As I prepare my workshop curriculum for this year, I keep asking myself “Why should people take a workshop? What can I teach a student that they can’t get from a YouTube video?”
The answer is “A lot!” Deep statement there so let me break it down a little more.
Photography has always been about more than knowing where the dials and sliders and doohickeys are and what they do.
What makes a successful photograph is applying those tools to your photographs in a way that communicates what you want to say.
Improving as a photographer is about learning to see…improving your ability to observe what’s happening the world around you and using the tools to translate that into a two dimensional photograph that communicates what you want to say.
Learning, and improving at this requires individualized instruction. You can watch countless hours of videos on how to improve your golf swing, but I bet you’d learn more with just a short time with a professional instructor that can analyze your swing, and show you the techniques to refine it. A video can’t diagnose what you’re doing wrong and what is holding you back.
Photography is not meant to be learned alone. The same approach to coaching and training that works in other endeavors from sports to music, even spaceflight, work just as well in photography.
My experiences as an instructor is that I can take almost any student and help them climb more steps on the ladder of photographic knowledge, and gain more enjoyment and satisfaction from photography.
No workshop will turn you into a master overnight. But what I can do is give you understanding and a foundation of skills that let you keep growing and progressing. Often times I can accelerate that growth.
In thirty five years of photography, I’ve made about every mistake you can, so I know where the challenging points are, and how to help you overcome them. My twenty plus years of working as a professional printmaker has given me solutions that will work just as well as you as for my master level clients.
The advancement I see students make on workshops is always rewarding and encouraging. If you come on one of my workshops, I can show you how to apply the tools of photography individuals to your photographs to solve the problems you are having. I can help you learn to “see” better and more clearly. And hopefully I can inspire and encourage you in your growth as a photographer.
The personalized instruction that comes on a workshop will grow you in ways YouTube never will. Workshops continue to be a valuable, if not the most valuable way to learn and grow as a photographer. If you’re not happy with where you are at, then it’s time to take a workshop and grow!
Couldn’t agree more Rich. Sad truth is that I don’t know everything and can always learn something new. Workshops help my photography improve. And yours are terrific!