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About Mark Fitzgerald
I've been involved in
the professional imaging industry for my entire adult life. When the
digital revolution occurred a few years ago, I was able to apply
everything I already knew about traditional film photography to the
learning process. This is what gives me my unique slant on Photoshop
and how it's used in the digital workflow. Here's how it all happened:
Before Digital
I bought my first camera right after graduating from high-school. I
instantly fell in love with photography. A couple of years later I
began to work for one of the largest photo processing companies in the
country, Fox Photo. We had several labs across the country, but only
one professional lab at that time. It was located in San Antonio, TX,
which is also where Fox's corporate headquarters was located. The pro
lab was in the same building as one of the huge "mother labs", so on
average we had about 150 people working there throughout a 24-hour
period.
In the early days, for someone who was interested in photography, Fox
Photo's Pro Lab was an incredible place to work. It was like having a
job in a candy store. I was not only exposed to lots of amazing
photographs and the photographers who made them, I also worked with
some of the smartest people in the industry. All of them were willing
to share their knowledge, as well as their photographic equipment.
Having a state-of-the-art pro lab at my disposal made it possible to
burn through lots of film at a fraction of the usual cost. I was able
to improve my photography and technical skills at a very quick rate.
It wasn't long before I was landing freelance commercial gigs,
photographing a wide range of subject matter for publications,
advertising - and even album covers.
I continued to work in and consult for photolabs. They ranged from
large labs like Fox, to small mom-and-pop operations that were usually
in the back of photo studios. I got to see how lots of craftspeople
created works of art from average images. I also became an expert in
color management and color correction.
In the mid-90's my wife and I moved to Portland, Oregon. I quit
shooting and focused on my job at a local pro lab. In 1999 I decided I
was burned-out on the lab business and ready for something different
so I quit and took a two-year sabbatical. During the first few months
of that sabbatical I purchased my first digital camera and a copy of
Photoshop. It wasn't long before I fell in love with photography all
over again.
After Digital
I worked with Photoshop every day and read every relevant book I could
find. In the beginning the learning curve was steep. But I had two
things working for me: I was already comfortable with computers and I
knew what quality photographic prints were supposed to look like. All
I had to do was figure out how to use Photoshop to create them from
digital files.
Within two years I was ready to begin offering post-production
services to several local photographers. In 2002 I started my
business, The Digital Darkroom, (www.ddroom.com).
For the first year or so I concentrated on helping photographers
create really great prints from their images - (the same thing I've
always done). Then, in early 2004 I began to teach photographers how
to digitally edit their own images. I soon realized that it's more
powerful to teach people how to catch fish themselves than it is to
sell fish to them. Ever since then I've been focused on teaching
photographers to manage their digital workflows and how to create high
quality files from their photos.
Today
I work with a wide range of professional photographers who shoot
subject matter ranging from advertising to wildlife; though a large
percentage are portrait and wedding shooters. I teach workshops to
professional organizations like the Professional Photographers of
Oregon and the Seattle Professional Photographers Association and I
offer private consulting that allows photographers to work with me
one-on-one in their studio. I am an Adobe Certified Photoshop Expert
for CS, CS2, and CS3. I am also an Adobe Certified Instructor for
Photoshop CS, CS2, and CS3. These certifications, are important, but
it's really all of the experience I've gained over the years helping
professional photographers - whether they were shooting film or
digital - that gives me my unique view of Photoshop and Lightroom and
how they're used to help photographers reveal their true art.
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