Full-Day Landscape Photography Training
More time doesn't have to mean more topics. Sometimes it means finally having enough time to understand one.
A Full-Day Landscape Photography Training session gives us six hours to work on your photography.
What we do with those six hours is entirely up to you.
For a beginning photographer, we might build a foundation around exposure, camera settings, composition, light, and understanding what the camera is actually capturing.
An experienced photographer might want to spend the day working through a specific technique, planning and photographing a location, improving a post-processing workflow, or solving a problem that has been holding them back.
We can spend the day in the field.
We can spend it at the computer.
Or we can move between both.
There isn't a predetermined curriculum.
We start with what you know and build from there.
What Can We Accomplish in Six Hours?
Quite a bit.
But the goal isn't to see how many photography topics we can check off a list.
Photography builds on itself. Understanding exposure can affect how you approach focus stacking. Understanding composition changes how you photograph a panorama. Understanding what can be accomplished later in post-processing can change the files you decide to capture in the field.
A Full-Day session gives us something particularly valuable:
time to practice.
We can learn a concept, apply it, look at the results, identify what worked and what didn't, and refine the process.
That's considerably different from simply being shown how something works.
Build a Foundation
A Full-Day session can be especially useful for someone relatively new to photography.
Maybe you own a camera but don't really understand why you're changing the settings.
We can start there.
The Exposure Triangle gives us a foundation for understanding aperture, shutter speed, and ISO rather than simply memorizing settings. From there, we might move into composition, histograms, focus, depth of field, working with light, or whatever makes sense based on your progress.
We don't have to get through all of it.
If we discover something that needs more attention, we'll give it more attention.
You don't eat an elephant in one bite.
Six hours doesn't change that. It simply gives us more time to establish a foundation you can continue building upon.
Or Go Deep on One Topic
Full-Day Training isn't only for beginners.
Sometimes six hours gives an experienced photographer enough time to really dig into something.
Panoramas are a good example.
We could discuss planning and composition, set up the camera, work through exposure and focus, capture the individual frames, and then take those photographs to the computer and stitch them together.
If something doesn't work, that's useful.
Now we can figure out why.
The same approach can work with focus stacking, Milky Way photography, exposure blending, ETTR, Lightroom, Adobe Camera Raw, Photoshop, printing, or almost any other aspect of landscape photography.
More time doesn't require more subjects.
Sometimes it simply lets us take one subject farther.
Learn. Practice. Evaluate. Refine.
This is where I think a Full-Day session can really earn its additional time.
Learning something is one step.
Doing it yourself is another.
Then we get to look at what happened.
Did you understand the technique but struggle with the composition?
Did the camera capture what you thought it was capturing?
Did we discover a problem when we opened the files on the computer?
Did changing conditions force us to adapt?
If time and circumstances allow, we can take what we learned and try again.
Learn. Practice. Evaluate. Refine.
That's a much stronger foundation for continuing on your own than simply watching someone demonstrate a technique.
In the Field, On the Computer, or Both
You're booking six hours of personalized photography training, not six hours of one particular type of instruction.
We can spend the entire session in the field, working with the camera, composition, light, planning, or another technique.
We can spend the entire session on the computer, working with Lightroom, Adobe Camera Raw, Photoshop, or your post-processing workflow.
Or we can combine the two.
In fact, six hours gives us an excellent opportunity to follow a photograph from capture through processing.
We might photograph a focus stack and then assemble it. Capture a panorama and stitch it. Work with the histogram and ETTR in the field and then open those RAW files to see why our exposure decisions mattered.
You can't edit data you didn't collect.
A Full-Day session gives us time to connect what happens behind the camera with what happens later at the computer.
What If I Don't Know What I Need?
You don't need to arrive with a six-hour lesson plan.
Maybe you simply know that you've reached a plateau.
Maybe your camera settings make sense, but your photographs aren't what you want them to be.
Maybe you have photographs you can't figure out how to process.
Maybe you've been watching tutorials, reading articles, and trying different techniques but aren't sure which part you're missing.
