Review of Ron Reznick's Sureshot System DVDs
In the last week of November, 2004 I took a workshop conducted by Ron Reznick in Sanibel, Florida with 8 other members of the Nikon DSLR Forum on DPR. A few in my group had taken earlier workshops from Ron and raved about how great they were. Being from NYC I was very skeptical that anything could be that good and the price (close to $800) made a very large dent in my 70-200 2.8 fund but I decided to give it a try. After 3 days I was very tired, my head was ready to explode from an information overload and my photography had just made a quantum leap forward.
When I heard that Ron was working on a set of instructional DVDs I was excited about their possibilities and wondered if Ron would be as effective electronically was he was in real life.
Ron Reznick’s Sureshot, Easy Learn System DVD set of 5 DVDs running a total of approximately 8 ½ hours costs $88.95 + $9.95 and can be ordered from http://www.sureshotsystem.com/html/videos.html.
The first disc (concepts) is an overview disc. Disc 1 details the Sureshot System. Sure Shot is an acronym that stands for
Survey the scene so you can
Understand the composition and
Reference the light and luminosity of the scene so that you can achieve the correct
Exposure and
Select your white balance
Hit the shutter (actually roll your finger over it)
Overall performance – being able to evaluate it
Technical workflow – the processing, organizing and storing of your shots.
Disc 2 provides a more detailed look at composition and exposure. Disc 3 is on the digital workflow and covers the transferring, and organization of one’s images and their processing and their post processing. The 5th disc covers the digital darkroom (monitors, storage devices, computers, etc.
Ron says that the DVD set will “give you a solid understanding of concepts and techniques which will allow you to consistently create memorable compositions, each of which are exposed in a manner consistent either with reality or your artistic vision, and will show you what to do with the flood of digital images you will create”.
That’s a mighty bold claim and yet Ron pretty much does that with this disc set. Just about any photographer will find useful information in this set that will improve their photography but its not for everyone. If you are an expert photographer already who knows it all you shouldn’t get this set. I don’t know of anybody who actually falls into this category but there are a few who believe that they do. If you are unwilling to invest the time to view these discs a number of times you would probably be wasting your money.
The material that Ron covers is not intuitive and can be quite dry and technical. He doesn’t try to improve your artistic vision but he does provide you a method that will help you capture your artistic vision. He gives you a solid foundation that you can build on and grow with.
Disc’s one and two provide you with the basics of composition and how to correctly evaluate the exposure and the white balance to properly capture the scene. There are two main settings in the discs: Ron and his assistant in front of a computer monitor and Ron out in the field with a student. The one constant is that Ron is always talking. The material is not easy to assimilate but Ron presents it very effectively. He teaches you to survey a scene and to evaluate the light, color temperature and color channels in the scene. He urges you to study your subject so that you can anticipate its actions so you can capture a scene that is out of the ordinary. He tells you to look for patterns and lines in the scene that imply motion and/or will carry the eye.
After I viewed the videos I went out shooting and used some of the stuff Ron covered and I noticed an improvement in my shots. I can give this set my whole hearted recommendation.
Unfortunately nothing is perfect in this world and I do have a few quibbles with the set. I found Discs 1 &2 to be the strongest part of the presentation. The 3rd disc is good but not up to the level of the first two. Ron’s processing workflow will disappoint some PS mavens who love multiple layers, LAB colors and all kinds of nifty PS magic. Rons’s workflow assumes that you are working with a properly exposed shot with the correct white balance so the actual processing is minimal. All of it is done in Nikon Capture which can be a sticking point for some. The intro says that all of the processing concepts can be done on any imaging software but I would have liked to have seen a demo with PS at the very least.
All minor quibbles aside this DVD is one of the best buys around. Ron has improved my photography immeasurably and I think he can do the same for you. If you think I’m blowing smoke I invite you to look at my wildlife shots in my old pbase account at
critters Photo Gallery by Harry Behret at pbase.com and the_wetlands Photo Gallery by Harry Behret at pbase.com Compare the shots taken before 11/2004 with the shots at my Smugmug site SmugMug - Harry's photo galleries If that does not convince you nothing will.
When I heard that Ron was working on a set of instructional DVDs I was excited about their possibilities and wondered if Ron would be as effective electronically was he was in real life.
