From Reluctance to Excitement: The Game-Changing Shift in My Photography Workshops

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I remember hosting my inaugural workshop in 2010. It took place in an intimate studio in London, where we demonstrated how to create a ‘levitation’ photograph. For £99, I’d walk you through taking two images on a tripod and using Photoshop to eliminate the supportive chair beneath a girl lying as though she were deceased.

Of course, it encompassed more than that; it was about imparting the enchantment involved in crafting a fine-art image, and the attendees received at least a glimpse into the process. At times, translating my artistic endeavors into a ‘step-by-step’ format felt akin to being observed during an intimate moment, unable to reach satisfaction unless the audience diverted their gaze.

But what an exhilarating feeling it was to generate income from anything photography-related following the 2008 recession; after all, I had only recently completed my English degree two years prior. Every photographer and their associates seemed to be conducting workshops, including me, who was merely beginning to familiarize myself with the functions of a camera after relying on Auto settings for most of my self-portraits that propelled me to unexpected fame on Flickr.

From the outset, I was determined to be an artist rather than an instructor, but it takes courage to completely avoid the workshop market, particularly in this even harsher, quiet recession of 2025, where any available real work faces threats from AI. However, from our initial workshops onward, my partner Matt and I held the idea that participants may find the paparazzi style tedious and desire more than merely revering the artist in charge.

Thus, in 2011, we embarked on a new approach. We booked a spacious venue and styled a model for each of five different sets that the participants would rotate through without any teaching. It was essentially a shoot-out, where the settings and require team necessitated a notably higher ticket price, yet it attracted an unexpectedly lengthy line of both novice and professional photographers eager to work independently.

We continued to host them for six years in New York, LA, France, Lanzarote, and Iceland. Our final event featured a week of six nude models in Tuscany; our last extravagant hurrah before COVID struck, and we assumed that we would never have the opportunity to hold such sessions again.

In terms of logistics, the shoots required months of planning, and the price of tickets frequently restricted our clientele to professionals with substantial disposable income (a young enthusiast might only attend with the help of a wealthy relative or unexpected windfall); however, participants consistently reported that what they gained was superior to any workshop they had previously attended. They formed authentic cameraderies (see what I did there? My English degree was not in vain!) They were exhausting, overwhelming, and we typically allocated a significant portion of the budget toward production that I could utilize to create my own body of work from, Surreal Fashion.

In the following eight years, we welcomed two daughters, observed the post-COVID world trying to resume normalcy while the £5 sandwiches at service stations became the norm, and pondered whether anyone was still picking up a camera – especially with the AI app I even have on my phone – until one day when Matt logged into Facebook after nearly a decade of being deactivated and discovered our clients were open to the prospect of another event.

We are excited to dust off our camera equipment, soar to new heights, and perhaps even generate some income to cover the gas bill; however, what we miss most is the excitement. The social interaction. The kind of experiences I believe people will crave more than ever in a post-socially distanced, financially cautious, virtual meta world.

As I mentioned regarding a scene I captured underwater in the Cayman Islands that served as a foundation for a CGI piece, “Such an endeavor could certainly be easily accomplished by AI these days – without the nauseating bobbing on a boat at dawn, purchasing costly underwater camera housing, or fretting that your model might be stung by a jellyfish – but the breakfast afterward really wouldn’t taste as delightful, would it?”

Therefore, following a tumultuous 2024 filled with personal and professional challenges, witnessing individuals I never realized had the capacity for tears grappling with anxiety, and appreciating the blessings of all we’ve had the privilege of enjoying in our careers… we are plunging back into the deep end of applying lipstick on five models at Captain Barnes’ House in New York in April.

We’re returning to our Fashion Shoot Experience, feeling thankful in 2025 that I can still refer to myself as a photographer, educator, or entrepreneur. Additionally, we’re taking on a workshop at a Swiss castle, where I will gladly share every intricate detail of my art-making process if it helps preserve a slice of that historical richness. Thus, our New Year Resolution for 2025 is: Let’s Get Physical… Again. Well, at least during school holidays.