Bring me the problem.
We'll figure out where it begins.
Sometimes the thing someone wants to learn isn't actually the thing they need to work on first. That's okay.
Finding the missing piece is part of the training.
Beginners Are Welcome
You don't need a certain camera.
You don't need expensive lenses.
You don't need years of experience.
You don't actually need to own a camera yet.
If you're starting at the beginning, we'll start at the beginning.
A Full-Day session can give a new photographer enough time to ask questions, understand some fundamentals, practice them, make mistakes, ask more questions, and begin connecting concepts that previously seemed unrelated.
That's what building a foundation looks like.
Mother Nature Still Gets a Vote
Six hours gives us time.
It doesn't give us control over the weather.
If we're training outside, we'll make a plan based on what you want to learn and where it makes sense to photograph.
Then we'll pay attention to what actually happens.
Weather might send us somewhere else. Changing light might give us an opportunity we didn't expect. Conditions might make our original lesson impractical.
We can adapt.
If necessary, we can even move from the field to a coffee shop, open the computer, and use our remaining time there.
A changing plan isn't necessarily a failed plan.
Sometimes it's landscape photography.
Where Does Full-Day Training Take Place?
I'm based in Monument, Colorado, and most local training takes place throughout the Colorado Springs area and within a reasonable distance.
I'm fairly flexible about that distance.
Depending on what you want to learn, we might work around Garden of the Gods, head east toward the Paint Mines, hike in Mueller State Park, stay close to accessible locations, or choose somewhere else entirely.
We'll also work within your physical abilities. There is no requirement that Full-Day Training means spending six hours hiking through the wilderness.
If you're in the Colorado Springs area, you can generally choose an available Full-Day time and book it. We'll work out the location, timing, and what you'd like to accomplish afterward.
If you're outside the Colorado Springs area, contact me before booking.
A Few Things to Know
How long is a Full-Day session?
Six hours. My booking calendar reserves the session in a six-hour block. I can sometimes adjust the start time slightly when necessary, so contact me if an available time is close but doesn't quite work.
Do we have to spend all six hours in one place?
No. The location and structure depend on what we're trying to accomplish. Travel between training locations generally isn't counted against your instructional time.
Do I need my own camera or computer?
No. I'll work with whatever equipment you have, including a cell phone, and I can provide equipment for computer training. If you have your own camera or laptop, using your equipment can be particularly helpful because that's what you'll continue using afterward.
Can we combine field and computer training?
Absolutely. A Full-Day session is particularly well suited to this because we have time to capture photographs and then work with those same files afterward.
Can another photographer come with me?
A non-photographing friend or family member is generally fine. If another photographer wants to participate in the training, contact me first. My booking system reserves the entire time slot once one photographer books, so additional photographers need to be arranged separately.
Are entrance or parking fees included?
No. If you choose a location requiring entrance, parking, permit, or similar fees, you're responsible for those costs.
Is transportation included?
No. We'll arrange meeting locations, and you'll need to provide your own transportation.
What happens if weather interferes with the session?
Bad weather can create excellent photography opportunities, so weather alone doesn't necessarily mean we cancel. If conditions are unsafe or make the planned training impractical, I'll generally try to reschedule. If I cannot make the session and rescheduling isn't practical, I'll offer a refund.
Is Full-Day Training Right for You?
If you already have one targeted subject you'd like help with, a Half-Day Landscape Photography Training session may be all you need.
If you'd like more time to establish a foundation, practice what you're learning, connect field capture with post-processing, or work more deeply through a complicated subject, Full-Day Training may be the better fit.
You don't need to fill six hours with six topics.
You just need enough time to make progress on the things that matter to your photography.
Learn. Practice. Evaluate. Refine.
Then take what you've learned and keep building.
BOOK A FULL-DAY TRAINING SESSION
Not sure whether you need three hours or six? Explore Half-Day Landscape Photography Training, or contact me and tell me what you're hoping to accomplish.
