Brush up your photographic skills and learn new techniques on one of our private photography courses amidst the stunning landscapes and wildlife of South West England.
Private photo courses
Our exclusive photography courses are the perfect way to enhance your photography, whilst exploring some of the most beautiful parts of the country. You can choose what skills you would like covered, and whether you want to focus on wildlife, landscapes or even local festivals; or maybe any combination. If you let Steve know what you are looking for he will organise a personalised program. You can even include learning some Lightroom skills, or opt for a full private Lightroom workshop - either on line or in person.
Highlights:
Tailored photography tuition
Explore photogenic locations
Flexible durations
Learn with friends or family
Transport can be provided
Image review at end of the course
Combine with a Lightroom workshop
Photography courses with Steve Davey
One of the best ways to improve your photographs is to simply head out and take pictures. Don't wait until you are able to travel again: get out as much as possible and shoot as much as possible. And if you are able to be accompanied by a professional photographer, to help you with angles and techniques, then so much the better!
This is where I come in! On one of our private photography courses, I will take you to various photogenic locations in the West Country, and help you to make the most of photographing them. With my help, you will be able to learn how to approach a new location, choose your composition and then master a number of vital techniques that will give you the confidence to tackle similar subjects on your own in the future. This is what I am aiming for on both my courses and photography tours. I want to help you to get the skills and the confidence to be able to travel and photograph on your own!
There are a number of amazing locations within an hour or so drive of my new base in Somerset. This includes idyllic villages, stunning coastline and remote and wild moors. Itineraries can be customised to suit your interests, levels of fitness and the sorts of shots and even skills that you are interested in.
Please have a look at the images below to see some of the places you can be taken to, and the photographic skills that you can learn, and then please do get in touch to discuss the options, the sort of places you are interested in and also the sort of photographic skills that you would like to master.
Potential locals courses that I can organise include:
Avalon Marshes: The Avalon Marshes near Glastonbury are a fantastic collection of reserves created out of historic peat bogs, where Buzzards, Owls, Marsh Harriers and Great Egrets are common and Bitterns and Otters are sometimes seen. There are a number of reserves and hides to explore, and as well as the incredible birdlife some of the land-scapes are incredible - especially at the beginning and end of the day. If required, we can also take in the nearby town of Glastonbury with its iconic Tor. This would be a perfect location to brush up on both landscape and wildlife skills, especially tips for using telephoto lenses and photographing moving subjects.
Starling Mumerations at the Avalon Marshes: Peaking between November and February, the Starling Mumerations on the Avalon Marshes near Glastonbury are one of the wildlife spectacle of the UK. Tens of thousands of birds flying in formation to their roosts at sunset form a compelling subject. I would scope out the precise spot that the Starlings roosted in the night before the course, which will give us the best chance of seeing them. If you are local, or prepared to overnight in the area we could photograph in the reserve in the afternoon, catch the Starlings then return for pre-sunrise the next morning to see the starlings flying away in the morning, before shooting more in the morning light. For the rest of our time, we can photograph in the fantastic collection of reserves that make up the Avalon Marshes.
Wild Dartmoor: There are so many photographic opportunities in Dartmoor, from photographing some of the spectacular tors to exploring ancient forests, historic bridges and tumbling rivers. Dartmoor is also the perfect place to shoot astro photography. There are a number of locations where you can improve and develop significant landscape photography skills, including composition, tripod use, long exposures using filters and stacking images to maximise depth of field. This course can run over a number of days with overnight stays in the area.
Highlights of West Dorset: Starting off with a sunrise at the beautiful Colymer's Hill, before taking in Symondsbury and the haunting Shutes and Hell Lanes, Abbotsbury and other stunning Dorset locations before finishing off at Burton Bradstock beach for sunset. There are a number of locations where you can improve and develop significant landscape photography skills, including composition, tripod use, long exposures using filters and stacking images to maximise depth of field.
West Country Festivals: The West Country is home to a number of quirky local festivals, including the May Day Beltane celebrations at Glastonbury and the crazy Burning Barrels at Ottery St Mary on the 5th November. We can organise a local course to take in any of these local celebrations, giving you help with your photography and plenty of local knowledge.
We are also able to meet you at a local railway station, and provide full transport during the course if required. We are also able to recommend quality local accommodation if you would like to stay over in the area of your course, and we can combine any of these destinations with a private Lightroom Workshop if required.
What skills can be learned on a private photography course?
There are a number of skills that can be covered on a private photography course, including:
Mastering Raw processing is integral to the creative process. It is as much a part of photography as composition or exposure. Adobe Lightroom is the most popular RAW processing software, and has a number of features that I believe makes it the best. Yet many people struggle with even getting started with the basics.
Although a very complex program which can appear bewildering, it can also be used in a simple and powerful fashion, to quickly and creatively achieve excellent results. Once you are comfortable with the basics of Lightroom, you can expand your knowledge, and customise the software to speed up your workflow, edit metadata and tackle more challenging images that take a greater level of skill to process.
Lightroom affords you a great deal of localised control over the tones and even the white balance of your image. The built in masking features including virtual graduated filters offer a much greater control than traditional (and expensive) resin filters. The Adjustment Brush will give you even more flexibility: allowing areas of the image to be locally changed.
There are a number of advanced techniques that every photographer should try to master to increase their picture taking opportunities. Combined with Lightroom's sister program, Adobe Photoshop, Steve can teach you to create natural looking HDR blends to maximise contrast, stack images to maximise depth of field and even convert your images to black and white, maintaining all of the control and creativity of a traditional darkroom.
Steve is able to run a wide series of private Lightroom workshops, to suit your level of experience. Workshops can be standalone, or combined with a bespoke photography course. You can travel to our premises in Somerset, I could travel to you, or we could carry out a virtual course via Zoom. The beauty of these workshops is that they can be completely tailored to you.
Any Lightroom course will be completely tailored to your individual requirements and level of existing knowledge. The sort of things that can be covered are below.
What skills can be learned on a private Lightroom workshop?
There are a number of skills that can be covered on a private Lightroom workshop, including:
RAW processing principles and terminology
Setting up a Lightroom catalog
Basic RAW processing
Using Masking and Virtual Graduated Filters
Using Adjustments Brush
Assembling Panoramas and HDRs
Stacking images for depth of field
Advanced blending of images
GPS tagging of images
Creating photo-books
Creative black and white processing
Accurate colour printing
Tailormade private photography holidays
Below you can find more about Steve Davey, who will work with you to organise your perfect tour, and Intrepid Travel, who will be handling the land arrangements and bookings.
West Country courses and Lightroom workshops – send an enquiry
Contact information
Steve Davey
Steve Davey is a writer and photographer who has travelled the World in the course of his work for more years than he will ever care to admit, researching and photographing for magazines, newspapers and publishers.
Steve relocated from Brixton to an Old Vicarage in South Somerset a few years ago, and since the move he has explored the West Country extensively - finding some of the most photogenic locations in the local area.
This includes the nearby Dorset Coast, the Avalon Marshes with its famous Starling Mumerations, the Somerset Levels and the rugged beauty of Dartmoor.
Whilst carrying out these explorations, Steve has significantly expanded his skillset and embraced a slower and more considered style of photographer than he is used to on the road.
Steve brings all of his experience to his West Country and Lightroom courses and can teach you many of the tips and techniques used by a professional travel photographer.
