Classes

When time is short and the pressure is high whether it’s at a wedding or at a portrait session, you don’t need 50 half-baked ideas. You need five rock-solid ones that work every single time. In this class, I’ll break down my five go-to shots that deliver variety, personality, and consistent authenticity in minutes and not hours. These are the sequences I lean on when time is short, the bridal party is restless, or the kids are already over it.

We’ll start with a live demonstration so you can see how I build each setup, from posing tweaks to lighting choices to micro-adjustments that add variety without wasting time. After that, you’ll grab your cameras and work with our models to practice the ‘Furious Five’ for yourself. You’ll walk away knowing not just the poses, but the strategy behind them, so you can adapt them to any client, location, or lighting condition.

By the end of this class, you’ll have a repeatable system for high-pressure situations that still looks creative and effortless. You can guarantee that I’ll take care of you in the class with walk-away content, tangible follow-up activities, and even a few surprises.

What to Bring:
• Camera body
• One versatile lens (35mm, 50mm, or 24-70mm recommended)
• A trigger if you want to use flash, though most of this will be natural light

Here’s the truth: I’ve been messing around with AI tools for photography for the past year, and I’ve made every mistake possible. I’ve generated absolute garbage mood boards, written prompts that produced nightmare fuel, and wasted hours trying to replicate AI images that were physically impossible to light. But I’ve also figured out a workflow that actually works.

This isn’t a class about AI replacing photographers (it won’t), and I’m not here to convince you that AI is magic (it’s not). Instead, I’m going to show you how to use LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini and visual generators like Leonardo AI and Canva to create mood boards and concepts that you can translate into real photographs with real lighting setups.

Here’s what we’re covering:

• How to write prompts that give you usable concepts instead of useless shit
• Translating AI-generated images into practical lighting setups you can execute
• Creating client-facing mood boards for weddings, brand sessions, and family shoots
• Live studio demonstration where we take an AI concept and shoot it (with Rent-A-Humans™, naturally)
• The reality check: when to ignore the AI’s suggestion because physics exists

The goal isn’t to copy an AI image pixel-for-pixel. That’s both impossible and pointless. The goal is to master the translation process: concept → planning → lighting → execution. And yes, you’ll leave with homework (sorry, not sorry) to practice the workflow at home.

What to Bring:

• Smartphone or laptop with browser access for AI tools
• Notebook or tablet for workflow notes
• No camera required—this is a demonstration and lab session
• Optional: bring your weirdest prompt ideas and we’ll test them live

Perfect families don’t exist, and if you’ve been photographing long enough, you know that half the job is managing people before you even start the session. This class is all about showing you how I handle chaos in real time. We’ll work with a family model group and run through scenarios that every photographer dreads: the toddler who won’t sit still, the parent who won’t stop micromanaging, the teenager who clearly doesn’t want to be there, the dad that is on his phone, and the grandparents who think they’re in charge.

You’ll see me demonstrate the exact strategies I use to take control of the session without getting frustrated, redirect negative energy, and create shots that look relaxed and intentional even when the experience isn’t. The emphasis is on clear communication (both before and during the session), efficient posing, and subtle directing that brings the focus back to connection instead of conflict.

Expect to walk away with a repeatable approach for turning stressful family sessions into galleries that look effortless and natural. You’ll also pick up phrases, prompts, and redirection techniques you can use immediately at your own shoots. I promise that you’ll come away with not only new approaches, but also some tangible content, follow-up activities, and additional resources.

What to Bring:
• Notebook or tablet for jotting down prompts and workflow tips
• No camera gear required (this is a demo class)