Do you live in Japan and want to learn more about photography? I give lessons and courses for photographers of all skill levels.
Maybe you already know something about photography or have a new digital SLR camera and want to learn more. Or perhaps you are an absolute beginner and need some advice on buying your first camera, and a few lessons about how to get the most from it. Some folks just want to increase their ability to “see”. Whatever your needs, I hope I will be able to help.
I have been running our photography classes in Tokyo since 2007 and have been featured in Travel & Leisure magazine and various other publications. In 2014 and 2015, I also started running workshops in conjunction with Hasselblad Japan and I was an Ambassador for Hasselblad in 2015-16. Some of the results from the workshops I ran with them, you’ll find in the two magazines below.
The advantages of learning from an experienced professional ? I’ve been photographing since I was five years old. I first had my photos published aged 23. I’ll be 57 in June of 2026. So, that’s a long time that I’ve been making photos. I’m also busy in multiple genres of photography. Regularly photographing with clients in the automotive, industrial, advertising, food, editorial and travel sectors to name but a few. Tokyo continues to be my studio for a lot of this work. So, I know my way around the city and have photographed all sorts of subjects in it. From supercars to wrist-watches, royalty to fashion models.
For my job, it’s important to assess every environment I find myself in, judge where the best angles are, where the best light is and how and where to place my model, props and subject.
I’ve also spent my life maintaining a childlike sense of curiosity and a healthy, vibrant state of imagination. I’ve spent time honing my skills of pre-visualisation. All this and my unmitigated passion for photography are what I bring to my teaching
I offer customised workshops as well as one-to-one and small group lessons, catering for everyone from beginners who may just have bought their first DSLR, all the way up to advanced photographers in need of specialised instruction.
My students are a mixture of beginners and more seasoned hobbyist photographers, each with their own list of things they want to learn more about. From early on in even in our first lesson together, all of them have felt not only more comfortable with their camera and more able to get the best from it, but are also more switched on to the world around them. Enough for it to begin to better feed their new-found skills with some extra creativity and vision.
BOTH TECHNICAL AND CREATIVE: There are some technical and creative aspects to every lesson and I always try to work on projects that combine the creative and technical. Often, we’ll work towards the specific objective of making a magazine from the photos you shoot on the workshop, a few examples of which are below. Or it could be shooting photos for a music CD packaging layout. Working together on little projects that have a specific outcome is great for creative and technical aspects of photography. And it all helps build visual literacy.
Here’s a few of the CD packaging designs I made with students, either as part of a group workshop or individually as part of their course. Having spent a decade in the music business, as PR Director of one label and General Manager of another, this project is also a lot of fun for me.
Here’s a magazine I made with students on a group workshop about ‘expressing yourself in monochrome’:
I teach all levels of photographer. For beginners it would be, first, just going over what you grasp about the basics of aperture, speed and ISO [i.e. exposure] and then going through establishing a way of you being able to measure and play with exposure in your photography. Understanding light, shadow, tone, contrast, dynamic range; these things are key to be able to get yourself to a point where you can feel in total control of the camera, rather then feeling like the camera is controlling you. This is the first objective.
As well as pushing you into new areas, I try to work on subjects that you like shooting and how you can get better at them. I generally do this through little projects and by us shooting together during the lessons. After that we introduce various other areas of photographic technique: macro, nature, people, still-life, architecture, for example. I also always try, at least once during our time together, to have us photograph subject matter you don’t particularly like or photograph out of choice. Applying yourself to a subject that’s a challenge can be a great way of exercising the mind and eyes.
Here’s a magazine I made with students on a group workshop, all about location portraiture using available light and flash:
We’ll also work on how you ‘see’ things. This is not exactly the same for everyone as we all see the world around us differently. The aim here is to, at least, get you seeing some new things about the world around you which you can then feel confident about capturing with your camera.
If you are visiting Japan and Tokyo, why not ask about one of our photowalks or photo tours. I work with you to create a bespoke itinerary and route and as well as helping you get the best out of your camera during your trip, I can shoot some souvenir pics of you too.
Take a look at our ‘Photographers Map of Tokyo & Japan’, which has over 100 locations I have shot in, each with a sample photo. As well as a few sample walk routes for you to take a look at. Click here for the map. It’s a bit old now, but still useful.
Here are a couple of magazines I’ve made with people on tour in Tokyo for their holidays: all the photos are their work…..
Here’s a rough idea of lesson costs:
- Introductory, one-to-one lesson: 3hrs for 30,000¥ (If you go on to book a course, the first 3hr intro lesson is 20,000¥).
- 15Hour Course: covering major topics but tailored to suit your learning needs. 90,000¥
- Half-day (4hrs) class on post-production, using Lightroom and/or Photoshop: 30,000¥ This can be done in-person or remotely.
- Group lessons: please enquire for prices as these vary with the number of people involved.
- Photowalks/photo-tours: we can do these one to one or with groups. A half-day (4hrs) of one-to-one is typically 35,000¥ and a full day (8hrs) 50,000¥. I’m not like a taxi, perpetually watching the money meter… so it usually ends up that we spend more than 4 or 8hrs together.
- Lighting workshops: we can do these one to one as part of a course or three-hour lesson. Enquire for details.
- Gift vouchers: thinking of giving some lessons as a present? We offer gift vouchers. Please enquire for details.
Outdoor classes can take place at a location convenient to us all. I live in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, but can travel anywhere in greater Tokyo for your lesson. And if you’re outside of Tokyo or want to organise a walk, tour or lessons somewhere else in Japan, I can do that. It would obviously, though, have to include the travel costs.
Drop me a line by using the contact form.
You can also call me 090 9971 7805
Thanks a lot for visiting.