Coaching

Photo Coaching With Brian

Would you like to improve your experience of picture-making with a little help and encouragement? I’ll share my knowledge and give you that push you need to move through technical or aesthetic issues that are holding you back from making the images you want to see. Let my experience be a guide in shooting to obtain your goals in photography.

I make my living photographing the most varied and elusive subject – our fellow human beings and their wily ways of eating and living together as the dominant social being in this world. Let’s share notes along the way on a trip through this metropolitan area we call Louisville. I do it documentary style, but as long as photography is your medium, I can help you learn how to do it too, whatever style or subject suits you.

You could call me a photo consultant or coach. I don’t know everything, and will be the first to tell you so. (BTW, I’m not an expert in Photoshop.) Whatever I say, don’t believe me until you verify it yourself. I’ll gladly share my opinion based on my experience as a working photographer and keep it at that, just the making of photos. Let’s explore and take pictures together to talk about it later and see what we can learn.

The Process

Let's Start With This

First, we’ll schedule a free telephone consultation to discuss your needs and determine if I can be of assistance to you. If we agree to proceed, I’ll send you a form to complete that will help us get to know one another better.

After that, our first coaching session is $50 paid in advance. Further coaching sessions are priced by agreement. If you’re local, we’ll meet face-to-face in a coffee house or public space to discuss goals and objectives for our next encounter. If you’re remote, we’ll correspond by phone and online. We’ll form an ongoing consulting schedule to advance your goals.

Prerequisites

Basic requirements

I’ll be glad to be of assistance in helping you get started, whether you’re an amateur, intermediate or aspiring professional.

You’ll need:

A camera without a phone attached or a point ’n shoot.
A camera manual that you have already read and understand.
A computer with photo-editing software.
A place online where I may see photos you have taken recently.

Guidance

Possible Topics

You really don’t need me to learn the subject of photography. If you’ve gotten this far, you’re probably a self-teacher, and I’m not exactly offering classes. I’m here to talk about your experience with photography based on what I’ve learned along the way.

With all of the resources we have at hand today, you can learn just about anything online. I may point you to resources online, but I’ll be there to put it in context and assist you with careful critique along the way.

There’s a class or tutorial for everything, but it’s so impersonal without an instructor and fellow students around to share the lesson. Having me there for immediate feedback personalizes the experience and makes your efforts more productive.

Sessions are tailored to your needs, and involve:

Phone Calls
Coffee Meetings
Critique Sessions
Photo Walks
Assignments

Here are some of the subjects we’ll go over together:

Camera and/or Computer Setup
Hardware, Software, Wetware
Preparing to Shoot
Subject Matters
The Shooting Experience
Loupe and Light Table
Workflow to Final Images
Share and Critique

Are You Ready?

How I Began

My photography education was pre-internet, by a photographer teaching a continuing education photography class at the University of Louisville. At the time, I was a licensed optician, managing a store for Southern Optical where I fit eyeglasses and contact lenses.

On the weekends I would go rock climbing in the Red River Gorge and return to give slideshows of our adventures to the local climbing club using my new hobby, photography.

My friend was going to Europe, so he took me with him to shop for a camera to take with him. The sales person told us about this photojournalism program she was attending in the fall. It piqued my interest.

I didn’t want to be an optician forever. I chose instead to leave and study photojournalism at Western Kentucky University, to never be bored again. I still know how to fit and adjust glasses, a useful skill that I still use …

My fellow PJs (photojournalism students) and I processed film and printed our photos for class assignments together in a lab where we all looked at and commented on each other’s work. After mounting and captioning our entry, we’d critique everyone’s print on the wall for all to see. It was a tough love sort of experience if your photo didn’t fulfill the assignment!

After six years and three newspaper internships obtaining a degree in photojournalism and another 23 years up to the present as a professional photographer, I’m still learning. But I can help show you the way that my experience has taught me to shoot and help facilitate your growth as a photographer.

If you’re ready, let’s go make some pictures together!