Why you should be attending Photography Workshops (Part 4 of 4)

Get some criticism

Nobody likes to be told that they haven't done a great job or that they could do a little better. However, while it can be painful it's also a huge part of growing as a photographer.

A photographer I knew when starting his career took his portfolio to the local newspaper to try and land a job as a staff photographer. He handed his work over and was given in his own words 'A real rinsing, the editor didn't like anything I'd taken' However, in addition to telling the photographer that he didn't like his work, he also explained what he was looking for and what the photographer needed to do to improve his portfolio.

While it was quite disheartening to receive a bit of a 'bashing' the photographer paid attention to what was said to him. He acted on it, improved his work and 3 months later landed a job as a professional photographer, working with the very same editor who previously harshly criticised him.

Workshops are a great place to get something a little bit similar (although it shouldn't be so harsh!)

During your workshop you'll be given hints, tips, advice… better angles will be pointed out, and the whole process will be explained to you.

If you embrace criticism and accept it as part of the learning process (and I suggest you do!) you'll soon see huge improvements in your photography, photographic technique and most importantly, you'll always love your photographic journey.

Workshops maximizes your learning while minimizing your expenses

Have you ever arrived at that awesome location only to wish you were there a day sooner, or realize your arrival time is 12 hours off but you have to be somewhere else in 12 hours? That happens a lot when you plan your own photography trips. I am certainly not telling you to stop doing that. I do it all the time and it's fun. Especially day trips. But there are often regrets because of weather, sun angles, accidental finds, etc. Sure it's all part of the exploration fun and hopefully you make notes and save them in a recoveble location so the next time you head there, you'll know better.

A workshop host has usually carefully planned all this out. They will have you arriving at key times based on best light, sun angle and will also have weather alternates if necessary. On serveral of the workshops I host, the iteniary is not laid out until the night before. Because I have many places to chose from depending on the forecast and other variable conditions. The reason is to optimise my client's learing and spending. Who wants to show up at a potentially awesome shoot and hear the hosts say, " this was a great shot last year when it was sunny, or snowy, or cloudy" blah blah blah. Makes sense right? I wish I had a $50 for every person I've read about on social media, or heard from in camera clubs about how they burned up two weeks of their vacation running to photography sites only have 2 or 3 productive days because of their own unfamiliariaity. I could finance another good camera body. Save vacation days and money and maximise your time by having every minute of your trip paying dividiends to your learning experience and to your enjoyment of capturing and creating art. Take a workshop !

Hopefully by now, you''ve see the importance of workshops and how they can help you improve your photography, enjoy the experience, increase your knowledge base and enjoy photography.

You need to undertake photography workshops regularly to improve and expand your technique. You'll have an ever improving portfolio, you'll have a whole new understanding of photography, you'll explore new avenues of photography and you'll make some great new friends too.

The alternative is that you'll remain the same, doing the same old thing and looking at really amazing photographs wondering 'How on earth did they do that?' You know the definition of insanity... doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.

Take a Workshop.