You, your camera and how to get the best from both of them.
About me..
Action Learning - It's about what you and what you want to get from the course.
I started photography when I was 16 as a hobby, over the years this developed into a more professional career. I have over 30 years’ experience as a professional photographer in the UK shooting for agencies on hundreds of projects involving photographic story-telling. I also had a successful freelance career as a fashion photographer, shooting fashion editorial and look-books for top brands such as Harvey Nichols, men's brand Steel and Jelly and have worked with numerous publication, magazines and models to launch their careers in the fashion industry. Now I run a range of holiday photography courses based in France at the Retreat at Ribiere. And also work with models and influencers to provide creative content.
The Holidays
I offer three holidays aimed at the serious beginner and intermediate photographers who want to move to the next level. Whether that’s just understanding the processes and taking better pictures to those who want to start in the business. Whatever your level you will take a lot away with you from the Holiday.
I describes the style of the courses as 'Action Learning' - whilst there will be discussion about cameras, equipment, lighting, lenses, the focus will be on YOU doing. The courses are not designed to show you how good a photographer David is or the style he uses. They are designed to show you the photographic process by doing it for yourself - learning, improving and understanding that you can develop your own style.
All our holidays are run Saturday to Saturday with six days of tutorial and shooting and departure on the Saturday.
David with his Fuji which has been adapted with a phase one digital back.
Additional Information
Other areas we cover
All the workshops will talk through best practice, workflow methods from shooting in raw, batch processing, to photo editing, Photoshop retouching, file naming and colour correcting for printing amongst other things. This, however, is not a Photoshop tutorial. We will look at achieving as much as we can in camera and will look at how we use tools such as Photoshop for making simple and critical changes to our images to enhance them for online publication, print and storage. We will, however, look at using a number of tools in Photoshop including layers, non-destructive retouching and sharpening and the correct way to set up key brushes, etc.
Pricing
The cost for a week including transfer from Limoges Airport, full board and your accommodation is 1300 euro. There is no single occupancy supplement and if you want to bring a friend or partner who can relax and enjoy the beauty of La Ribiere, they pay 700 euro including meals and transfers. To review your accommodation click here.
Facilities
Each student has access to a computer, Photoshop, Lightroom and printer.
Access to the studio, backdrops, Bowens lighting, wind machines, range of umbrellas and other kit.
Outdoor location both on site and off site
Use of swimming pool and sauna
Transport to and from the airport at Limoges
Courses are limited to groups no bigger than 8 although we prefer smaller groups of 5 or 6 students plus guest
Mastering Portraits Holiday
What we cover
The Mastering Portraits holiday is designed specifically to help you get to the next level. If you are a beginner or intermediate photographer you will gain something from this and come away with a real sense of how to shoot your own style. It's fun it's challenging but you get to relax at Ribière Retreat. It begins with an exploration of the different types of portraits and styles that you can take. We look at the technical aspects of achieving a certain style - black and white, high key, low key, natural lighting and using outdoor lighting. Each day focuses on a different aspect of portraiture and each day you have a task to complete. Sometimes you have individual challenges and other times you work as a group. The whole aim is to get you doing, understanding how to do it better and giving you an opportunity to put this into practise during your holiday. Each day ends with a review of your work and group/one-to-one feedback. At the end of the week you will exhibit your best four shots. The holiday is based both in our studio and outdoor in our extensive grounds and on location.
The course in more details.
Saturday- drinks reception, facilities familiarisation, course outline photography icebreaker, dinner and drinks.
Sunday - The morning tutorial will start with a discussion about thinking before we start shooting. Before we go into the basics of covering understanding your camera, iso, wb, settings, lenses, and then a short introduction to understanding lighting and an introduction to portrait styles. This will ensure that we are all understanding some of the technical aspects of the camera before we start to look at what we want to achieve with the camera. Their will be group discussion on modern day portraiture and why its still as relevant today as it has ever been. Group discussion on the importance of the photographer in portraiture. A quick summary of some of the most influencing photographers of our time. There will be practical activities throughout the morning session and its the only morning we will not be doing a lot of individual camera work. Afternoon session will be focused on your first challenge. You will be working in small groups to achieve a desired output. With guidance from myself. I will not be setting up lighting for you and you just shooting what I have done. The challenges are designed to get you thinking and working together to produce an output. You will have time to select and edit one shot for presentation at dinner and for appraisal. This is a key part of the day. It's not about particularly getting it right but more about what you have learnt during the day.
Monday and Tuesday follow the same format. Short morning tutorial outlining the objectives of the day, with tips and guides on how to achieve the look and style we are aiming for from the practical challenge. The first two days will be studio based focusing on lighting styles and developing your own presence and confidence to direct behind the camera. Then there will be a short introduction to the studio and the lighting kit and tools.and what effect they give on a subject. We will look at classic lighting styles and how to achieve them. The Afternoon sessions will focus on your Challenge.
Wednesday is a day of leisure.
Thursday and Friday follow the same format. Again a short morning tutorial outlining the objectives of the day. Whilst the previous sessions will have been in studio. the following two days will be location based. So we will talk about lighting outdoors, or using window light, or mixed lighting and reflectors etc. Again a Challenge will be set for review over dinner. The Friday evening meal will feature your best images for review and discussion.
