Classes
Union Station provides the perfect backdrop for hands-on learning and spacious classrooms for lecture and live demo classes. With over 100 classes, there’s something here for everyone!
How do I pick my classes?
You will be able to register for classes IN THE SHUTTERFEST APP two weeks before the event (first come, first serve). The app is released about a month before ShutterFest. READ THE FAQ and/or monitor the private Facebook group for more details.
ShutterFest 2027 Classes
Bodyscapes: Light, Shape, and You
Speaker: (Website) (Social Media)
Bodyscapes can look intimidating from the outside — but once you break them down, you’re really just shaping light across the human form. That’s it. No magic, no secret sauce.
This class is for photographers who’ve always wanted to try bodyscapes but didn’t know where to start, or who’ve tried and walked away frustrated. No prior experience needed. We’re going to slow down and actually walk you through the two things that matter most: the light, and the pose.
The Lighting Setups
We’ll go step by step through the setups that make bodyscapes work — starting with a single light and building from there. You’ll learn:
• Where to place your light to carve out the curves of the body, and what changes when you move it just a few inches
• How distance, angle, and feathering completely change the mood of an image
• How to use a grid, a strip box, to control exactly what the light touches — and what it doesn’t
• Why shadow does more of the work than the light itself, and how to use it on purpose
We’ll demo each setup live, explain the WHY behind every choice, and break it down so you can repeat it at home with whatever gear you already own.
Posing the Client / Model
The pose is half the image. We’ll spend real time on:
• Simple, repeatable poses that flatter every body type — no contortion, no Instagram-only shapes
• How to direct your client or model in plain language so they feel comfortable and confident in front of the camera
• The small adjustments — a tilted hip, a curved spine, a turned wrist — that take a pose from “fine” to “wow”
• How to keep the conversation flowing so your subject relaxes — and you actually get the shot
• What to say when something isn’t working, without making anyone feel self-conscious
And then — once we’ve walked you through everything — you’ll be invited to move the lights yourself, adjust the setup, try your own angle, and shoot the way YOU see it. The goal isn’t to copy our shots from a setup that’s already in place. It’s to leave with the comfort and confidence to build your own.
We’ll also talk about where this can go next — how bodyscapes can grow into fine art and abstract art pieces worthy of a gallery wall, and the simple next steps to start pushing your work in that direction.
Come ready to learn. Leave ready to create bodyscapes that feel like yours.
What to Bring to Class:
Their camera and lenses (a 50mm or 85mm prime would serve them well)
Extra memory cards and a charged battery
A notebook or their phone for notes
Just Tell Me What to Do: Simple Posing for Real People
Speaker: (Website) (Social Media)
You’ve got the camera. You’ve got the client. You’ve got… absolutely nothing to say.
Sound familiar? You’re not alone. The number one thing that kills a portrait session has nothing to do with your gear, your settings, or your light. It’s that moment you walk up to your subject and your brain goes completely blank.
This class fixes that.
We’re breaking down simple, repeatable posing for real people — males and females — that works whether you’re shooting teens, families, or beauty portraits. No complicated contortion. No poses that only work on Instagram models. Just clean, confident direction that makes your subjects look amazing and makes YOU look like you’ve done this a thousand times.
We’ll cover:
• What to say when you walk up — the exact words that put subjects at ease immediately
• Simple go-to poses for males and females that are flattering on every body type
• How to give direction without making it weird
• The small adjustments that take a pose from stiff to natural
• Reading your subject — how to see what they’re giving you and work with it
You’ll rotate through setups with real models, practice giving direction out loud, and leave with a posing toolkit you can use at your very next session — whatever you shoot.
Come ready to feel awkward. Leave ready to own the room
What to Bring to Class:
Their camera and lenses — a 50mm or 85mm is ideal for portraits
Extra memory cards and a charged battery
A notebook or phone for notes
PhotoWalk – Your Gear, Your Light: Off Camera Flash That Finally Makes Sense
Speaker: (Website) (Social Media)
You bought the strobe. You bought the triggers. You watched the YouTube videos. And yet somehow every time you set it all up, something’s wrong and you’re not sure what — or why.
This is that class.
This intimate, small-group workshop is built around YOUR gear — not ours. Bring your own off camera flash, your own triggers, and your own receiver, because that’s exactly what we’re going to work with. No borrowing someone else’s setup and hoping yours works the same way at home. We’re getting into YOUR system, YOUR settings, and YOUR workflow until it clicks.
With only 10 spots available, you’ll get the kind of hands-on attention you simply can’t get in a room of 30 people.
We’ll work through:
• Getting your system talking — triggers, receivers, and why they’re not cooperating
• Dialing in your settings without the guesswork and the panic
• Building one and two light setups that actually look intentional
• Troubleshooting in real time when things go sideways — because they will
• Shooting with your own gear so you leave with images YOU made with YOUR light
The goal isn’t just pretty pictures — it’s walking out of here knowing your equipment doesn’t own you anymore.
What to Bring to Class:
Your off-camera flash, triggers, receiver, and camera. We will not be providing any equipment for this class.