Inspired by my photography students, a lesson in job satisfaction

The first Saturday of 2020 saw me welcoming Stephanie and her two daughters ; Clementine & Isla here at Studio Faire for a day of photography tuition.

The idea was to work with Clementine and her new Canon 4000D DSLR to help familiarise her with the more manual settings as well as help her understand the basic technical elements such as ISO, Shutter Speed & Aperture/Focal Length. Then, after this, get creative with composition hints and tips and look at processing the shots in Lightroom. With Isla, we focussed on her iPhone photography technique. 

First off, we played in the studio with flash lights and the girls undertook a portrait session with their Mum. This went really well and we laughed maybe a little too much! (Actually, there’s never too much laughter.)

After lunch we headed out to shoot images around Nérac. All four of us snapped away at the sights and views of this charming Cité Royale in Lot-et-Garonne and after 90 minutes or so, we returned to Studio Faire to process the shots and continue with some studio fun.

A mini trampoline appeared and a swishy skirt was adorned by Isla. Clementine then used the knowledge gained earlier to shoot aerial shots, in a theatre/dance style, of her sister mid-flight in her swishy skirt.
(See results below)

The girls then swopped roles and Isla became the photographer.

Throughout the day I was inspired by the energy of all three of my students. The girls shot many photos and hopefully went away with many tips and tricks to aid them in their photography and I think Mum may have even left with a new LinkedIn profile shot!

As a photographer and educator, I am always pleasantly surprised by the energy and positivity that pours out of teenagers and glad that I can help to inspire, just a little bit, and encourage creativity and focus with an art form such as this.

Every single photography day that I’ve hosted has left me with something new to take away… I learn something every time I spend time with new people and am very grateful for the opportunity to hang out with awesome characters and make new friends along the way.

If you are interested in coming to spend the day with me in Nérac on a photography day course, please get in touch via e-mail: colin@colinusher.com

Click on the image below to view the gallery larger.