I'm Lee Varis, photographer, educator and digital imaging artist. I have maintained a website at this domain for over 15 years. I have divided my 40 years of experience almost equally  between traditional film-based  and digital imaging photography. This gives me a unique perspective on the evolution of photographic technology grounded in the tradition of old school craft. 

On this website you will find the companion sites for my books "Mastering Exposure"and "Skin", video and PDF tutorials, my Tarot card images, web galleries, blog and news about my upcoming seminars (see below). You will also find links to legacy pages on the Site Map. I also invite you to connect with me on  Facebook, Linkedin and Flickr

New Step-by-Step Video Tutorials Online Now - The Fundamentals of Photo-Illustration in Photoshop

9 hours of video step-by-step with 2.5 gigs of supplemental materials are now available at Udemy.com - click the link above or the image below to purchase.

My new ebook "Quick Before They're Gone! A Photographers Guide to Backup" is now available on Kindle through Amazon! Of course you can always purchase the PDF version which displays very nicely on the iPad—I am now offering it at a reduced price to keep it more in line with the Kindle version, find the link in the sidebar at the right!

My new music video, shot last February, is now posted on YouTube - see Bela Fleck, Richard Bona, Roy Ayers, Joey DeFrancesco, Howard Johnson, Jean-Loius Matinier, and James Tawadros performing on Oud virtuoso Joseph Tawadros' new jazz album "Chameleons of the White Shadow". This is an absolutely mind-blowing blend of Banjo, Bass, Vibraphone, Hammond Organ, Tuba, Accordion and percussion with Joe's fiery oud—video all shot with a Canon 5D mkII...

Lee Varis Seminars & Workshops

I am working on a new DVD on "The Fundamentals of Photo-Illustration with Photoshop CS6" - a detailed exploration of masking, compositing, and Special Effects in Photoshop! Stay tuned for more details as they become available. If you can't wait for the DVDs, you may prefer to purchase the online version at Udemy—see the sidebar at the right for more details —>. I have new workshops scheduled with Julia Dean Photo Workshops, Calumet University, Paul's Photo and Maine Media Workshops! I am also doing a new multi-city seminar series for Mogo-Media! Plus, a brand new workshop at Light Photographic in Los Osos, CA, July 11th - 14th!

creativeLIVE Workshop

My 3-day workshop "Skin, the Complete Course" is now available as an HD video recording for download. I take you beginning to end through multiple shoots with different types of people covering how to pose and light them well, and then cover in-depth how to post-process in Lightroom and Photoshop. You'll learn how to fix blemishes, smooth out wrinkles, and address other skin concerns so you can make your clients look their best. 3 solid days of content for $149!

Purchase Here

Workshops at Julia Dean 

I am teaching Photoshop, Lightroom and other photography classes at Julia Dean Photo Workshops in their new Hollywood facility with a state of the art digital lab. Get one-on-one training in a small class setting. A variety of schedules can accommodate any personal situation. 

Intro to Photoshop-2 (6 sessions)

Mondays, April 29 – June 10th, 7–10pm (no mtg. 5/27) - register here

New Workshops at Calumet

Glamour & Portrait Photography - May 30 & 31st in Santa Ana

Master the basics and beyond for idealizing the human subject.  You will learn Hollywood style lighting, posing and studio workflow for high-end glamour and portrait photography. This hands-on experience will teach you studio electronic flash and rapid display digital capture, ideal for art director driven, advertising, fashion and glamour photography. In day two, you will take the shots from the studio session and learn high-end retouching techniques. You will leave with a solid technical and artistic foundation for glamour and portrait photography

REGISTER HERE

Brand New! 

Workshops in Torrance, CA, at Paul's Photo

ProTalk - May 8th, 7-9pm

Lee Varis showcases the many award winning images from his long career in Entertainment Advertising and as a pioneer in digital imaging. See how Lee developed some of his signature images to become one of the most respected imaging artists today…

REGISTER HERE

Show & Tell - June 1st, Saturday 12-2pm

Lee Varis demonstrates some of the techniques he will be teaching in his upcoming workshops and shows exciting images of Hollywood style glamour photography and unique "digital" lighting techniques for still life photography! 

