Panasonic Celebrates Mother's Day With Special Two-for-One Pricing on Digital Photography Courses

Panasonic today announced that its Digital Photo Academy, a series of nationwide digital photography workshops, is offering a Mother's Day special so when a course gift certificate is purchased for a mother, when redeemed, the gift giver can attend the same class with Mom at no additional cost. This two-for-one Mother's Day special encourages quality time for Mom and a loved one, as they learn how to take better digital photos and capture family memories. Starting today, personalized Mother's Day gift certificates can be purchased by calling 1-877-DP-ACAD-1. The Digital Photo Academy by Panasonic LUMIX, offers courses at three levels, making it accessible for a mom with any level of digital photography skills.

"We have found that mothers tend to be the Chief Memory Officer of the home, and thus the better they can use their digital cameras, the more rewarding it is for mother to see their family's special moments captured in beautiful, clear and vivid images," said Alex Fried, National Marketing Manager, Imaging, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. "Digital cameras are very common Mother's Day gifts, so by adding a Digital Photo Academy course, we not only offer Mom a way to maximize her camera, but we also encourage quality time with her. Our Digital Photo Academy two-for-one special allows a mother and her loved one to truly embrace the joys of digital photography and learn together how they can take better photographs and capture their family's memories with beautiful images."

The Digital Photo Academy courses are available in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa and Washington, D.C. Each level of Digital Photo Academy courses is offered monthly in each city and students are encouraged to bring whatever brand of digital camera they use. Gift certificates can be purchased for any of these three levels of courses:

Beginner Course: Three Hours, $50. The "Discovering Digital" beginner course is designed for all types of users, whether it is the family record keeper, a passionate scrapbooker, the casual point-and-shoot user or the person looking to choose the right camera. Instructors address how to reduce red-eye, better use a flash, include special effects and create better composition. Beyond photographic techniques, the course also teaches valuable "post-capture" skills, such as how to use Adobe® Photoshop® elements to create a greeting card or calendar, and send prints to friends and family via e-mail.

Intermediate Course: Four Hours, $65. The "Digital Endeavours" intermediate-level course is designed for users who are quite familiar with the settings on their point-and-shoot and are looking to take digital photography to the next level. Either a recent purchaser of a digital single-lens reflex (SLR) camera, or someone considering buying one, benefits from this course. The class compares point-and-shoot cameras to SLRs and discusses the differences between the two categories, helping to ensure a smooth transition. For those who have some experience in post-capture and Photoshop, this class offers more advanced techniques, such as burning and dodging and an introduction to color management. Attendees also will learn about printed layouts, and how to make newsletters and brochures.

Advanced Course: Eight hours, $150. At the advanced level, the "Digital Vision" course is divided into two parts: in-field shooting and learning post-capture computer application skills. The four-hour in-field shooting session will be held in local parks, vibrant streets, during seasonal events like fairs and marathons to capture newsworthy current affairs. The second component involves four hours of classroom time learning techniques from Adobe® Photoshop® Creative Suite 2, such as converting and processing RAW files, using layers and masks, working with black and white files, and more.

The Digital Photo Academy courses are held in photogenic and inspirational locations, such as professional studios and museums, and are taught by local professional photographers, who serve as ongoing resources to students, even after the course has ended. To maximize student and instructor participation, classes are kept to 15 students.

The Digital Photo Academy Mother's Day gift certificate special is available for purchase until Monday, May 12, 2008. A gift certificate must be purchased for a specified level, and can be redeemed for that level only, in any city before December 31, 2008. To sign-up and purchase a personalized Panasonic LUMIX Digital Photo Academy Mother's Day gift certificate, call 1.877.DP.ACAD.1 or visit www.digitalphotoacademy.com for more information and to view course schedules and locations.

About Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company

Based in Secaucus, N.J., Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company is a Division of Panasonic Corporation of North America, the principal North American subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (NYSE: MC) and the hub of Panasonic's U.S. marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. Panasonic develops advanced imaging technologies and its entire 2008 LUMIX digital still camera line includes optical imaging stabilization and Intelligent ISO features. Panasonic is honored to support OUR PLACE - The World's Heritage, a project that will create the world's largest photographic collection of UNESCO World Heritage sites, with acclaimed photographers exclusively using LUMIX digital cameras to capture all images. Information about Panasonic LUMIX digital still cameras and its affiliated programs is available at www.panasonic.com/dsc .