Here's another online educational resource...

Web Photo School has some really good free and paid photography courses.

If you are new to photography you can start with their very thorough free course like "Understanding Exposure", "How to Use Umbrellas", and "Simple Head Shot".

You can take a look at all their lessons here.

They have also put together a great offer for the readers of Weekly Photo Tips, you can get up to 35% off their more than 300 photography lessons, including the upcoming lessons include Hot Rod Pin-ups, Dog Portraits, Commercial Portraits.

35% off One-year subscription (regularly $79.99) Only $49.99 Coupon code: WPT12M (that’s a numeral “1” not an “L”)

20% off three-month subscription (regularly $24.99) Only $19.99 Coupon code: WPT3M

Both coupons can be redeemed at this link.

Get Free Photography Education Online...

This is a guest post from education writer Karen Schweitzer. Karen is the About.com Guide to Business School. She also writes about accredited online colleges for OnlineColleges.net.

Whether you are professional photographer or just a photography enthusiast, there are plenty of courses, lessons, and tutorials online that can help you improve you photography skills.

Here are 15 places to get a free photography education online:

Photography Basics - Individuals who are just beginning to dabble in the art of photography will find this free Suite 101 course useful. The course consists of four text-based lessons covering the history of photography, camera types, camera basics, and lighting.

Digital Photography Course - This free online course from CreativeTechs focuses on digital photography. The course lasts for ten weeks and is taught by John Greengo from the PBS series Art Wolfe's Travels to the Edge. Online classes start on September 2.

Online Library of Digital Photography - This digital photography resource offers dozens of free lessons for digital photographers. Lessons are aimed at beginners but include information that may be helpful to more advanced photographers as well.

Digital Photography School - Created by a digital photography enthusiast, this site offers an impressive collection of articles, tips, and tutorials for digital photographers. Education is available for beginner, intermediate, and advanced students.

Cambridge in Colour - Cambridge in Colour features a wonderful collection of digital photography tutorials and images. The site also offers an educational forum for photographers. All of the images that appear on this site are from, in, and around the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

Tips from the Top Floor - This award winning photography podcast teaches listeners about digital photography. Tips from the Top Floor also offers daily photo tips and a forum where photography enthusiasts can connect and ask questions online.

MyShutterspace - Created specifically for digital photography enthusiasts, this online social network is a great place to discuss and learn about digital photography techniques.

About Photography - The About.com Guide to Photography provides hundreds of informative articles and tutorials for beginner to advanced photographers. Other site features include a regularly updated blog and community forums.

Photography and Related Media - The Massachusetts Institute of Technology offers this free online visual arts course to self-learners around the world. The course covers digital imaging, camera operation, lighting, film exposure, development, and photography techniques.

Documentary Photography and Photojournalism - This free self-paced course from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology encourages students to create a photo documentary project. The emphasis of the course is on writing, but there is a lot of class material that would be interesting and useful to photographers.

Family Photo Course - This free online photography course from the UK's Open University teaches students how to handle, examine, analyze, and record family photographs. The course also delves into the history of family photography and portrait settings.

Travel Photography Course - Beren Patterson of TribalCog offers this free online course with a focus on travel photography. The course includes lessons on portraits, landscapes, light, exposure, camera care, and more.

PhotoWalkthrough - PhotoWalkthrough offers advanced-level video tutorials for photographers. The tutorials provide information about how different shots are achieved as well as tips on using processing tools like Adobe Photoshop.

Picture Social - PictureSocial is a social network for photographers. Members can share and critique photos, ask and answer questions, and blog about photography experiences.

Photo.net - Photo.net is a very large online community of photographers. The community has a special section just for learning, forums, an online workspace, and other tools to help photographers improve their skills.

Check out this self portrait...

Some of the best things I see come from the good people who read this blog, this self portrait is no exception.

It is of (and done by) Monica Martin.

There are two things I like about it, it has a "minimalist" look, an image with the least amount of pixels as possible (much like telling a really good story with the fewest words possible), and I think this image is a great example of just how important the eyes are when taking a picture.

"The eyes are the window to the soul" comes to mind.

So I emailed Monica for permission to show her image and ask her a few questions, she kindly agreed.

Monica, how did this image come about?

"It was actually taken without fixing white balance and came out pretty orange. I have a huge window and was playing around with the natural light coming in with a reflector on a very purple wall as the background."

How was the camera setup?

"I used a tripod and timer"

What do you have around your head, is it a hood?

"I have a fuzzy hat and scarf around my head and face. Love hats!"

What kind of camera did you shoot it with?

"I shot this with a Canon 5D and 28-135mm canon lens, 1/100s at /5.6, ISO 500"

And post processing?

"It was edited in Camera Raw and CS3 to convert it to black and white and I used Ron Nichols palette to brighten, to add contrast in the eyes, and to soften skin."

Thank you Monica for letting me use your image and taking the time to answer my silly questions.

Be sure to learn more about Monica at her website and her blog.

(click on the image to view larger and in a new window)

Okay, I lied to you...

and I'm so ashamed! (all said tongue in cheek)

;)

Last week I said that beginning today we would start a two week series on social media, image keywording, SEO (search engine optimization), and how these things impact the business of photography.

But I had forgotten that today was a holiday, I don't usually post on holidays (or if I do it's not "on topic") and I am heading south at the crack of dawn on Thursday for a wedding that will keep me out of state until next Sunday night.

So not only will I be gone for 4 days, I will be spending the next couple days prepping for the trip.

So we will start the 2 week series NEXT Monday instead of today, I promise.

I have a camera for sale...

I am selling a Fujifilm FinePix S2 Pro 6.2 mp / 12.1 mp with a Nikon mount, it was the backup to my D300, but now that camera is the backup to my D3, making the Fuji "expendable".

You can read why dpReview.com made it a "Highly Recommended" buy here.

Feel free to drop me an email if you are interested.

Have a great Labor Day.

Paint Shop Pro X2 Ultimate for $39.95...

This week (ending 9/12) BestBuy has the latest version of Paint Shop Pro on sale for only $39.95.

I know some of you may be looking down your nose at this, even though I have CS4 and Lightroom there are times I want to do some quick and simple editing and Paint Shop Pro fits the bill nicely.

And you may be new to photography and don't want to take out that second mortgage to get Photoshop CS4, well Paint Shop Pro is a more than adequate alternative.

If you are wondering what others have to say be sure to check out the review from CNET and/or Top 10 Reviews.

You will have the option of either downloading, or getting the boxed version at the store.

Follow this link to find a BestBuy near you.

You just can't make this stuff up...

It's the weekend so I am legally allowed to go "off topic", it says so on the "Blogging Rules and Regulations" handbook.

;)

When I first saw the Snuggie commercial I thought it was a "spoof", a Saturday Night Live skit, especially when the family wore them to the football game.

I mean, really?

Then they had to take it too far by making Snuggies for dogs!

And taking me just to the edge of sanity simply wasn't enough, they had to come out with the "wearable towel" and push me waaay over!

I would pluck out my own eyes so I wouldn't have to see these commercials, but then again I would still be able to hear them.

So when you see me at a football game wearing a Snuggie, know that I have a wearable towel on underneath.