We just wrapped
on an amazing four day workshop here in Arizona where we had 7 students who spent every waking hour learning, practicing and talking about photography. We had styled photo shoots on location here in Chandler and in the breathtaking Sedona red rocks. We maintained a small class size to ensure that each student was given all the attention they needed and deserved, and each one of our students have the very real possibility of having their images published in the national magazine, Pristeen, who provided a vast crew of models, hair and makeup professionals and stylists.
I may be tooting my own horn, but I am absolutely certain that there is no photographic workshop experience like the one my students just had. I was so impressed with the improvement of each and every photographer over the course of the four days of intense instruction. Our first styled photoshoot put each photographer into the fire. With a few hours of instruction on the equipment they would use, they all were put into very challenging and critical situations that required their utmost attention. Then, over the course of the next two days, amidst workflow lectures, we critiqued and edited their images. Then, we spent an afternoon working with their cameras and flashes again in preparation for the big Sedona shoot on the final day.
Students that struggled on day one to get the shot, were creating beautiful images by the fourth day. I was so pleased to see each and every one of them creating images all on their own that were exponentially better than what they were attempting to make on our first day of class. Of course, I was not surprised.
My Arizona Photography and Workflow Workshop was designed to create success. I gave my students a year’s worth of university level photo education in four days, and I created a circumstance under which they could succeed. We limited our class size to make sure that I could spend a lot of time with each and every student, and each student spend the majority of the class at the controls. Unlike most photography workshop, my students were not stuck watching me shoot. Instead they were thrown into a real live, active magazine photoshoot with my expert instruction and direction at every step. I knew that they would succeed, because every hour of every day was designed to create lasting success. My students didn’t just see how to create great images, they created them, they were immersed in the process, and now they will return home knowing how to do that on their own!
That is the beauty of the socratic method of teaching. I teach my students how to think and let them experience how it is done, so they will always remember how to achieve success.
A small workshop like this cannot be done without a high price tag, and I can’t thank my students enough for their trust. They took a leap of faith and they found that it paid off. And even the high price tag would not have covered the price of this workshop without our sponsors, who so generously provided the incredible meals as well as providing the equipment and logistical support needed to pull off such a perfect workshop experience.
Finally, we must also thank the folks at Pristeen Magazine. They took a leap of faith that we would be able to take 7 workshop students of pro and enthusiast levels to a level that they would have two full magazine articles full of great images. They are now convinced! But we thank them for putting their trust in us to make this all happen. Not to mention, that Pristeen Magazine funded a full scholarship for our Pristeen Magazine Teen Photographer who joined us on the workshop and is now, at 18 years old, on her way to becoming an accomplished professional photographer. Wait until you see some of her photographs.
Since all of our photoshoots were for publication, you will not see them now, but in April, after the magazine has published them. I look forward to sharing them with you.
Thank you to your Sponsors:
