In-the-Field Landscape Photography Training
Sometimes the best place to learn landscape photography is standing in front of a landscape.
My In-the-Field Landscape Photography Training is private, personalized instruction built around what you want to learn and what you already know.
There isn't a standard lesson plan.
If you're just getting started, we might begin with the Exposure Triangle, camera settings, composition, and understanding what your camera is actually capturing. If you've been photographing for years, we might spend our time on panoramas, focus stacking, planning, histograms, ETTR, long exposures, changing light, or another specific technique you've been trying to improve.
You don't even need an expensive camera. Bring the camera you own. Bring your phone. If you're thinking about getting into photography and don't own a camera yet, that's okay too.
We start where you are and build from there.
What Do You Want to Learn?
Almost any aspect of landscape photography is fair game.
Maybe you understand your camera but struggle with composition. We can spend three hours working compositions.
Maybe you want to learn focus stacking. We'll work through when and why to use it, how to capture the images correctly in the field, and, when time allows, how those images come together later at the computer.
Maybe you want to understand your histogram, photograph a panorama, plan a moonrise, shoot the night sky, work with changing light, or finally understand why changing one side of the Exposure Triangle affects everything else.
Or maybe you simply want to walk through Garden of the Gods with another photographer, make photographs, ask questions, and talk photography.
We can do that too.
The goal is simple: leave knowing more about the thing you came to learn than when you arrived.
Half-Day or Full-Day?
I offer both Half-Day and Full-Day In-the-Field Training.
A Half-Day session is three hours and generally works best for targeted training. Pick a technique, concept, or problem and we'll concentrate our time there.
Three hours can go surprisingly quickly. A subject such as panoramic photography might involve understanding the technique, setting up the camera, making the individual exposures, and eventually learning how those photographs are stitched and processed. That can easily fill an entire session.
A Full-Day session is six hours and gives us considerably more room to build a foundation, practice, adjust, and potentially work through multiple parts of the photographic process.
Neither session follows a predetermined curriculum. A full day with a beginner will look completely different from a full day with an experienced photographer.
And that's the point.
Book a Half-Day Session:
VIEW HALF-DAY AVAILABILITY
Book a Full-Day Session:
VIEW FULL-DAY AVAILABILITY
Mother Nature Gets a Vote
We can plan a location, technique, composition, sunrise, sunset, or night under the stars.
Mother Nature may have other ideas.
I'm comfortable changing plans when conditions change. In fact, learning how to recognize and react to changing conditions is part of landscape photography.
If the weather no longer supports what we planned to learn, we have options. We might change locations. We might change subjects. A field session might even turn into an On-the-Computer Training session at a nearby coffee shop.
The objective isn't to stubbornly follow an itinerary.
It's to use the time well.
Where Do We Train?
I'm based in Monument, Colorado, just north of Colorado Springs, but I'm fairly flexible about where we train.
The location should support what you want to learn.
That could mean photographing the red rocks at Garden of the Gods, heading east toward the Paint Mines, walking a trail at Mueller State Park, or choosing somewhere completely different.
Your physical ability matters too. Landscape photography training doesn't require hiking miles into the wilderness. We'll choose locations and an approach appropriate for you.
If you're in the Colorado Springs area, you can generally choose an available Half-Day or Full-Day time and book it. We can work out the specifics afterward.
If you're farther away, contact me before booking and let's see what we can arrange.
Not in Colorado? Watch Where I'm Going.
My camera and the Five Billion Star Hotel take me on photography trips throughout Colorado and across the western United States.
If you're subscribed to my Upcoming Events email list, you'll occasionally know where I'm headed before I get there.
If one of my trips brings me reasonably close to you, reach out. I may be able to work an In-the-Field Training session into my travels.
That doesn't mean I'll be able to reroute an entire photography trip, but if you're reasonably close to where I'm already going, it's worth asking.
JOIN THE UPCOMING EVENTS EMAIL LIST
A Few Things to Know
Do I need a camera?
No. It certainly helps, but I'll work with you wherever you're starting. Camera, cell phone, or no camera yet.
Do I need to know how to use my camera?
No. If you have one, it helps if you know where its basic settings are located. If you're unfamiliar with the controls, bring the manual or have a copy available. Some of the places we photograph may not have reliable internet access.
Can someone come with me?
A non-photographing friend or family member is generally fine. If another photographer wants to participate in the training, contact me before the session. My booking system reserves the entire time slot when one photographer books, so additional photographers need to be arranged separately.
What if the weather is bad?
Bad weather doesn't necessarily mean bad photography. If conditions are unsafe or make the planned training impractical, we'll generally try to reschedule. If I cannot make the session and rescheduling isn't practical, I'll offer a refund.
Are entrance and parking fees included?
No. If you choose a location requiring admission, parking, permits, or similar fees, you're responsible for those costs.
Is transportation included?
No. We'll arrange a meeting location, and you'll need to provide your own transportation.
Ready to Get Out and Shoot?
You don't need to know everything before booking training.
That's rather the point.
Come with a question, a technique you want to learn, a problem you've been struggling with, or simply the desire to become a better landscape photographer.
We'll start there.
BOOK A HALF-DAY TRAINING SESSION
BOOK A FULL-DAY TRAINING SESSION
If you're outside the Colorado Springs area or have questions before booking:
