Book a Training Course

A £139 deposit is required to confirm your place on a weekend workshop. You can pay this via the PayPal button on the booking page or by BACS once I’ve sent an invoice. The remaining balance is due 28 days before the workshop. Workshops usually require a minimum number of participants to go ahead. A decision on whether the workshop will run is made around six weeks before the start date. If a weekend has to be rescheduled, you can choose either to have your deposit transferred to a future date (including an alternative weekend) or to receive a full refund of your deposit. Deposits are otherwise non‑refundable. I recommend taking out suitable insurance to cover you in case you need to cancel due to illness or other unforeseen reasons. Once the balance has been paid, course fees are not refundable, but may be transferred to a later workshop if your place can be filled by another participant (either found by you or me).

You’ll need a camera that can move from automatic mode into manual control, so you can adjust the exposure settings yourself. Any compact, bridge, mirrorless or DSLR camera is fine, as long as it has a mode dial with options such as A (or Av), P and M. If you’re unsure whether your camera is suitable, please get in touch and we can discuss it.

• Suitable outdoor shoes or walking boots. We won’t be walking far, but we will wander onto unpaved areas such as beaches and moorland. • Your camera (of course) and any lenses you have. • A tripod, plus a circular polarising filter for at least one of your lenses, and a set of neutral density (ND) filters – ideally a 3‑stop (ND8), a 6‑stop (ND64) and a 10‑stop (ND1000). These can be circular filters to fit at least one of your lenses, or square filters used with a suitable filter holder. If you’re unsure what to buy, please get in touch for advice. • Your camera manual if you have it, either a paper copy or electronic. If you can’t find the original, a quick online search will usually turn up a downloadable version. • A laptop with photo editing software installed (helpful but optional). • At least one memory card and a fully charged battery, plus a spare battery and your charger if you have them. • Waterproofs for both you and your camera kit – a waterproof rucksack or camera bag is ideal. I won’t make you walk around in pouring rain, but there’s always a chance of getting caught out by the weather. • Drinks and snacks. Although we won’t be far from civilisation and can usually dive into a shop if needed, it’s useful to have something with you in case we don’t pass one when hunger sets in. • Some change in case it’s needed for parking.

This workshop is designed for photographers who already know the basics of operating their camera, but either need a refresher or want to develop their skills further. Although we’ll spend the first 2–3 hours making sure everyone is at a similar level, most of the weekend will be spent taking photos (with me on hand to help), reviewing images, and processing them together. It’s important that you already have a basic understanding of: • Composition (for example the rule of thirds and leading lines) • How to choose and control your focus point • How to shoot in Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority modes It’s also helpful (but not essential) if you have at least a basic understanding of: • How to shoot in Manual mode and manage exposure • How to bracket exposures • How to use ND filters

There will be a maximum of six participants on this workshop, which keeps the group small enough for plenty of individual attention and flexibility on location choices. You’ll have lots of opportunity to ask questions, get feedback on your images, and receive one‑to‑one guidance out on location and during the editing sessions.

I usually choose locations that don’t involve too much walking, so we can spend more time taking photos and less time travelling between spots. However, you will need reasonable mobility and be comfortable walking up to around half a mile, sometimes over uneven or sloping ground such as coastal paths, moorland or beaches. Where possible, I’ll tailor the specific locations to the overall fitness and mobility of the group, so if you have any concerns, please let me know in advance.

We can work around most weather, but persistent heavy rain is more of a challenge. In several years I’ve not yet had to cancel a weekend completely, but this is Devon, so it is always a possibility. If the forecast is poor I’ll do my best to plan relevant indoor photography activities and adjust our timings to avoid the worst of the rain. However, please be aware that bad weather can still affect what we are able to do and may have some impact on your enjoyment of the weekend.

I’m afraid I’m not able to insure against client cancellations, which is why workshop payments are non‑refundable. To protect your booking, I strongly recommend taking out suitable travel or holiday insurance that covers course or workshop fees in case you have to cancel unexpectedly (for example due to illness, family emergencies or travel disruption). This way, you should be able to claim back your costs if something unforeseen prevents you from attending.

Most questions about your accommodation at Mazzard Farm can be answered by the following pages on their website: • https://www.mazzardfarm.com/before-you-start-packing(https://www.mazzardfarm.com/before-you-start-packing) • https://www.mazzardfarm.com/faqs(https://www.mazzardfarm.com/faqs) If you’re still unsure about anything after reading those, feel free to ask me.