First of all, if you are among the over 900 new owners of my new Secrets of Successful Event Photography course in its first week of release, a huge THANK YOU for your business and your wonderful feedback.
Second, if you’re not among those buyers, I’d like to share some of the feedback (both positive and negative) to help you decide if this course is right for you.
THE GOOD
First, a small sample of the overwhelmingly positive comments that have reminded me why I do this work:
“Packed with useful information I can immediately apply! You are able to simplify things and make them immediately comprehensible—a true sign of mastery. More, it is a sign that you have spent a great deal of time and effort on course design.” — Rick Caniglia
“The best and most concise explanation of slow sync and second curtain flash I’ve seen. Thank you!” — Arthur Drooker
“I have purchased all your other course materials, and knew to expect a great product. I got what I expected, and more!” — Greg Wingerd
“The video on flash modifiers and the way it is applied in event shooting was GREAT!” — Richard Battilana
“I was concerned about the price being higher that your other courses, and the fact that Julie was an unknown quantity. But after buying, I found the course was worth every bit of the price and Julie was a great addition! I LOVED the critique of the final shots at the end of the fashion shoot. Phil, you are a great teacher and having Julie take a totally different track on almost everything got me considering different ways to shoot, light, and think about events.” — Paul Wilson
“I was hesitant to purchase this after spending a fortune on self-help DVD’s that left me with more questions than they answered. But I really enjoy the bite sized chunks of information. Good value and very informative.” — Jim Matthews
“I was afraid this might be more “professional” than I needed since I’m doing pictures strictly for my own interest, but I found it very helpful for many situations. I especially like the information on flash photography, posing people and getting candid shots. I appreciate your including Julie with her different set of skills. I have recommended this course because it gives a lot of information without overwhelming us with technical jargon.” — Wendy Saunders
“I am not even really into event photography, but having purchased other videos that you have made, I felt sure that there would be some content that I could use. I was not disappointed. Flash is difficult to master properly, but the in-depth discussion that you presented sure made it a lot easier to understand. Keep up the excellent work!” — Brian Little
“I’m not a pro, but I learned several tricks that made this course worthwhile. I especially like your reassurance that you can do with less expensive equipment. I loved the discussion of pros and cons of various equipment and where you both went through your camera bags and provided your rationale. Thank you for your encouragement and your commitment to helping others shoot better photos.” — Bill Boyd
“I’m in love with this course! You teach me in minutes things I’ve been struggling to get out of other people, books, and tutorials for years.” — Geraldine Watson
“The way you inform and teach is the best of its kind I have ever experienced. Many thanks for your all round professionalism.” — Ray Stewart
That’s just a tiny fraction of the kind words I’ve received, and I wish I could share it all, but it would run on for pages.
THE BAD
But of course not all the feedback is positive. There are a handful of experienced shooters who felt that the material was not advanced enough for them. A typical comment is:
“I’ve been doing event photography for 18 years going back to film. I admire your effort on what you’ve done but this is strictly for a beginner.”
Approximately 6 out of 900+ customers requested a refund for this reason, and I happily refunded their purchase promptly. And that’s exactly why I have a 100% money back guarantee, so you can give my training a try with no risk.
On the other hand, far more often, I got comments from advanced and even professional event photographers saying that although some of the material was familiar, they gained new confidence by confirming their existing knowledge, while learning some new tricks and techniques that make the course worthwhile.
For example:
“I was afraid that the scope of the course was not broad enough to cater for my needs as a part time professional photographer. But it is chunked and sequenced so that I can dive deep directly into what I need. While the prime audience may be less experienced photographers, you have catered to a broad range of experiences and learning styles. Great work!” — Paul Mansell
“As an ‘intermediate’ photographer I was concerned that there might now be much new information. As expected, I found the equipment section mostly a refresher. But the photo shoot section has been very helpful and is worth the cost. I liked the part on parades best. I know I will now have a much higher percentage of ‘keepers’ in my event photos.” — Lenny Wollitz
THE PERSONAL
Finally there are the personal comments and are most gratifying of all to me, and that remind me why I do the work I do. Some examples:
“There is no finer teacher and no better training videos than yours.”
“I follow you as a GURU, and I will never stop thanking you, and telling people about you who want to get the best from their cameras.”
“I recommend this course because I recommend YOU…”
“You co-teacher Julie is delightful. Both of you seem very genuine and humble.”
