Suitable for beginners and anyone who wants to feel more confident about their approach to photography. This workshop will help you take better photos and capture more creative images. You will learn more about your camera and how to use the basic settings to improve your success rate by adapting to the subject, situation and conditions.

We will examine the creative process and factors that need to be considered when making an image – not just ‘what’ we have decided to focus on, but ‘why’ we want to photograph it, and ‘how’ and ‘when’ this can be done to best communicate our feelings and response to the subject.

In addition to acquiring the essential camera skills required to capture a successful image – composition, timing and lighting – we will consider the importance of reviewing our work and learning from the results.

• Bristol or Cheltenham
• £95 (3 hours) or £165 (full day)

This workshop will focus on the themes and techniques required to capture the essence, diversity and dynamism of our urban environments – a subject often overlooked by landscape photographers.

You will learn about the alternative approaches to capturing successful urban images – including cityscapes, buildings, structures, spaces, architectural details and abstracts. We will consider the relationships with documentary and street photography, and examine the following urban themes:

• Moods and emotions
• Movement, energy and flow
• Urban geometry
• Natural and human-made elements

These perspectives and techniques will enable you to take on an urban project that reflects your creative interests and feelings about a place.

An essential element of this package is the pre-workshop briefing – which we can schedule (online or in person) 2 or 3 weeks before the workshop. This includes a comprehensive set of notes with some inspiration ideas to help you prepare for the session, select an assignment and learn more about the chosen location.

• Bristol
• £195 (pre-workshop briefing + full day)

Woodlands offer a captivating canvas for creativity and an opportunity to portray the essence, mood and character of these enchanting natural environments.  Using a selection of carefully chosen locations in the Cotswolds this workshop will encourage you to slow down, reconnect with nature and share the magic of our local woodlands.

You will learn about common woodland themes and the appropriate compositional techniques to capture a diverse range of subjects – from trees, branches and leaves, to fungi, wildlife and abstract details.

Starting with colour, form and texture we will consider the impact of changing seasons and lighting conditions before exploring some of the broader concepts that may be used as the foundation for a woodland project:

• Drama, light and energy
• Nature and shelter
• Lifecycle, time and memory
• Character and relationships
• Chaos and order

You can choose a 3-hour session or a full day workshop (that includes a more comprehensive pre-workshop briefing and provides more time to progress your chosen woodland assignment).

• Various locations in the Cotswolds
• £95 (3 hours) or £165 (full day)

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but there are many ways to tell stories and convey complex ideas and emotions using a sequence or portfolio of images. On this workshop you will learn how to capture, select and assemble images into a cohesive body of work that tells a story and expresses a personal perspective and intent.

We will explore the common themes and visual metaphors used to construct a strong narrative – including journeys, experiences, processes and discovery – before considering alternative presentation options and the importance of project planning, consistency and progression.

You can choose a 3-hour session or a full day workshop and will have time to think about the story you want to tell and prepare for your personal assignment following the pre-workshop briefing.

• Bristol, Cheltenham or the Cotswolds
• £95 (3 hours) or £165 (full day)

Have fun looking for objects, lines and forms that most resemble each letter of the alphabet.

Letters, numbers and symbols can be discovered in natural and man-made forms, found in shadows or made by cropping with the frame of your camera.

Developing the ability to see everyday objects from a different perspective will increase your visual awareness and help improve your skills as a photographer.

Each workshop starts with a briefing where you be given a set of illustrative examples and an activity sheet to record your progress.

Alphabetography is a great activity for small groups of friends who want to spend a few hours together – and may incorporate a competitive element where we share our favourite images at the end of the session.

• Bristol or Cheltenham
• For individuals or small groups (3 hours)
• £95 (1 to 5 people)

What can we learn from the masters of art and photography?

During the pre-workshop briefing we will review a selection of work and quotations made by well-known photographers (and artists) and use them as inspiration for your own photographic assignment.

Pick a favourite quotation and try to capture the essence of the quote in your images. Or select a great photograph (or painting) and try to emulate the relevant themes and qualities.

Attempting to recreate a work of art is great fun. It will enhance your understanding of its greatness and reveal your own personality and style as what was intended as a copy outgrows the boundaries of imitation.

An essential element of this package is the pre-workshop briefing – which we can schedule (online or in person) 2 or 3 weeks before the workshop.  This includes a set of notes with some inspiration ideas to help you pick an assignment and prepare for the session at your chosen location.

• Bristol, Cheltenham or the Cotswolds
• £95 (3 hours) or £165 (full day)

There are countless online videos and workshops on specific post-processing applications and techniques but very few designed to help you manage an effective digital workflow and configure this to match your personal preferences.

This workshop – delivered (online or in person) in a series of 3 two-hour modules – addresses these issues.

Working together we will explore the benefits of managing a more effective image process workflow before identifying the steps needed to implement an end-to-end solution that reflects your preferred software tools and working practices.

Recommending an appropriate (and software agnostic) solution requires a collaborative and consultative approach.  We will cover workstation setup and configuration, project management and image processing.

My objective is to help you put in place a robust and reliable set of processes that offer greater control and security.  Better working practices will ensure more time to enjoy your photography and hopefully more success creating and sharing great images.

• Online or Cheltenham (in person)
• £245 (initial briefing + 3 two-hour sessions)

This workshop has been designed for advanced workers who want to improve their post-processing skills and produce better black & white landscape images.

Starting with RAW files, we will identify each step in the processing workflow before exploring the software tools and techniques required to create award-winning monochrome prints and digital images suitable for competitions, exhibitions and distinctions.

Working together with your own images we will use Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop and a selection of additional components to produce the professional results you are looking for.

The workshop includes an initial briefing session followed by a series of 3 two-hour modules – delivered online or in-person.

• Online or Cheltenham (in person)
• £245 (initial briefing + 3 two-hour sessions)