students go HERE.

Prerequisites:

DSLR or mirrorless camera. understanding of manual controls. Lightroom

Cost:

Active Seat $250 | Silent Seat $200

To learn more about the different types of seats offered, go to our FAQ section.

Dates of Next Class:

2/17/25 to 3/2/25

Questions:

Please message me with any questions HERE.

REGISTER HERE ON JANUARY 7TH AT NOON EST