Coaching

If you catch a fish for someone, they can feed themselves for a day. If you teach them how to fish, they can feed themselves for a lifetime. An adage as old as language: but no less true today than ever before.

An effective coach aids his students in acquiring the photographic skills they can then apply for themselves for a lifetime of creative image-making and enjoyment. A caring coach asks of his students to plumb the depths of their creative beings to find inside the passion that will encourage them to always seek to apply their fullest abilities, not only to their photographic endeavors, but to every step of the journey, as well.

It is my belief that knowledge and caring are the cornerstones on which quality coaching is based and it is my steadfast purpose to offer this approach to coaching to every student with whom I work.

Coaching consists of half-day or full-day increments, primarily, but not exclusively, in the field. In each instance thoughtful instruction is combined with beautiful locations to encourage every student to reach the highest level of their capability.

Half-day sessions are $175, and full-day sessions are $350. All sessions are one-on-one unless two students arrange to do a joint session in tandem.

Typically a half-day session is 6-8 hours in the field and a full-day session is 12-14 hours. We travel in a single vehicle to locations chosen with consideration given to light and time of year, so that there is maximum opportunity for personal interaction and creative work. If desired, critique sessions can be arranged in the afternoon of a half-day session or, on the following day of a full-day session. Critique sessions are $125 for a 4-hour session, with no limit on the number of images that may be critiqued during the session. Students opting for the critique session feature should bring their laptops, card readers, and a small flash drive with them to the session.

In what I consider to be one of the classic works on creativity and coaching, Coaching the Artist Within, Eric Maisel's first chapter is devoted to "becoming a self-coach"; and he spends the entire remainder of the book talking about how this is accomplished. Our time together is meant to emphasize exactly this, for ultimately you are the artist in whose hand the camera becomes the tool for the expression of your creative vision.