Ron Reznick’s Sureshot, Easy Learn System DVD set of 5 DVDs running a total of approximately 8 ½ hours costs $88.95 + $9.95 and can be ordered from http://www.sureshotsystem.com/html/videos.html.
The first disc (concepts) is an overview disc. Disc 1 details the Sureshot System. Sure Shot is an acronym that stands for
Survey the scene so you can
Understand the composition and
Reference the light and luminosity of the scene so that you can achieve the correct
Exposure and
Select your white balance
Hit the shutter (actually roll your finger over it)
Overall performance – being able to evaluate it
Technical workflow – the processing, organizing and storing of your shots.
Disc 2 provides a more detailed look at composition and exposure. Disc 3 is on the digital workflow and covers the transferring, and organization of one’s images and their processing and their post processing. The 5th disc covers the digital darkroom (monitors, storage devices, computers, etc.
Ron says that the DVD set will “give you a solid understanding of concepts and techniques which will allow you to consistently create memorable compositions, each of which are exposed in a manner consistent either with reality or your artistic vision, and will show you what to do with the flood of digital images you will create”.
That’s a mighty bold claim and yet Ron pretty much does that with this disc set. Just about any photographer will find useful information in this set that will improve their photography but its not for everyone. If you are an expert photographer already who knows it all you shouldn’t get this set. I don’t know of anybody who actually falls into this category but there are a few who believe that they do. If you are unwilling to invest the time to view these discs a number of times you would probably be wasting your money.
The material that Ron covers is not intuitive and can be quite dry and technical. He doesn’t try to improve your artistic vision but he does provide you a method that will help you capture your artistic vision. He gives you a solid foundation that you can build on and grow with.
Disc’s one and two provide you with the basics of composition and how to correctly evaluate the exposure and the white balance to properly capture the scene. There are two main settings in the discs: Ron and his assistant in front of a computer monitor and Ron out in the field with a student. The one constant is that Ron is always talking. The material is not easy to assimilate but Ron presents it very effectively. He teaches you to survey a scene and to evaluate the light, color temperature and color channels in the scene. He urges you to study your subject so that you can anticipate its actions so you can capture a scene that is out of the ordinary. He tells you to look for patterns and lines in the scene that imply motion and/or will carry the eye.
After I viewed the videos I went out shooting and used some of the stuff Ron covered and I noticed an improvement in my shots. I can give this set my whole hearted recommendation.
Unfortunately nothing is perfect in this world and I do have a few quibbles with the set. I found Discs 1 &2 to be the strongest part of the presentation. The 3rd disc is good but not up to the level of the first two. Ron’s processing workflow will disappoint some PS mavens who love multiple layers, LAB colors and all kinds of nifty PS magic. Rons’s workflow assumes that you are working with a properly exposed shot with the correct white balance so the actual processing is minimal. All of it is done in Nikon Capture which can be a sticking point for some. The intro says that all of the processing concepts can be done on any imaging software but I would have liked to have seen a demo with PS at the very least.
All minor quibbles aside this DVD is one of the best buys around. Ron has improved my photography immeasurably and I think he can do the same for you. If you think I’m blowing smoke I invite you to look at my wildlife shots in my old pbase account at
critters Photo Gallery by Harry Behret at pbase.com and the_wetlands Photo Gallery by Harry Behret at pbase.com Compare the shots taken before 11/2004 with the shots at my Smugmug site SmugMug - Harry's photo galleries If that does not convince you nothing will.
Harry
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
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Comments
“PHOTOGRAPHY IS THE ‘JAZZ’ FOR THE EYES…”
http://jwear.smugmug.com/
It gives you a clear understanding of what photography is al about. Am I a better photographer after the DVD’s than before? Well…yes!
You just keep practicing what you have learned, and you see clearly how your exposures improve dramatically. A great advantage of owning the SureShot DVD’s is that you can watch them over and over again until you understand.
If you ever visit Aruba Harry, than I owe you surely a couple of beers just for giving me this sound advice.
Dick.
Thomas Fuller.
SmugMug account.
Website.
Thanks Jeff.
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
Thanks Dick. Its great that you are getting so much from the DVDs. Even greater is the beer offer.
http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"