About
After 40+ years of working in the imaging industry, our ability to explain technical concepts and artistic insights simply and how they apply to actual field work makes advancement both fast and fun. Having delivered well over 500 lectures and trainings in photography to literally thousands of participants, I have heard it all and have the answers at hand. Having trained under a dozen of the greatest award winning working photographers, we have insights most do not. Having been a member of the PPA, PPO, PSA, WPPI, SPP, PMDA and several other professional organizations, as well as serving on the boards of some of them, means wide ranging experience. We teach you how to understand and solve issues as they arise in the field. Exposure, capture, lighting, posing, landscape & nature, file editing and finishing the presentation are all subjects we can help you with. We currently serve clients from Oregon to New York .
The progress students make and the fun they have experiencing what I spent 40 years learning. Watching them try, and be frustrated with new things, only to conquer them faster than they imagine. Engendering new confidence and problem solving skills into the next generation. Considering how wide the field of photogaphy is, and how much technology there is to master, common sense approaches to it are critical. Helping people get the image they see in their head, out and displayed.
Highlights
Details
Interest in additional skills
Student's age
Experience level
Photography type
Photos and videos
Reviews
Crystal H.
Irene K.
Elaine R.
Nadene W.
Elaine R.
Chad S.
Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
1) Asertain their current capabilities.
2) Asertain their curent difficutlites.
3) Determine their goals.
4) Consider equipment limitations and what can be accomplished with what they have.
5) Students submit a variety of their work as we go and we examine it together and see how it could be improved. Zoom is an excellent platform for this kind of interaction.
6) Can work from a fixed cirriculum or from individual student needs of the moment.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Started with Brownie in grade school. High school yearbook photographer. College yearbook photographer and photo editor. Aced every photo class the University offered. Six years answering photo questons working in camera stores while in school. Then traveled the country shooting great musicians. Worked importing 10,000+ different photo tools and accessories and teaching camera store clerks for 10 years. Spent 30+ years as an executive at the world's largest photgraphic lens company; selling, training, educating and working with the lens designers. While there, produced and delivered well over 500 lectures and training sessions. Member of PPA, PPO, PSA, SPP. PMDA, WPPI and board member of some of them. Liased with, inspired by, and studied under dozens of the worlds top photographers.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
Typically, I charge $100 to $150+ per hour depending on the topic. But considering the Covid difficulties so many people are having economically, I am running a special at $75 per hour per person in very small groups or individually.
How did you get started teaching?
It was necesary to drag the industry from film into the modern technologic age. To do that we had to make clear and easy ways to understand and transmit the facts of the modern evolution in all areas of photography. I recognized the need to upgrade the experience and the success of people at almost all levels of competence as technology advanced in equipment design and then as digital entered the scene. I became the point man for doing that for our company which has been copied by almost every other firm in the industry.
What types of students have you worked with?
Every type, from new camera buyers to the leading professionals in the country. Everybody starts somewhere. Everybody needs new ideas and possiblities to explore.
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
There are very few events happening during the age of Covid. But, I have been working off and on with a guy for some years who is technically and visually very good. Recently, he was stumped by the highly automated TTL dedicated flash system his camera employed. In 15 minutes I was able to show him how to master a failsafe 50 year old system to manually overcome his lighting isues in his particularly high stress shooting situation.
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
Modern cameras are great. But, they are often fooled by certain situations. Almost any decent teacher can teach you about "entry level" exposure. We also deal with the difficult exposure situations. We discuss those, plus the INTENT you are trying to achieve and exposure in difficult situations. Every time you make a pictue there are at least a half-dozen 'correct' possible sets of settings. We discuss which one is the the 'right one' to achieve the picture you imagine. The 'why?' of choosing a particualr set of parameters is critical to success and virtually untaught.
Look at several teachers and their work. Pick the one who would be both fun and informative; critical and understanding of your issues; and who will help you play and learn all at once.
What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?
1) What are their goals in learning this topic.
2) What are their current difficulties?
3) What limitations exist in various tool choices and technologies.
4) How much time they have to invest in the studies.
5) Define the shortest path to what they want to accomplish.