Excellent. You will probably learn faster and connect a lot of dots.

We start from where you are. My job is to figure out what you already know, where the bumps are, and what is getting in the way of making the photographs you want to make.

There’s no prize for starting at the beginning.

You have company!

Modern digital cameras are bonkers with technology. It’s entirely possible to use one regularly and still feel like you’re fumbling around inside it.

They can be intimidating little beasts—overbuilt, muscular bodies covered in buttons, functions, icons and menus.

But here’s the good news: today’s cameras are more feature-laden than they are fundamentally complex.

They still make exposures the same way cameras did 175 years ago.

I can show you how.

That’s okay. This is a common sentiment.

Chances are, you just don’t know where to start.

Often the problem isn’t that you don’t know enough. It’s that nobody has shown you the path your fingers take into your camera’s heart.

That’s something I can help with.

Then you have a lot of information. That’s actually a good place to start.

The problem is that videos can’t watch you.

For 20 years I’ve been watching how people learn cameras so they can actually use them. I can see where you get stuck, what you’re trying to do, and where the connection isn’t quite happening.

That’s the difference between binge-watching and learning with PhotoTrainer.

Bring that hunger to me.

One day isn’t enough to master the art of photography.

Fortunately, that’s not what I’m trying to do.

In one day I can introduce you to your camera in a way that begins to foster a friendship between the two of you.

Then the two of you can practice the art together.

That’s the idea: understand the instrument, then use it.

I understand.

At first encounter, today’s camera can look like a mysterious machine with eyes, buttons, functions, icons and enough acronyms to make photography feel like engineering.

That’s why you’re in my class.

I’ll decode the camera for you. 3 easy pieces:

Photography is an Art.

Light is still light.

Understand the instrument, you can get back to the thing

that actually matters: Seeing.

And yes, there are videos on the internet to help you with all of this. There are also videos about videos about all of this.

Overthinking. Overwhelm. Over and over and over.

I can do this with you in one day.

This is one of the most common problems I see with book learners.

You may understand one or even two parts of the exposure trinity—Aperture, Shutter and ISO—but not quite understand how they work together with Light.

Juggling two things is easy. Three things gets interesting.

And then there is the culprit in the middle of the whole drama:

Light.

We take care of the camera first. Then we tackle the Light.

Less than you think!

I introduce you to Manual Mode and how the camera actually works—empirically, or “under the hood,” as I like to say.

It’s need-to-know, not need-to-memorize.

You don’t need to know everything your camera can do. You need to understand enough of it that you can make decisions instead of guesses.

From there, everything can flow into your own camera practice.

I promise.

Why. Always why.

The settings are there so you can control the appearance, brightness and sharpness of your photographs.

There are a lot of them. Be prepared.

I’ll show you what matters, what it does, and why you might want to use it.

You can’t do all of this with a smartphone.

Yet….

That’s how I teach it.

Practical implies practice.

We start with the camera in our hands and explore its anatomy. I show you routines and ways to use it. You absorb the functionality of your camera as an instrument for gathering light.

Then:

Shoot. Change something. Take another one. Look at the result. Adjust. Repeat.

Photography is an activity, not a beer-pong jargon game.

Work the camera well and the technical stuff fades out of the way so we can pay attention to Light.

Then you’re probably in the right place.

I’m not particularly interested in giving five people the same lecture and hoping it works for everyone.

Small groups allow me to see what you are doing, listen to the question behind the question, and help you work through the problem you’re actually having.

That’s a big part of what “in person” means to me.

Yes.

But confidence doesn’t come from somebody telling you, “You’ve got this!”

The kind of confidence I’m after comes from enabling you to love your camera enough to use it frequently—and ultimately well.

I’m good at this part.

But I can’t make you confident in the long run. You have to use what I give you to get there.

This concerns me, to be honest.

Some do and some don’t.

Are you motivated?

I give you information and documents to use going forward, but ultimately it depends on your love of photography and your willingness to practice.

That’s one of the most important tests of the class.

And I don’t just wave goodbye at the end of the day. I hold free monthly follow-up sessions on Zoom, so you can’t sneak away….

Because eventually you’re going to be standing somewhere, the two of you alone in magical light.

You paid handsomely for that little beast to be in your life.

Now train it.

All brands of cameras do the same freaking thing. The interfaces are different. Maddening, indeed.

Learn to know yours and we can hunt down that one particular setting that has been driving you completely nuts.

Knowing your camera is the whole enchilada, baby.

Let’s anticipate the problem you’re going to have.

Judgment.

After 20 years of watching people learn cameras, and many more years of actually making photographs, I’ve learned that knowing how a camera works is only the beginning.

Eventually you have to look at what is in front of you and decide:

What is the light doing? What do I want this photograph to say? What do I need to do with the camera to get there?

That’s where experience matters.

I’ve had to make photographs when there wasn’t time to consult a menu, watch another video, or wonder what somebody on the internet recommends. You learn to recognize the situation, make a decision, look at the result, and adjust.

I can help you develop that kind of judgment too.

The camera is the instrument.

The light is the thing.

Not literally, of course.

I want you to know the camera well enough that it stops demanding your attention. I work hard to help make that happen for my students.

Because the camera isn’t the subject.

The photograph is.

And the photograph begins with light.

That’s really the whole journey:

Trust the instrument. Follow your light.