Are you frustrated with the limits of jpg files?
- Do you take photographs in difficult lighting conditions?
- Is good colour balance something you only dream of?
- Are your highlights blown out?
- Would you like some exposure insurance?
- Do you find Photoshop far too complicated?
- Have you ever wondered:
“What’s the big deal with raw files?”
Lots! Editing raw files is simpler than editing jpg files
- Perfect white balance is one click away.
- Camera raw edits are non destructive.
- You can edit your raw files as much as you want, and your original image is still as good as it was when you took it.
- You can rescue a photograph that is under or over-exposed with a simple correction.
- No need for levels and curves.
- You can actually avoid Photoshop entirely, by doing all your edits on the raw file.
This is my passion. Let me share it with you.
Working in the Camera Raw work-flow is something I’m very passionate about. It’s something I’ve been doing since I started shooting digitally, and I’ve been teaching raw work-flow techniques to photography students for over 7 years.
I’m teaching my raw work-flow methods online.
Now is your chance to learn them too.

Enroll in the course now!
First 30 people get $20 off.
The Details
I’m not going to give you the hard sell here. If you’ve been following my blog posts or are on my subscriber list, you know me well enough to know the quality of the work I do and how passionate I am about teaching you photography. I’m just going to give you the features and benefits of the course.
This is what you will learn in the course:
Step 1 – Getting everything set up
- Understanding raw files
- Installing the software
- Updating plug-ins
- Working with a test file
Step 2 – Shooting Camera Raw Files
- Raw Overview
- The Adobe Camera Raw Plug-in
- A review of the histogram and how to interpret it properly
- Shooting with a digital grey card (white balance card)
- Working with mixed light sources
- Organizing your files on your computer
You will learn about tools that make shooting raw files easier
I was blown away by the amount of things you could do to a raw file. It opened my eyes and hopefully my creativity. I’m converted to raw. Thank you Marlene.
Step 3 – Editing in Adobe Camera Raw – Video tutorials
- The Adobe camera raw editing workspace
- Importing files into the Organizer
- Adjusting exposure
- Adjusting white balance
- Highlight recovery
- Brightness and fill light
- Saturation and Vibrance
- Cropping
- Noise reduction
- Fixing red-eye
- Bonus – Photoshop CS5 raw editing tutorials and using ACR and Bridge
Seeing just how much information can be recovered/adjusted in a RAW image was exactly what I needed to see. I won’t shoot anything but RAW from now on.
Step 4 – Image Editing in Photoshop Elements 9 – Video tutorials
- The tools and menus
- Non-destructive image editing
- Basic retouching
- Sharpening
- Working with text
- Simple composites using layers
- Making selections
- Sizing and resolution
You will learn non-destructive editing methods, so you’ll never harm a pixel again
Videos were excellent. You have a very calming way of showing us how to work and understand the editing features.
Step 5 – Exporting for Print and Web
- Sizing and exporting files for screen and web presentations
- Sizing and exporting files for photo lab and home printing
- Other types of printing options
- Giving files to designers and publishers
- Sharing your photos on Flickr and Facebook
- Web galleries in Photoshop Elements 9
- Pdf portfolios for clients
You will learn how to save files for websites, presentations and for printing at photo labs
Any questions were answered fully with why and how explanations. I love that I can do it at home and on my own schedule. As well, I like that I can still interact with other students and the teacher.
Step 6 – Conclusion and Bonus videos
- Summary
- Lightroom demonstration
- Apple Aperture demonstration
- Apple iPhoto demonstration
I could access it anytime I had a free moment and work on small bite sized sections at a time. Any other web based learning that I had taken was very structured around lesson times – I had to be signed in at a certain time each training day to hear or see what the instructor was teaching, whereas this material was there at anytime for us.

