Resource review and study map — 23 September 2026¶
This review replaces the old month/week placements for the reset programme. Programme · Resource index
Seasonal revision¶
The user's seasonal request supersedes the theory-only start. Use Seasonal Photoshoots and the current weekly programme over older placements below. Bring Window Light/Exposure Theory into Week 1; Open Shade and Tamara Lackey/toddler instruction into Week 2; photograph autumn Week 3. Bring Families/Group Portraits, Celentano and Elena Blair forward for Weeks 9–13. Snow uses those skills in January. Weeks 22–25 deepen child/family work already practised. Mature/adult priorities remain, with Gallery 1 due Week 18. Core workflow starts Week 1 and is consolidated Week 14; retouching remains Weeks 19–21.
Review scope and findings¶
Reviewed the 34 pre-reset local files: programme, handoff, progress, all three old assignments, practice/review templates, all resource catalogues, Gemini suggestions, two catalogue backups and all 11 local wedding articles. This is a curriculum and written-content review, not full playback of 52 videos or paid course lessons.
The current catalogue contains 52 unique main-table videos, not the 46 recorded in the old handoff. The resource archive is already extensive enough for this programme. The main risk is spending the available practice time watching overlapping tutorials.
The strongest match is owned Ghionis instruction plus a small number of focused free supplements. Prioritise adult communication and mature/fuller-figure work before adding advanced lights or stylistic retouching. Children/families now has 14 catalogue videos; long natural-light instruction and complete free sessions for fuller-figured men remain thinner areas.
Study map¶
Each weekly row in the programme refers to these sources. Use one core lesson and, only when needed, one supplement within that week's study budget.
| Weeks | Owned core | Selected existing supplements | Selection guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | Wedding inventory: Light Part 1, selected patterns in Part 2, Technique, Pose, Emotion | Camera Basics; Tony Gale composition; five patterns; Orwig | Combine essential theory with baseline portraits, outdoor rehearsal and autumn family practice |
| 4–6 | Wedding Light Part 3; Portrait: Cowboy in a Barn, Chloe Rustic Outdoors selectively | Window-light case study; Scott Robert Lim; Orwig or Omar Gonzalez | Establish baseline and comfortable direction in ordinary locations |
| 7–10 | Wedding: On-Camera Flash Indoors, Off-Camera Flash, lighting patterns, Understanding Ratios | Neil bounce flash; Strobist Lighting 101; softbox placement; Eli Infante | One reliable light before multiple lights; skip equipment shopping sections |
| 11–17 | Wedding: Pose Parts 1–2, Corrective Posing, Posing Hands, Emotion | Valenzuela; Andre Brown; Adler mature-lighting; Dewis case study; Sue Bryce body types; Vanessa Joy | These resources address different subjects; a women's posing lesson is not a complete fuller-figured men's course |
| 18–21 | Retouching inventory: Workspace, Anna Basic Corrections, selective hair/masks/tonal work and Jerry Review | PHLEARN mature skin; Tim Grey monochrome; workflow if using Lightroom Classic | Natural appearance and complete galleries first; frequency separation is optional, not mandatory |
| 22–25 | Wedding: Children at a Wedding, Families, Group Portraits, Candid Family Portraits | Children/family catalogue: Stacey Potter, Szilvia Bodi, Tamara Lackey, Celentano, Elena Blair, Jason Vinson; safety guides | Select by the actual child's age and session; defer extra-light toddler setups until basic lighting is reliable |
| 26–30 | Wedding: Pose, Emotion, Group Portraits, Light Part 3, Post Productions Workflow | All 11 local articles; John Branch IV, split into selected chapters | Translate planning into a rehearsal and coherent gallery; no need to book a real wedding |
| 31–35 | Revisit lessons linked to observed weaknesses; owned B&W/lighting libraries if accessible | Marelli composition; Strobist 102/103 or advanced catalogue only if ready | Reshoots and portfolio selection take priority over new techniques |
Local article sequence and decisions¶
| Article | New placement | How it contributes |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage plan | Week 28 | Priorities, time pressure and contingency planning |
| Consultation | Week 28 | Convert needs, relationships and constraints into decisions |
| Scouting | Week 28 | Light, backgrounds, group space and rain alternatives |
| Wedding story | Weeks 25, 27, 29–30 | Context, action, detail, reaction and transition; useful beyond weddings |
| Posing couples | Week 26 | Flexible starting positions and purposeful hands |
| Directing couples | Weeks 26–27; selected reading in Week 3 | Adjust direction to the people rather than impose expressions |
| Natural-light preparation | Week 29; early reference | Subject/camera/background choices; see technical caveat below |
| One-light portraits | Weeks 10 and 30 | Ambient-first decisions and efficient setup |
| Reception bounce | Week 30 | Choose bounce surface and control ambient |
| Dance floor | Week 30 optional extension | Secure a dependable result before slow-shutter or second-light effects |
| Ceremony | Week 29 | Anticipation, movement restrictions and coverage |
Written-content caveat: the preparation article says moving farther from a window produces “faster falloff”. This conflates apparent softness with distance-related intensity change. A fixed window appears smaller farther away, but relative illumination change over the same small subject-depth interval generally becomes less steep farther from a compact source; a large window and room reflections are more complex than a point-source model. Do not memorise that sentence as a rule. Test the actual room in the practical phase. A corrective notice has been added to that article; its original text is preserved in the archive.
Example exposure values in the articles are starting examples, not verified settings for the user's current camera/flash setup. Confirm sync limits and supported modes with the actual equipment before the flash phase. References to “senior portraits” in American videos may mean high-school students: the John Gress athlete lesson belongs in advanced mixed lighting, not mature-adult study.
Catalogues and evidence¶
- YouTube Resources is the main assessed catalogue. Most summaries are based on publisher metadata/chapters, not watched reviews. Two entries remain unverified and should not be core assignments.
- Supplementary videos are shortcuts, not extra required workload.
- Gemini suggestions are discovery notes; use the assessed catalogue for corrected identity, runtime and relevance. Some suggested “long-format” resources are short, and not all were verified.
- Owned library remains the backbone. Some courses lack chapter inventories; use only confirmed lesson titles. Course lesson durations and downloadable ZIP contents remain uninspected.
- Books and paid courses remain optional. Their prices are historical snapshots, not fresh quotations. No purchases or subscriptions are required or made.
- Old month labels inside catalogues describe the previous topic order. The weekly study map above is authoritative for dates. The old standalone handoff is archived; the active handoff now reflects the reset.
- The two .bak files are historical catalogue records, not additional study lists.
Checks made during this reset¶
The B&H camera-basics publisher page supports the camera-settings refresher. The Neil van Niekerk page is a creative window-light example with reflected sunlight, so the new Week 1 labels it as a case study. Strobist's introduction remains indexed as the free foundation course; direct fetch was rate-limited. Direct fetches of the Orwig and camera-basics YouTube links failed, so no claim of fresh playback verification is made.
External resources were checked selectively for immediate study. Every external link, paid lesson and technical claim has not been re-audited. Completion and actual skill remain unreported.