FREE - REGISTER HERE 

Glamour & Portrait Photography - June 8th & 9th

Master the basics and beyond for idealizing the human subject in this two day workshop.  You will learn Hollywood style lighting, posing and studio workflow for high-end glamour and portrait photography. This hands-on experience will teach you studio electronic flash and rapid display digital capture, ideal for art director driven, advertising, fashion and glamour photography. In day two, you will take the shots from the studio session and learn high-end retouching techniques. You will leave with a solid technical and artistic foundation for glamour and portrait photography.

REGISTER HERE

Fundamentals of Photo-Illustration-  June 22nd & 23rd,  10am-4pm

Learn the fine art of photo-illustration and launch your photography and Photoshop skills into the stratosphere with a guided exploration of Hollywood-style special effects and image compositing. Award-winning movie poster photographer and imaging guru Lee Varis will teach you the secrets of conceptual photo-illustration.

REGISTER HERE 

New Workshop at Maine Media Workshops

Retouching, Masking & Compositing – Fundamentals of Photo-Digital Illustration – June 30th—July 6th

This workshop is designed to give the serious imaging artist a complete foundation in photo-retouching and illustration techniques. You will learn basic retouching skills and build on foundational techniques for masking and compositing. Numerous examples of photo-illustration projects will be disassembled to show how the images were put together and you will be guided through several step-by-step projects to learn more advanced techniques including:

o   Masking and transparency effects

o   Smoke and fire effects

o   Glows, halos, and light beams

o   Displacement maps & other distortion effects

o   Glamour skin smoothing 

Register Here

Mogo-Media Seminar Series - The Fundamentals of Photo-Digital Illustration - Professional Photoshop CS6

This Seminar is designed to give the serious imaging artist a foundation in photo-retouching and illustration techniques. You will learn basic retouching skills and build on foundational techniques for color correction, masking, compositing and special effects. Numerous examples of photo-illustration projects will be disassembled to show how the images were put together and you will be guided, step-by-step, through each project to learn more advanced techniques including:

• Color correction & tone control

• B&W techniques

• Masking and transparency effects

• Smoke and fire effects

• Glows, halos, and light beams

• Displacement maps & other distortion effects

• Glamour skin smoothing

This course is for advanced amateurs and emerging professionals who want to master photo-digital image creation using Photoshop. This is an intermediate to advanced course for students who are familiar with basic Photoshop skills and concepts but want to move beyond simple tips and tricks to more comprehensive techniques. Lee will be examining many old-school techniques as well as brand new methods that leverage some of the more advanced features of Photoshop CS6. He has a special talent for simplifying complex concepts and making Photoshop easy to understand so you will walk away with new enthusiasm for your creative potential.

San Francisco - June 19, 2013

New York - September 25, 2013

Toronto - October 22, 2013

Seattle - TBA

Minneapolis - TBA

Light Photographic Workshop

Still Life Artistry

July 11-14th

I will lead you on an improvisational adventure in creative table top photography. You will assemble several still life compositions from a collection of objects, props, textures, backgrounds and surfaces. Then I will demonstrate various lighting approaches to create extraordinary images! This extremely fun workshop is an exercise in thinking "out of the softbox" —you will get your creative juices flowing and provide a lot of material for further experimentation. The workshop will alternate between time shooting in the studio, and time in the digital lab where you will assemble your shots into creative, finished images in Photoshop. Topics covered include:

• still life lighting
• shot blending
• RGB false color lighting technique
• Light painting techniques
• Lighting in Layers
• Background replacement
• smoke & mirrors special effects

Students will be guided in sophisticated Photoshop techniques that leverage the idiosyncrasies of digital capture to build complex images from a series of exposures. This workshop will launch you into a totally new creative direction!

REGISTER NOW

New Blog Post

New Tutorials on "3 Tips to More Exciting Portraits" and "False Color Techniques" on my blog!

http://blog.varis.com/