Saturday you will depart.
Mastering Fashion Holiday
What we cover
This holiday is not simply designed for those who want to be in the fashion industry. It’s aimed at demonstrating the tools and techniques used by fashion photographers to get stunning images quickly and under pressure. Again, we look at different styles, different ways to tell stories and the tools and techniques needed to help you be more creative in developing your shots. We use models to shoot both in studio and outdoors on location. The approach adopted is again Action Learning focused with tuition and then guided practise with set challenges for you to achieve. We discuss the whole process from creating the look, make-up and hair, art direction, shot selection and processing.
The course in more details.
Saturday- drinks reception, facilities familiarisation, course outline photography icebreaker, dinner and drinks.
Sunday - The morning tutorial will start with a discussion about the importance of your team when shooting fashion work. Creativity, art direction, makeup artists, stylists and the model selection are all important elements in the process. There will then be a very quick discussion about camera equipment and the move towards filmography in fashion. . Their will be group discussion on modern day fashion photography. Group discussion on the importance of the creativity of the photographer in the process. A quick summary of some of the most influencing fashion photographers of our time. There will be practical activities throughout the morning session and its the only morning we will not be doing a lot of individual camera work. Afternoon session will be focused on your first challenge which will be studio based to familiarise everyone with the basics of lighting and the equipment you can use for different effects. You will be working in small groups to achieve a desired output. With guidance from myself. I will not be setting up lighting for you and you just shooting what I have done. The challenges are designed to get you thinking and working together to produce an output. You will have time to select and edit one shot for presentation at dinner and for appraisal. This is a key part of the day. It's not about particularly getting it right but more about what you have learnt during the day.
Monday and Tuesday follow the same format. Short morning tutorial outlining the objectives of the day, with tips and guides on how to achieve the look and style we are aiming for from the practical challenge. The next two days will be studio based focusing on lighting styles and developing your own presence and confidence to direct behind the camera both days you will have a professional model to work with. We will got through the process of developing a creative idea, and realising it in camera. The Afternoon sessions will focus on your Challenge.
Wednesday is a day of leisure.
Thursday and Friday follow the same format. Again a short morning tutorial outlining the objectives of the day. Whilst the previous sessions will have been in studio. the following two days will be location based. So we will talk about lighting outdoors, using sunlight, how to put light in and take it out. On both days you will be shooting with a professional fashion model. How to use mixed lighting and reflectors etc. Again a Challenge will be set each day for review over dinner. The Friday evening meal will feature your best images for review and discussion.
Saturday you will depart.
Mastering the art Nude and Erotica
What we cover
Perhaps one of the most difficult styles of photography to master but with an understanding of lighting, mood and purpose you can transform your images into truly stunning shots. This holiday uses life models - male and female - and includes studio and outdoor settings to enable you to get creative. As with all our holidays, it's Action Learning focused with exploration of the different styles, understanding the technical aspects of achieving them and then putting them into practise. Each day you are set a challenge to achieve a certain style or image and at the end of each day there is time for reflection, group discussion and for you to show your best images. Key to your holiday is how you interact with the model and you are given plenty of time to work with them.
The course in more details.
Saturday- drinks reception, facilities familiarisation, course outline photography icebreaker, dinner and drinks.
Sunday - The morning tutorial will start with a discussion about the importance of working professionally and the appropriate etiquette. There will then be a general discussion about why the art nude remains so popular. There will then be a very quick discussion about camera equipment and camera settings and how best to set up your camera. Their will be group discussion on modern day nude, glamour and erotic photography. Group discussion on the importance of the creativity of the photographer in the process. A quick summary of some of the most influencing photographers in this genre. There will be practical activities throughout the morning session and its the only morning we will not be doing a lot of individual camera work. Afternoon session will be focused on your first challenge which will be studio based to familiarise everyone with the basics of lighting and the equipment you can use for different effects when shooting nude. You will be working in small groups to achieve a desired output. With guidance from myself. I will not be setting up lighting for you and you just shooting what I have done. The challenges are designed to get you thinking and working together to produce an output. You will have time to select and edit one shot for presentation at dinner and for appraisal. This is a key part of the day. It's not about particularly getting it right but more about what you have learnt during the day.
Monday and Tuesday follow the same format. Short morning tutorial outlining the objectives of the day, with tips and guides on how to achieve the look and style we are aiming for from the practical challenge. The next two days will be studio based focusing on lighting styles and developing your own presence and confidence to direct behind the camera both days you will have a model to work with. We will go through the process of developing a creative idea, and realising it in camera. The Afternoon sessions will focus on your Challenge.
Wednesday is a day of leisure.
Thursday and Friday follow the same format. Again a short morning tutorial outlining the objectives of the day. Whilst the previous sessions will have been in studio. the following two days will be location based. So we will talk about lighting outdoors, using sunlight, how to put light in and take it out. How to use mixed lighting and reflectors etc. Again a Challenge will be set each day for review over dinner. On both days you will be shooting with a professional model. We will shoot one afternoon at the pool and one in the woods or in a room location if the weather is not on our side.The Friday evening meal will feature your best images for review and discussion.
Saturday you will depart.
