New Kensington Camera Club offers classes on product photography and more

The New Kensington Camera Club is offering four free photography classes at the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer.

Among the offerings is a March 5 workshop called Lightbox Photography for amateur shutterbugs wanting to improve their techniques for lighting and photographing products to sell on Facebook, Craigslist and elsewhere.

The 11-year-old camera club’s membership includes area amateur and professional photographers. Their studio Focus on the Arts, in the Pittsburgh Mills, displays and sells prints and paintings by members.

In addition to Lightbox Photography, other workshops include Still Life Photography on March 19, Splash/Drop Photography on April 2, and Basics of Photography on April 23.

All workshops are from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Pittsburgh Mills Galleria, across from the club’s Focus on the Arts gallery.

The free classes serve as public outreach and promotion for the club, said club president Joel Varga, of Harmar.

Whether you are shooting with an iPhone or a high-end digital camera, all are welcome to the workshops.

“We’re not looking to only gain new members but to pay it forward,” Varga said. “We’re not there to make money but to raise awareness of the arts to the community.”

The workshops are designed both to train photographers and to identify trends and the needs of budding photographers.

For example, the Lightbox Photography workshop offers techniques for residents who regularly sell products on social media.

Whether using an actual lightbox or not, the workshop will show residents how to photograph small objects such as jewelry, vases and toys for professional-looking results.

“Presenting your product in the best light will help you achieve a better sale because the product looks like something people would like to buy,” said Dave Prelosky of Lower Burrell, a retired Butler Eagle photographer who freelances.

“You can start out simple,” he said. At a minimum, amateur photographers can use a camera phone and buy a white box online for about $30, he said. The same effect is possible with setting up sheets to cut down on the reflections in the room, he said.

Details about the free classes are on the Focus on the Arts Facebook page.