I Just Released a New Film for My Photography Workshops - Here's What It's Really Like to Learn With Me
I've just put a new hero film live on my workshops page - a short piece made up of glimpses from real workshops in Hinckley, giving you a proper feel for what a session with me is actually like. It's scored with an original piece of music, composed specifically for the film using AI, so nothing about it is off-the-shelf. Not the teaching, not the sound.
If you've been thinking about booking a photography workshop but aren't sure what one actually involves, or whether you really need one to get better, this post - and the film - should answer that.
Why I Made This Film
Most photography workshop pages read the same: a list of what you'll learn, a price, a "book now" button. None of that actually shows you what a session with me feels like. So instead of writing more copy, I filmed one.
Rather than a full walkthrough, it's a handful of small moments pulled from real sessions - a glimpse of reading light, a decision being made in the field, that moment where something clicks for a student. Short as it is, it says more about what a workshop actually feels like than a page of copy ever could.
Kevin attended 2 workshops, he loved the first one so much that he came back for a full 2nd day.
An Original Score, Not a Stock Track
I don't use stock music in my films - I never have, on weddings or anything else I produce. For this one, I worked with AI music generation to compose a track built specifically around the pace and mood of the film, rather than dropping in something that's already soundtracked twenty other photography videos on YouTube. It's a small detail, but it's the same principle I teach in workshops: don't settle for the default when you can make something that's actually yours.
Darren and Nat joined me for a full day for a 2:1 workshop covering landscapes, nature and wildlife.
Do You Actually Need a Workshop to Learn Photography?
This is the question I get asked most, usually by people who've watched a lot of YouTube tutorials and still feel stuck on Auto. The honest answer is that you don't need a workshop - you can teach yourself photography from books, videos and trial and error. Plenty of people do. But most people learning alone hit the same wall: they can follow a tutorial on shutter speed or aperture, but they can't tell, in the moment, in real light, in front of a real subject, why their photo still isn't working.
That's the gap a workshop closes. A tutorial can explain manual mode. It can't watch you set your exposure in front of a real scene and tell you, immediately, what to change and why - which is the difference between knowing the theory and actually being able to use it. That immediate, applied feedback is what most people are really missing, and it's what tends to make the difference stick.
An example of low light trails using long exposure, often conducted during an Astro Landscape Workshop.
What to Expect From a Session With Me
If you've never been on a photography workshop before, here's roughly how it goes. We start with your camera as it is - not a generic setup, but yours, with your settings, your gaps, your questions. From there we move to shooting in real locations and real light, working through composition, exposure and creative decision-making as we go, rather than sitting through theory for its own sake. Every session finishes with time in Lightroom, editing the images we've just taken, so you leave with a finished piece of work and a workflow you can repeat on your own.
Sessions run privately, 1:1 or 2:1, and are built around wherever you're starting from - whether that's picking up a camera for the first time or coming back to photography after years away and wanting to finally get past where you left off.
One of my earlier shoots, working with HRH Earl of Wessex - Prince Edward visiting an art college.
Who These Workshops Are For.
The people who get the most out of a session with me tend to fall into a few groups: beginners ready to move past Auto and start making deliberate creative choices, hobbyists who want the confidence to shoot with intention instead of guesswork, couples or friends who want to learn together, creatives returning to photography who are ready to rediscover their eye, and business owners who want to create their own strong visual content on their own terms.
Wherever you're starting from, the aim is the same: to get you shooting with real creative control, not just a slightly better grip on the settings menu.
With 14 years experience in freelance photography, I also do weddings and here’s my latest international wedding in Greece with Ollie and Kirsten.
Watch the Film, Then Come and Learn It With Me
The new film is live at the top of my Photography Workshops page, alongside the full range of sessions - from a one-hour Shadow Experience to the six-week Foundation Programme. If it's the first time you're seeing how a session actually runs, that's exactly what it's there for.
If you've watched it and you're ready to stop guessing your way through Auto, get in touch and let's find the right session for where you're starting from.
Even McDonalds have got me on their radar for PR commissions. I work with some global brands and my experience is so vast, you can’t fail to learn anything photography related from me.
