ever thought of teaching a workshop?

back alley

back alley

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after reading the 'eric kim' thread i started to wonder if any of us have ever given thought to teaching a workshop?

it has been said that to teach you only need to know 10% more than your students.

i have taught at one of the local city 'extension' colleges...night classes. it was years ago and it was a very basic learn your camera sort of class. students were taught to handle their cameras and shown what they might expect their lenses to do. simple sorts of things.

i have often thought about doing 'street' shooting workshops. most folks have a fear of getting close and pointing their camera at someone they don't know...so teaching would be more confidence building along with some simple techniques.

i doubt that i am alone in thinking this...anyone else?
 
Also, there are a lot of people with free cash but no time (or will) to figure out photography on their own. So workshops would be helpful for them.
 
I've thought about it. I've applied for a job teaching a walking photography tour workshop but didn't sign the contract. Recently I've applied to a job to teach workshops for a photo group and have an interview this week.

I've thought about going it on my own. Doing photo tours and basic 1 on 1 workshops. But haven't gotten around to actually planning it and getting the word out. But I think it's a good source of freelance income if you have the qualifications to make you a viable instructor. I was a teaching assistant back in college and instructed introductory and advanced photography classes so I have the experience. I also did a weekend photo workshop for children at a summer camp a few years back.
 
yeah... I teach quite a few workshops here in Ottawa through a local arts center:

- Online Marketing for Artists
- Online Sales for Artists
- Photographing 2D & 3D artwork
- basic photo editing in Photoshop
- camera basics

I'm working on a few more for the coming year as well. I really love teaching... I'm usually really bad at public speaking, but for some reason I have no problem if it's art or photography related :)
 
I've taught adult college courses in basic photography and private small group darkroom courses. I can see doing more of this in the future.
 
I teach workshops daily in Montreal.
Different subjects for different photographers. drop in and 10week long classes.
but a street photography workshops are something of a different beast and logistics of it are more painful than you think. It definitely not a weekly occurrence but an every once in a while gathering.
 
I taught a "Tabletop Photography on a Budget" workshop two weeks ago at my camera club, and did a presentation last week on "Street Photography" to a camera club outside of Toronto.
I also did the "Basic Camera Operation" workshop at the beginning of each year for a number of years at my camera club, and have been giving private sessions (both in our home, and on the street) on the Basics of Photography for many years.
 
for a street photography workshop i could see a short inside class going over camera basics and some why do you want shoot the streets question & answer stuff.
and then hit the streets, hands on, instruction and practice.
 
I never understood the purpose of street photography workshops... I can see a classroom type technical skills workshop... but there's got to be nothing worse than a large group of rampaging photographers all pointing their camera at some poor schmuck on the street to ruin the atmosphere of street photography... I can't see a "hands on" class of more than a teacher and one or two students being very effective :)

"Ok class... see that guy reading a paper on the parkbench, lets all go over and take his picture"
 
I taught photography, film & video on College level for college credits; that was years ago. Most teachers & students want to teach/learn how to use digital imaging with their computers. Sometimes a class is offered to students walking about in the park on how to take pictures of trees and flowers.
 
Disaster_Area said:
I never understood the purpose of street photography workshops... I can see a classroom type technical skills workshop... but there's got to be nothing worse than a large group of rampaging photographers all pointing their camera at some poor schmuck on the street to ruin the atmosphere of street photography... I can't see a "hands on" class of more than a teacher and one or two students being very effective :)

"Ok class... see that guy reading a paper on the parkbench, lets all go over and take his picture"
Click to expand...

i would not allow any rampaging of any sort!

:angel:
 
back alley said:
i would not allow any rampaging of any sort!

:angel:
Click to expand...

Hahahaha... working with a group of photographers outside is like herding cats! I definitely could see workshops on the technical skills like shooting from the hip, hyperfocal distance and composition... but I just can't wrap my head around a field trip with 20 or so students unless the only thing you're photographing is buildings and graffiti. I would think it would be extremely hard to get in nice and close and natural with crowds if they're staring down the barrels of a dozen odd cameras.
 
Disaster_Area said:
Hahahaha... working with a group of photographers outside is like herding cats! I definitely could see workshops on the technical skills like shooting from the hip, hyperfocal distance and composition... but I just can't wrap my head around a field trip with 20 or so students unless the only thing you're photographing is buildings and graffiti. I would think it would be extremely hard to get in nice and close and natural with crowds if they're staring down the barrels of a dozen odd cameras.
Click to expand...

i agree...but 20 would be a big class for this sort of thing...maybe 10, at the most but more likely 5.

when i head out with the local flickr group we often number up to a dozen...but we walk about in smaller goups.

btw, i work with a team of 10...9 are women...i am the 10th...THAT is like herding cats...
 
Roger Hicks said:
Fair point, but how many could deliver even $400 worth?

Cheers,

R.
Click to expand...


I think it really depends on the student... I teach an online marketing workshop for artists, and a lot of the material I cover many here would concider extremely rudimentary (how to use flickr, how facebook works, how to resize a photo for the web etc) but I was asked to design the course for an arts organization whos member base is mostly in the 50+ and computer illiterate category. Most of my students come out thinking my course would be a bargain at twice the price as it tries to make simple, concepts which they thought where extremely scary and impossible to learn at their age/skill level.

It's all relative :)

By that same token, someone who'd never even attempted street photography will probably expect a lot less for that $100 than many people on this forum
 
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