Photography workshops - 6 questions to ask before signing up

FYI

Article:

http://www.naturephoto​graphers.net/articles0​510/rb0510-1.html

I find that I agree with pretty much the entire list of points there and especaily with the last point - a day out shooting with no instruction or where the photographer is not "watching" their students simply won't work for the students at all. You can only ask a question if you know to ask it otherwise you can keep doing the same mistake(s) over and over and that should be something that the instructor catches first if they are doing their job and not just focusing on their own photography.

I have to say though I also get worried when I read that a workshop is a day or two long and has very long lists of stuff they cover - you can't cover shooting, editing, composition, basics and advanced shooting methods, creativity and mixin shooting time with the pro all in 2 days.

I mean you can do it, but you won't get much question time or depth out of it.

That's a great list. I think in general it's good to do some research and maybe talk to the instructor directly (if you can) about what your expectations from the workshop are. I think it would also help to figure out who usually takes these workshops. It might be that the instructor is aiming for serious amateurs, but if the majority in the class end up still learning how to operate their cameras, she would be forced to slow down.

For example, I'm currently taking a creative lighting workshop that I assumed would be about various ways to light up a subject and overall master natural and flash lighting. At least that's what the description was suggesting. Instead, it turned out to be a pretty technical class on exposure and metering and how to properly use your camera. Though the instructor is great, most of the things he covers I already figured out. His explanations help to make my skills and knowledge more concrete, and bring theory to what I just learned by tinkering. But as for learning something new I don't get much. I'm also a minority (not racial, but in terms of understanding of the subject) in the class, and can't really push for an accelerated flow to more advanced topics.

Overall, I think before signing up for a multi-thousand dollar trip across the world, it's good to take several of smaller (and cheaper) workshops first to understand the flow and what to generally expect. Or just sign up for one-on-one workshop and enjoy all the attention and make it flow the way you want to =)