Damien.

At 63 I tend to take things easy now , I am constantly amazed though at the new people coming into the business as part-timers, dabblers with Digitals – but very smart talkers and communicators over the Internet , and this , not their photographic skill , gets them through , – and if it doesn’t they always seem to be able to talk their way out of it , anyway !

But the more genuine aspirants to the profession will go along and find a good tutor/mentor , like the Lovegroves here .

As for the others I write about , nobody would ever be able to teach them anything because they already know it all .

At this stage of my life I would only impart my experience as a photographer of 44 years to a trainee who genuinely wants to provide an excellent service someday , who is committed , hard-working at photography and willing to learn , the way I was taught myself back in the day by several good working photographers I was lucky , very lucky , to meet along the way .

And I’m still learning – from Damien’s blog here right now !!!

Regarding Annabel Williams , I disagree with her approach . Annabel preaches meeting so often with the Bride-and-Groom to be , that they might end up having no lives of their own during their Courtship , so much so that she might as well hop into the bed with them ( not that any full-blooded fella would object ! ) . Her photography is GOOD !

A good Pro meets the couple for an hour or so , twice before their wedding ( at most ) , knows what they want , what he can do , turns up in good time , does the job , in-and-out , that’s that, it’s in the bag .

And if it isn’t , he shouldn’t be offering himself in the first place !!!

Damien.

Meeting Catherine and Damien will change your life – it has for me.

In choosing what training I thought would help with my development, the most important step was researching the various options on the market. I actually found a good step was to use conventions and trade shows such as Focus and SWPP to see the trainers in action doing talks and presentations as an insight into how good their ability to transfer knowledge is.

The next stage was seeing what sort of end product they were delivering and whilst some experienced trainers were excellent at parting with knowledge, unfortunately they appeared stuck in producing the same image they had been doing the last 10-15 years. Obviously this is no good if you are striving for something modern and contemporary.

Finally, as Damien suggests above, my last stage was checking out what the trainers had produced by way of books and dvds.

Ultimately, I chose Damien’s courses as I considered this offered the best return for the investment in time and money and was not let down.

In fact, I found that the specific training itself was just a small part of the learning experience with Damien’s insights adding extra value. As a direct result of the knowledge I had gained, with my next shoot I had more than re-couped my investment in the course, which probably is the best recommendation you can get.

Thanks for your contribution. Unfortunately there’s not really such a thing as a qualification in teaching photography. There are people that will wave certificates at me saying I’ve got one and here it is. But the truth is, the bit of paper is next to useless because you can’t measure a photographers inspirational ability to transfer knowledge with enthusiasm and passion. There are many great photography teachers in our industry like The Yerburys & Simon John. Their ability is driven by talent and charisma in equal measure.