SHARING THE LOVE

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Retirement is a fabulous thing. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. There are no downsides. None. At. All.

I had a number of ambitions still left to achieve when choosing to call an end to my career. Starting my own business was near the top of my list. Turning a hobby into a job doesn’t always work out well, but my love for photography goes back almost as far as my 40 years in telecommunications. Like many things when you have a young family, photography took a back seat for a few years but has been very much my sole use of spare time for the last ten years. Being honest, setting up the business wasn’t the biggest gamble ever as it was never going to be my main source of income, so I had a financial buffer zone that gave me a huge amount of freedom. I was in a position to put as much or as little as needed into the venture.

One of the many luxuries that come with retirement is time, that most precious of commodities. Like many people, I wish I’d had as much free time 20 years ago ! Nevertheless, I now had an opportunity to use my time on a new challenge, one that would get me out of the house, getting regular exercise and keeping me far more occupied than I could ever have imagined. There are a number of strands within the business that need regular attention such as the online presence through this website, promotion through social media, web-based print stock agencies, and my own print sales either through this site or other outlets. The other major strand, and the one that probably gives me most pleasure is 1:1 client tuition. It’s not the busiest part of what I do but it takes the most time and I find it the most rewarding.

So why would someone book a 1:1 landscape photography workshop?

I offer a range 1:1 client workshops via my website, with options for choice of duration, location and subject, depending on what the client is looking for. A key element to making the tuition a success is having a clear picture (pardon the pun) on what exactly the client wants to achieve. This can vary enormously from wanting to learn the basics of how to use a digital camera to more advanced subjects such as long exposure waterfall images. Many of my clients have either just bought a camera or have received one as a Christmas or birthday gift and I love working with these clients as the potential for passing on knowledge is greatest and seeing someone capture their first landscape image is priceless (well, not exactly as I do charge a fee…). I get a number of repeat clients from this particular group and remain in touch with many of them. It’s a real pleasure to see someone’s skills improve knowing I’ve played a small part in their development (does that count as a pun?). A growing client base are those people who have owned a camera for some time and are looking for the confidence to get out of automatic mode and use more of the cameras settings. It’s vital here to understand the client’s ability in order to get the best from the limited time we have together. I always send my clients a proforma prior to our session so that they can tell me in their own words where they think they are in terms of skills and also clarify what their photographic ambitions are. I make sure they let me know what make and model of camera they own so that I know how to navigate their camera’s menus system (SONY please sort your menu navigation out ! They’re a nightmare !!!). Besides technical aspects I also need to have a clear understanding of a client’s physical ability as some of my workshops involve walks of a couple of miles or more. As an example, the waterfalls workshop lasts five hours and requires a decent level of fitness and mobility to access the riverside locations. I need my clients to feel safe and don’t want them to be disappointed if they’re not able to get the most out of a session. So there’s plenty of prep work and information gathering done before the day we meet.

Depending on location and client preference, I offer to meet at an agreed location to drive them to the venue. I actually prefer this as it gives us a chance to get to know each other, puts them at their ease, and allows me to glean a little more information regarding their aims for the session. I want my clients to enjoy learning so setting the right environment is really important. To be honest I’ve had some hugely funny experiences over the past few years, even so far as a client forgetting their camera (we got around it though) ! Although I never take my camera to the sessions I’ve always got one in the car so on this occasion we were able to carry on. One lady client (who hopefully doesn’t read my blogs) slipped on a wet rock and let out the most enormous “trouser cough” I’ve heard in a long time. To her credit she was completely unfazed and simply said “I’m always doing that.” Luckily, we were at the latter end of the session so I never had to find out if it was true.

But it’s not all rainbows and unicorns on workshops. There are a few challenges involved. Not having my camera with me is the biggest, especially when there’s an epic sunrise that I can’t capture, but if the client thinks the light is down to me then it’s all good for business! Conversely, despite doing my best to ensure success by controlling the controllables, the UK weather often has other ideas. I always give clients the option to rearrange dates if the weather forecast is poor a couple of days out, but what happens on the day is very much in the lap of the gods. That said, I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve had to abandon but I always want good light and weather conditions so that the experience is a positive one. Another challenge I’ve faced is interruptions from members of the public. Once I’ve explained that I’m holding a tuition session most folks apologise and continue on their way but I’ve had a few cases of the message not sinking in and have had to adopt a more direct approach. Comes naturally to me to be fair !

I’m always fascinated by clients’ observations and often get told “ I’ll never be up to your standard” which amazes me. In these cases I always reassure the client and emphasise that any success is proportionate to the effort made. When I tell them that I’m regularly out with a camera three or four days a week they start to get the message. I also regularly hear “ you’ve got professional gear so you’re bound to take good pictures.” Nothing could be further from the truth to be honest - it’s not about the kit. The most important piece of equipment are the eyes behind the viewfinder in my opinion. Another common view is “digital images are not as genuine as the old film photos because you can manipulate them on a computer.” Granted there’s more data captured on a digital sensor but one of the greatest American landscaper photographers of all time confessed to spending more time in a darkroom (getting his film images just how he wanted them) than he did on location.

I absolutely love 1:1 workshops. Meeting people and having a common interest is so rewarding. Passing on knowledge is something I’ve always enjoyed and feedback at the end of the sessions has always been really positive which gives me the energy to keep doing more. COVID 19 lockdowns put a major crimp on things for a couple of years but we’re back in full swing now I’m pleased to say, and if my business only ever consisted of running workshops I’d still be a very happy photographer. I’ve never had a client I didn’t get along with and have always been able to tailor my approach to whatever is needed on the day. I love landscape photography and seeing that passion start to blossom in other people is pretty special.

So I hope I’ve shown you that sharing the love is important to me (but it doesn’t come free).