It sounds intriguing doesn’t it? The chance to spend a day, weekend or week in some exotic locale with a photographer you admire. Learning from their hands this workshop is sure to change the way you shoot even though it will no doubt empty your wallet.
The truth of the matter is that most workshops are a scam. Most, but not all, photographers do them to make a quick buck. Some have portfolio requirements but many if not most do not. As long as you’ve got a pulse and the check clears, come on down! Sure you get to rub shoulders with a great photographer and maybe you pick up a trick or two…
Rabbi and Student. Hameln, Germany 2007 © Damaso Reyes
But what happens when you get home? How do you put into practice what you just learned on a daily basis? The photographer is long gone onto the next great assignment or workshop. You however are stuck right where you were before, a few thousand dollars poorer and not much more knowledgeable.
Here’s a good time to point I that in addition to teaching I also offer workshops. Why, you ask? Quite simply some people don’t want to put in the time to really learn how to improve. They want a day or a weekend session and that’s it. I don’t just teach for the money (though it is nice); I teach because I remember what it was like to just start out and struggle with trying to turn my vision of the world into something tangible. I wish I’d had access to a professional who was willing to work with me over a long period and help me grow.
Schoolgrils in Zanizibar 2006. © Damaso Reyes
But all I had was University and the freelance world. I learned in classrooms full of people who didn’t really want to be there and from teachers who had either been stuck in the classroom too long or just needed the extra money (there were of course several notable exceptions).
So when I began to think about teaching classes it was important to me that they be one on one so that I could really help the photographer I was working with grow. When you’re in a classroom or a workshop with six or eight other people (if you’re lucky) you have that many different skill sets, that many different interests to try to satisfy as an instructor. Needless to say it is impossible to do. All you can hope for is to give everyone something that they can take away from your classes.
Drill Instructor. Parris Island, SC 2006 © Damaso Reye
So yes, I offer workshops but they are one on one. I figure if a student wants to try to learn something in a day or a weekend the least I can do is give that person my full attention. Most of these exotic locale workshops should just stop the pretense and say what they are: vacations that are photography themed.
Maybe you’ve done a workshop with a great photographer and it has changed your life. Great! But I feel like most people pay for something they won’t end up getting in these settings.
Photography, especially documentary and photojournalism, asks a tremendous amount from you as a person. Time, commitment and passion are just the start. In order to tell stories you have to learn a new visual language and that is hard to do in a day, a week or even a lifetime…
Perpetrator of Genocide. Rwanda 2004 © Damaso Reyes