Enroll in the course now.
First 30 people get $20 off.
How this works
- You can start this course anytime and take as long as you need to complete it.
- No need to wait for a group of students.
- The course content gets released over 30 days.
- The lessons are spaced apart so that you have time to work on things and don’t get overwhelmed with too much information all at once.
What you need to take the course
- Enthusiasm! A desire to learn more about photography, specifically the raw work-flow!
- 25 days. In 25 days you can be up to speed with camera raw files and image editing in Photoshop Elements, and those skills transfer to Photoshop and other image editing software.
- A digital camera that has the capability to take raw files. All dSLR cameras shoot raw files. The average point-and-shoot may not be able to shoot raw files, but many of the higher-end ones can. To find out, go to your size and/or quality menu on your camera, or look it up in your owner’s manual.
- You need to be computer comfortable.This is not a course on how to use your computer, and it’s very important that you know your way around your own computer.
- You will need to know:
- where your photo files are stored on your computer
- how to make new folders
- how to move files around
- and basic file management things like that
- Raw editing software. Photoshop Elements 9 is what I’ll be using in the course videos, and I’ll be using a bit of Photoshop CS5 for demonstration purposes only, as the raw processing part is very similar to Elements.
- Other software works with raw files too.Here is a list of what will work for this course:
- Adobe Photoshop Elements 7, 8, or 9
- Adobe Photoshop CS2, CS3, CS4, CS5
- Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 or 3. You will only be able to do the raw editing lesson. Layers and masking aren’t part of Lightroom.
- Apple Aperture 2 or 3. You will only be able to do the raw editing lesson. Layers and masking aren’t part of Aperture
- Apple iPhoto (later versions) – You will only be able to do the raw editing lesson. Layers and masking aren’t part of iPhoto
- The Adobe Photoshop products look a lot alike, so you should have no problem finding your way through the raw work-flow tutorials if you are using anything from Adobe in the list above. You will need to be prepared to interpret the lessons to fit your particular software package if you’re not using Photoshop Elements 9.
- If you are using Apple software, it will not look the same as the Adobe products, but you should be able to find similar menu items and features. They aren’t ideal for this course, but if you have some experience with them, you’ll be fine.
- If you don’t have any raw processing software yet, then you can use the Photoshop or Elements 30-day trials for this course. Just download them when you start the course so your trial period lasts the length of the course.
Computer and Internet system requirements:
- Mac or Windows computer. A fairly new computer is needed to run Photoshop or Elements. But if you’re into digital photography, you probably have that covered. Check the specs on the Adobe site first if you’re not sure.
- Up to date web browser such as Firefox, Safari, or Chrome. Firefox works best with Ruzuku!
- Access to high speed Internet. This probably goes without saying for an online course, but some of the content comes in large video files and they may bog down slower internet connections.
- This course is taught in the Ruzuku online learning environment
- Please note: Not all features of Ruzuku work with Internet Explorer at this time
I really liked the video component of this course paired with written content for each lesson. I found that I could practice right along with you by pausing the video, going to my own file and practicing what you’re teaching. I’ve even managed to restore an old family photo after completing the lessons in this course!
You’ll also get:
- A full-featured online learning environment using text, images and video
- Access to the instructor for the duration of the course
- Interaction with other students in the course discussion area
- Your privacy is fully protected, and you disclose only the details you want people to know about yourself
The difference
- The difference between my online courses and the SAIT Photo courses (and many other online courses) is that I offer more attention to the individual students.
- You have your questions answered if you get stuck on anything.
- You do the lessons on your own time schedule. No need to be in class on a certain day and time.
- And the best part of all, you don’t have to pay for parking, or drive to class when the weather is bad.
What others have said
These, and what’s written in the other green boxes, are anonymous comments from the end-of-course survey:
Marlene, I don’t know how you could have done a better job! I marvel at how well you plan your courses. All the little details, the ‘extras’, the attention to detail, and the steps make sense (sequential). You’re a great teacher! Keep doing what you’re doing – please! Thank you for the course!
You offer excellent instruction at a great value.
Got more than what I expected.
The cost of your courses is very reasonable. I can tell that you really enjoy sharing your knowledge, and that you are not just doing this to make a buck.
Marlene delivered what she promised! She was professional, organized and extremely knowledgeable.
I do like the way you teach Marlene and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend you to others.

Enroll in the course now.
First 30 people get $20 off.

No hassle 30-day money back guarantee if you are not completely satisfied with this course.
