Making money from Photography in your spare time: Event Photography Training Course

New Date Announced – 21st September 2013, Leamington Spa

Are you interested in making money from photography in your spare time? If so, have you considered becoming an event photographer? A very high percentage of events are held in evenings and at weekends and therefore lend themselves to part time photographers. Perhaps you are considering a change in career and want to move into photography over a period of time – that’s how I did it – event photography can be a great way of building a business. We are hosting specialist event photography training courses in Leamington Spa.

It should be pointed out that event photography isn’t necessarily a golden goose or a license to print money. To listen to some trainers, you’d think that the printers were printing £10 notes and not photographs! Whilst it is true that some events can be quite lucrative, they are generally the exception rather than the rule.

So what is Event Photography?

Basically, it is like ‘normal’ photography, just with instant sales. The idea is that, as a photographer, you turn up at an event (maybe a dinner-dance, school prom or Pony Club games) and take photos which you then sell to those attending. Sounds simple enough? Well, there are all sorts of things to consider…..

1) What camera kit do you need
2) How are you going to print the photos
3) Lighting and posing your subjects
4) Getting the image from camera to the customer’s hand
5) What products are you going to offer?

This is clearly not an exhaustive list – there’s far more to consider – including things like insurance, marketing and staffing.

If you want to move into the event photography sphere, how do you go about it without making expensive mistakes? The answer is through training and mentoring. Listen to the advice of those that have been doing it for some time and learn from them. There are numerous sources of useful information – such as the Event Photographer Society. Now there’s also a new training course that I am running in conjunction with Images2Inspire.

Carol H • Really excellent course yesterday Simon, thoroughly enjoyed it and I feel I learned so much. As Tina says, I’d recommend it to anyone considering a career in event photography. The posing guides were good, too. Thank you.

Entitled “The Essentials of Event Photography” – the day-long course will cover a huge range of topics. We will cover indoor and outdoor events – proms, social events, motor sport, theatre schools, team sports and many more. We will explain how we work and why we do it the way we do. The day will be packed full of practical advice and is certain to set you on the right road with your business venture.

It is important to point out that this is not just another course that’s intended to try and sell you other products – it is not sponsored by any supplier or manufacturers – it will just be good, honest advice. Book your place on the Essentials of Event Photography Training Course

The first course – The Essentials of Event Photography – is being held on Saturday, 21st  September in Leamington Spa. This is a ‘Must See’ Training Program for all aspiring Event Photographers or new entrants into the sector where invaluable advice and a retrospect of the business will be given. During an intensive day long session we will cover the following:-

• I. What is “Event Photography”
• A. Key things to consider
• 1. Printer choice
• 2. Software choice
• a) Picassa – Free
• b) Lightroom
• c) Apple Aperture
• d) Darkroom (Core & Pro)
• e) Bespoke Systems – Mitsubishi Click
• 3. Workflow – wireless, tethered, card-swap
• II. Social Events
• A. Lighting
• B. Background
• C. Posing
• D.Workflow
• 1. Picassa
• 2. Lightroom
• 3. Mitsi Click?
• 4. Darkroom
• E. Products to offer – prints, block mounts, glass mounts
• etc….
• F. Green screen
• 1. Lighting
• 2. Posing
• 3. Background selection
• 4. Workflow
• a) Darkroom
• b) Green Screen Wizard
• c) Photokey 5
• III. Sporting Events
• A. Equestrian
• 1. Ridden – Jumping/Dressage/Pony Club Games
• 2. Showing – In-hand
• B. Motorsport
• C. Ball Games (Football Tournaments, Rugby)
• 1. Action vs. T & I’s
• D.Workflow
• 1. Lightroom
• 2. Darkroom
• E. Complications
• 1. How to work with multiple photographers/rings/pitches
• 2. How to work from a field – shelter, power etc.
• IV. Post-Event
• A. Marketing
• B. Website
• C. Image sale & fulfilment
• V. Conclusion
• A. Questions and Answers Session

Tina W • Great training course today Simon. Very informative and inspirational. Great value for money. I would recommend it to other like minded professionals. Thanks for the warm welcome.