they say you’re never too old to learn new tricks (or is that dogs?). nevertheless, i’m making it my motto for 2018 to try new things and learn new skills. i’ve used before and always really enjoyed their classes so when they invited me to try a few new ones and share with you, i was totally up for the challenge. and, they also invited me to share with you , so you can be learning, too! for those of you who aren’t familiar with , they are an awesome online learning platform with thousands of classes in design, writing, photography, marketing, basically anything you can think of!
two things i’ve personally been slacking on but wanting to learn are better lighting skills for my photography — expressly using natural light to my advantage, and second — baking! i am a pretty good cook but when it comes to baking i’ve always been kind of intimidated by it because it’s really much more of a science, isn’t it? it takes a bit more precision and getting the ingredients just right, whereas when i cook i tend to just toss things together and having a lot of experience at it, my dishes usually turn out quite well. so, to take on these two challenges i opted to try skillshare’s taught by marte marie forsberg, author, food and lifestyle photographer. and then to learn some basic baking skills i took julia turshen’s . so my challenge to myself was to learn some photography skills from marte marie’s photography class, and then do a photoshoot of what i learned to bake from julia turshen’s class.
i really liked marte marie’s style of by actually ‘doing it before our eyes’ and appreciated her very simple and easy to follow instructions. Her video was also just really well-made, which made me have faith in her to begin with since presentation when it comes to photography can mean quite a lot. it’s a bit technical yes, but i think if you share a similar aesthetic (and hers is really charming and inspiring!), you’ll definitely be interested in the class. this taught me to use three keywords to set a mood, and then to use the ‘triangle’ principal to gather three major elements to your composition to achieve a good balance. she taught me to use natural light and to look for where the light drops off and other helpful techniques to really create a beautiful image and tell a story with your pictures. overall, i found this class really useful and i’m excited to check out some of the other photography classes on skillshare.
next up — . i got to play with yeast which was an all-time first for me. i kid you not, i’ve never touched the stuff, or kneaded dough in my life, so i was nervous! but again, her was really chill and natural and she spoke to us in a manner that was really calming and had easy to follow instructions — and from her own kitchen, which i found to be a warm, welcoming kind of environment to learn in. she also shared a few important tools to have around the kitchen if you’re going to be baking and a basic recipe for making a one yeast dough that can be turned into many a different baked good. called for us to make raspberry jam buns with a creme fraiche frosting, but since i’m more of a savory girl, i put one of the spins she suggested on the recipe and made a warm prosciutto bread. yum. you can see for yourself, it actually turned out quite well, and, i photographed it to look rather appetizing too — if i do say so myself.
i would highly recommend trying out skillshare’s offer for (which normally costs $8-$15 a month) and learn something new for yourself this year — or you can even purchase it as a gift to someone you love who loves learning, too. with the start of the new year, this really is the best time to put yourself out there, try something new, and set some goals for yourself. so whether it’s taking better photos, gaining some cooking skills, or just learning something new, is a good bet for starting your year off right.
• photography by victoria smith for sfgirlbybay.
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