Learning with John Denton
Being a photographer is an absolute joy and I frequently joke that when I go to work I have to try hard to to smile too much for fear of my wife getting annoyed with my smugness – but it is true and being a photographer is a joy. One of the many pleasures is meeting other photographers and this week I have had a real ambition come true by working with one of my favourite photographers John Denton.
John is a Fellow with the SWPP and runs training courses on behalf of the SWPP and through his own training company John Denton Training www.johndentontraining.com. I have had the opportunity to undertake four days training on a 1:1 basis with John and also time with Liz Denton to help with commercial aspects of running a photography business.
I have completed two days so far with a third tomorrow before a few weeks away to practise what I have learnt and then come back for a follow up. I thought I would share a few details of progress to date and also a quick video to illustrate what we have been working on.
During the first day John and I worked with one of his amazing models Nikki Hafter (http://nikkihaftermodel.tumblr.com) in a range of location and studio setups. John is an a brilliant tutor – welcoming, relaxed, warm, patient and very giving of his experience and knowledge. Here is the video:
On the second day John has walked me through his post production workflow and editing techniques on both Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. John holds nothing back, is a real pleasure to learn from and genuinely enjoys teaching.
Liz Denton is a whirlwind of energy, enthusiasm, encouragement and practical advice. On the afternoon of the second day Liz and I discussed commercial aspects of running a successful photography business before putting together some short and long term objectives and identified some key next steps. Liz mentors photographers and other creatives – I strongly recommend that anyone looking to grow within the industry taps into both Liz and John knowledge and experience.
I can’t wait until tomorrow to learn more and am fired up to take away my new found knowledge and get implementing. I can’t recommend John Denton Training highly enough and feel both excited but also somewhat under pressure to take away this knowledge and make a success of it – having said that if I follow their advice I am going to struggle to not make a success.
At Unshaken Photography Training we strongly believe in continuous development for all photographers – you can never learn enough – each year we strive to develop ourselves in all areas of photography. If you are looking to develop your skills then please contact us on 01245 494258 or www.unshaken-photography.co.uk.
A big thank you to John, Liz and Nikki for their time, openness and patience.