Brian Bohannon Photography
About
Would you like to improve your experience of picture-making with a little help and encouragement? I’ll share my knowledge and give you that push you need to move through technical or aesthetic issues that are holding you back from making the images you want to see. Let my experience be a guide in shooting to obtain your goals in photography.
I make my living photographing the most varied and elusive subject - our fellow human beings and their wily ways of eating and living together as the dominant social being in this world. Let’s share notes along the way on a trip through this metropolitan area we call Louisville. I do it documentary style, but as long as photography is your medium, I can help you learn how to do it too, whatever style or subject suits you.
You could call me a photo consultant or coach. I don’t know everything and will be the first to tell you so. Whatever I say, don’t believe me until you verify it yourself. I’ll gladly share my opinion based on my experience as a working photographer and keep it at that, just the making of photos. Let’s explore and take pictures together to talk about it later and see what we can learn.
It's a serendipitous way to share the experience of life, people, and the way we live while polishing the mirror so we may see ourselves more clearly.
Details
Interest in additional skills
Student's age
Experience level
Photography type
Photos and videos
No reviews (yet)
Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
- First, we’ll email to schedule a brief phone call to discuss your needs, and I’ll tell you if I can be of assistance to you. If we find that I have something to offer, I’ll send you a form to complete that will help us get to know one another better.
- Then we’ll meet in a coffee house or public space to meet face-to-face and discuss goals and objectives for our next encounter.
- We meet for a photo walk together, starting and ending at a coffee house or public space for a walk to take pictures along the way and discuss our take afterward.
- We form an ongoing consulting schedule to advance your goals.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Experience
• Brian Bohannon Photography, Editorial, Corporate and Commercial photojournalism, 1994 to present.
• Freelance Photojournalist, The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky., 1994 to present
• Freelance Photojournalist, The Associated Press/AP Images, Louisville, Ky., 1994 to present
• Freelance Photojournalist, LEO Weekly, Louisville, Ky., 2004 to present
• Freelance Photojournalist, M.D. Update, Lexington, Ky., 2013 to 2015
• Freelance Photojournalist, The Highlander Neighborhood Monthly, Louisville, Ky., 2007 to Jan. 2014
• Freelance Photojournalist, Prep Magazine, Louisville, Ky., 2004 to June 2007
• Photo Intern, Booth Newspapers, Capitol Bureau, Lansing, Mich., September to December, 1993
• Photo Intern, The Bay City Times, Bay City, Mich., December 1992 to May 1993
• Photo Intern, The Dispatch, Moline, Ill., June to November, 1992
• Photographer, College Heights Herald, Western Kentucky University, Spring, 1992
• Photo lab technician, Western Kentucky University, Spring and Fall, 1991
• Custom printer, Metro Photo Lab, Louisville, Ky., Summer, 1991
• Photographer, The Vanguard, Valdez, Alaska, July and August, 1989
Education
• Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Ky., Bachelor of Arts degree in photojournalism, minor
in folk studies, May 1994
Awards
• Society of Professional Journalists, 1st Place, Feature Photography, “Schnitzelburg’s Centenary
Convenience Store,” The Highlander Neighborhood Monthly, March 2012
• Society of Professional Journalists, 1st Place, Feature Photography, “The Way of the Road,” The
Highlander Neighborhood Monthly, June 2011
• Society of Professional Journalists, 3rd Place, Feature Photography, “Heaven, Backwards,” The
Highlander Neighborhood Monthly, November 2010
• Eddie Adams Workshop, Barnstorm IX, 1996
• Kentucky News Photographers Association, 1st place, photographs in annual contest, 1994 and 1996
• College Photographer of the Year Contest, Award of Excellence for Documentary, “A Simpler Way of
Life,” 1992
• Society of Professional Journalists (Region 5), Mark of Excellence award for First Place, Feature
Photography, 1992
• Kentucky Intercollegiate Press Association, First Place Feature Photography, 1992
• Boy Scouts of America, Eagle Scout Award, 1978
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
After a free telephone consultation, our first meeting is $50 paid in advance. Further coaching sessions are priced by agreement.
How did you get started teaching?
I was asked to wrangle a team of photographers to shoot the Forecastle Festival by J.K. McKnight, founder of the weekend-long event. I recruited a capable bunch of freelancers to document the music festival and managed their photos for the experience and a few bucks. Along the way, we worked together and they opened PhotoShelter accounts to show their work. We used metadata to sort it all out to be sure everyone received proper credit for their photos.
Since then, I've:
Presented as PhotoCoach, Best Buy Camera Experience Shop - A Hands-on Photography Workshop at Best Buy June 28 and July 26, 2016, in Louisville, Ky., for registered participants.
Presented to the 2016 fall Kentucky Member Services Association meeting, Part 3 Top 10 Photography Tips session Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016, at the Embassy Suites Louisville East in Louisville, Ky.
What types of students have you worked with?
I've taught new photographers at Best Buy, worked with post-grad students beginning their journey as photographers, and publishing professionals needing a top 10 list of suggestions for making better pictures.
I'm now seeking students interested in shooting like the photojournalist, the ninja of the image arts.
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
A 1994 graduate of Western Kentucky University’s photojournalism program, I learned how to do photography documentary-style - candid photos with the subject not looking at the camera, doing their thing without direction. To be a fly on the wall.
During the 1992 Mountain People’s Workshop, I, along with other students were documenting the life and people in a small Tennessee town. Sort of a three-day boot camp for budding photojournalists. My instructor, Jack Corn, a former Director of Photography at the Chicago Tribune, was critiquing my days take with an off-the-grid family and was sorely disappointed. “They’re looking at the camera!” he said with a squished-up face of distaste. I’d allowed my subjects to break the illusion, and I was there in the picture with them as an unseen presence.
I now tell subjects, “don’t mind me,” to ask them not to look at me. If someone turns to me to pose when I’m looking for a candid photo, sometimes I’ll put down the camera and say, “No, thanks.” Taking the photo only reinforces what I don’t want - posed photos from everyone else, too. I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m not doing anyone any favors by playing along to be nice. I just want to capture natural photos.
That’s still my style, for the most part today. Working on a story, you’ll find me quietly moving about, photographing a situation until I have something. Then I’ll stop to get names and it’s back to shooting.
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
Think long and hard about where you want to go with your photography and keep shooting. If you're looking for lessons, you're either an advanced amateur or an aspiring pro. Find a professional photographer that shows the kind of work you're interested in doing and ask them the way. Be ready to show your own work! Maybe they can point you in the right direction, regardless of their interest in teaching you themselves.
What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?
Consider your level of commitment to the task you've set before yourself. Are you an aspiring pro? How much push do you want? I'll point out what I see, but it's up to you to go out and shoot the pictures to build a portfolio of work. If you're ready to take the plunge, I'll help guide your journey into the image-making experience with patient direction.