“Phil, you are professional in your approach to training and you make it enjoyable. I have a number of videos from others, but none reach the standard that you achieve.”
“You are my MENTOR, and I want to express my gratitude for all your hard work and how much you teach us for such a small price…THANK YOU !!!”
Comments like these keep me inspired through the long months (and years) of work that go into these projects.
To all of you who gave this kind of feedback, my most heartfelt thanks. You are literally what keeps me doing this work.
If hope this small sample of the responses had helped you decide if this course is right for you.
Your can get the full details or purchase here
Secrets of Successful Event Photography
And don’t forget you can save $50 right now during the launch. Get it before the price goes up.
Phil,
Though I have not yet purchased one of your courses, I have seen several free ones you’ve made and I appreciate your style and approach. What I would say directly to your more experienced photographers is that nearly any video or on-line course you take will have a certain percentage of familiar information. But if you can pick up just a few new constructive tips, whether technical or artistic, the course is worth it. Many other courses, both free and paid that I have taken were all that way. Once you become an experienced photographer, your needs become more specialized and focused. It would be difficult, if not impossible to design an in-depth course for a broad spectrum of experienced shooters that did not contain many overly-familiar elements.
Hi Phil,
I have just purchased this video tutorial. Beside the content the language is also important for me, since I am not a native English speaker.
I am happy with this purchase although even the discount prise is fairly expensive in Hungary. I really enjoy your style, I highly appreciate the quality. The video based training technic makes it really flexible. Maybe some transcription could be useful like in the coursera or edx lessons.
Thank you and keep on.
Hi Phil,
I have only recently started to take up photography, about 4 months ago, now I am retired. I purchased this course because I was going to a friends wedding reception and wanted to take some candid photos for them. I used a 7D and the EFS 17-55 2.8 lens. I was worried the shots would come out all wrong. After following the course and watching the part about flash slow sync I felt more confident. I got some good shots more than I expected and some people even asked me where they could buy them. I had to tell them I was a guest not a pro. My flash is not an expensive canon but it seemed t cope well. Thanks for this course it helped me understand more. I have also got your Lightroom tutorial which has cleared up some the mystery of Lightroom and what it can do.
I will be looking at your other courses in the future. Thanks again.
I bought your course and to be honest, living in Poland, where the purchase power is three times worse than in US, this course was REALLY expensive for me – so my expectations were HUGE. In the beginning I was a little disappointed, you know, I am a amateur photographer for a long time and “basics” are simply boring for me. But as I keep watching I was more and more interested and satisfied. You did great job and I think you are the natural teacher. The language is perfectly balanced, the course is not boring, and it is obvious that you put A LOT of your heart and affort in it. That’s why it is so good – because I see a litle part of you in it and this is great.
PROS:
+ Long enough to cover all important aspects and factors in photography
+ Easy to understand
+ Two teachers with different gear and techniques makes it a lot better than any course I have seen so far
+ Many photos, pictures, comparisons and examples to learn, analyze and follow
+ No “geek” talking (buy the most expensive camera, don’t use crop cameras, use only “L” lenses, otherwise you are loser etc.)
+ No “cheap” talking about just nothing or repeat the same topics only to make course longer as I have seen frequently in other courses
+ Accesories, diffusers are well described, easy to understand, not just “buy because we are pros and we know they are the best for you”
+ Real events, real atmosphere, live learning, lot of fun, lot of real love for people, smilling faces, really nice to watch
+ Light as a key and essence of photography is EXCELLENT shown and described
CONS:
– None, really
Keep up the good work! Thank you for this valuable material and – “have a good light” 🙂
Krzysztof, thanks for the kind and detailed comments!
In addition:
This course is ENCOURAGING. It’s not “buy, press the button, get the results. Result is not as mine? Oh, I am sorry, you have to practice or buy better toy”.
Instead we have for example the scene with the motorcycles and Julie between them or Phil talking about taking photos of man with the tattoos etc. It’s really cheered me up! I don’t know how about you, but I am not the shy person, but when I am standing in front of stranger with the camera in my hand I am still feeling not very comfortable. But I am going to the big rally soon to shoot this event and of course get some great photos of the cars, but after watching the course, I thought “ok, I will finally shoot some interesting people – they are not going to eat me, aren’t they?”