Happy Students: The Ladies

I'm 100% sure yours is way better than the one I had at Central St. Martin and 10 times cheaper, thanks.

Your messages were delivered with warmth, kindness and authority. Our chats ticked all the right boxes for me: short, clear explanations, real examples based on photos and a practical session to employ the concepts taught.

More importantly, it has given me impetus to go out and shoot again. It's wonderful having a goal in mind again. I think that is the biggest advantage ... you have given me inspiration! A new lease on my attempt at being a photographer!

I liked the way the whole thing was casually set-up. Interaction was open and being in a small group was definitely a plus. Your notes were simply written and direct to the point. A great launching point for "what lesson to attempt for the day" strategy!

Your enthusiasm for your work, passion for photography in infectious. Am now encouraged to try to be a better photographer - hopefully!! I wouldn't change anything about how the lesson was structured!

Thank you for your time and the articles. Appreciate everything. Hope this won't be the last time we see you - for sure we will be calling on you again for more lessons!

I personally like the technical part of the material, I found it quite cool. I am definitely interested in taking the field trip ... All in all, I am very glad that I took your lessons!

I also thought the handout was easy to reference and quite clear ... The second lesson was great and I really thought the content was enough to get a good idea of making simple changes to really improve the composition and I am looking forward to putting the theories to the test.

I do not believe that anything should be done differently. You are thorough, know what you are doing and your work is interesting.

Before these two lessons, I never understood how aperture, shutter speed and ISO related to each other. You explained the fundamentals clearly and made them very easy to understand.

In the second lesson you opened up my eyes to creative photography. Now I feel like I have more control over my photographs, I will want to take my camera everywhere and apply what I've learned. I am looking forward to the field trip.

You were patient and always answered my questions ... I prefer the 1-1 ratio of the class as it is more relaxed and I pay much more attention! In just two lessons I feel much more confident with the camera ...

I keep reminding myself even when I am not taking pictures. I think I'm starting to look at things from a photographer's view.

I am very satisfied with the progress I have made so far.

No matter how many times I read the manual and various websites, it was never quite clear and concise enough. The way you explained it ... was tremendously helpful and everything just makes so much more sense now.

As an avid amateur, there was always something I couldn't quite figure out with things ... the ins-and-outs of my camera, why my images failed to portray the true emotion I wanted to show... etc. After taking Randall's class, I was able to appreciate the nuances of my camera, take better control ... and use a whole array of techniques to compose a photo with a big "wow" factor. Randall is truly passionate about what he does and I look forward to taking my photos to the next level with the tools that I have learned from him.

Your lessons were well structured and I think you fit a great amount of info into each session. Your print outs are great and I really appreciated having them in the lessons knowing that I could just listen and learn.

I think you are obviously talented and knowledgeable but you delivered the information in a very user friendly way and answered my questions well without making me feel daft for asking.

From getting an understanding of how the use the particular camera, to relating the first class detail to actual camera use was great.

I left the last class feeling way more confident than by solely reading the manual alone.

And after the second lesson, I feel I can explore much more in photography than I thought.

You explain everything in a clear way, always giving examples to show what you mean ... an excellent teacher. Thank you so much.

Everything is a lot clearer now. Randall gives very clear instructions without too much tech speak and I now feel happy to go out and experiment more armed with the knowledge needed to understand my camera. I will definitely contact him again in the future when I feel I have progressed to another level.

The lessons in the informal environment ... did not make me feel intimidated and I was really able to relax and enjoy them.

I had been introduced to most of what we talked about in the first session but it now is clearer and less confusing. I'm looking forward to getting out and practicing ...

In just 2 lessons, I was able to finally gain enough knowledge to get an even better understanding of my camera, how it works, the terminology, and the real meaning behind everything. I had a couple of books on photographing children that I bought a while back but I just couldn't grasp, but now when I read the book, I can actually understand what the book is saying.

It's like there's this secret code, and I finally (with your help) was able to crack the code! Before taking the lessons, the histograms were a complete mystery to me and every time I accidentally pushed the button that showed the histogram, I would secretly freak out. Now, I actually know what it all means!

My eye also sees things differently ... I am a very visual person, so I liked that you had photographs to illustrate the ideas that you were teaching.

I am 100% satisfied and really glad that I took the lessons with you!

I could feel your enthusiasm, which spread to me (and made me feel a little ashamed for always finding excuses not to bring my camera out) and made the material (even the tech lesson) very interesting.

My favorite part of the lesson was ... where we learnt about composition! It's funny, but after 2 hours with you, I look at photographs differently, and I can really identify why I find other people's photos so 'off' at times (or why they're not as interesting as they can be). It was to the point and extremely helpful. I can't wait to test it out!!

... the materials you prepared are so simple and useful. Most important it is easy to understand.

I think that the handouts are very clear and comprehensive and it was good working through those. I particularly liked the photographic examples you had with you that illustrated your handouts.

I will refer regularly to the handouts and notes I took and now need to go out and experiment and shoot.

I may intuitively have some of the design and composition sense, but it always helps to articulate it and put some of these concepts out there as a reminder or as a new focal point. And the technical stuff also is helpful to have in the back of my mind, as I might come upon a situation where I'll need it!

Thanks so much for your instruction, insight, encouragement, and suggestions!

The way in which you structure the classes - first explaining about how the picture is taken, giving the assignment to 'see it for yourself', followed by the composition class - is simple, easy to understand and gives confidence to a beginner that the mystery of photography is not that hard to work out! The way you explain the concepts gives great food for thought, and encourages you to think more about what you are trying to capture.

I am absolutely thrilled that after two classes and your guidance, the investment in my new camera seems not a waste. I truly believe that I am going to enjoy photography at a completely different level from now on. I will be recommending you to everyone!

It was the exact right amount of content that I required to refresh the memory and jump start my photography again.

... the two sessions covered a lot of technical aspects and provided a good foundation set in photography ... your lessons definitely helped a lot ...

It has really opened up my eyes for photography and I am really happy that I took this step ...

I think it is very funny and interesting how I (sometimes) now see the world through different eyes. I find myself walking down the street and often thinking 'oh this could be a nice photo'. As a person I think you are very pleasant to be with and I think you are good at explaining complicated technical stuff (or, that was what I thought of it when I first started).

The notes you provided were easy to follow throughout the lessons as well as a great reference guide for later use. I really liked being able to see examples of the techniques you were explaining as we went along. Even the photos taken within the lesson were very helpful in demonstrating your point.

I didn't think I would be able to learn so much from two lessons but I have come away feeling very enthusiastic and excited about experimenting with my camera.

Gave me confidence and understanding in the technical aspects of photography, which I was very rusty in and desperately needed help with.

Genuine understanding in what I needed help with and interested in what I want to achieve. Assurance and confidence. Awesome to have ongoing and continual support.

This made it easier to visualise and understand concepts that had otherwise been difficult to comprehend from manual and other photography literature. It now all makes sense revisiting this literature after the lessons. Handouts were well written and easy to follow even once you got home.

Lesson on composition was well complimented with your amazing photographs - very inspiring ... my favourite part of the course. It was great to understand what makes a good photo and what appeals to the eye.

... they reinforced and clarified my (limited) existing knowledge, introduced new theory and also gave me some interesting tips and ideas to take forward, all in just two sessions. What's more, Randall is enthusiastic and knowledgeable and the lessons were highly enjoyable.

I would say brilliant. Completely enjoyed the lessons, Lesson 2 being the best of course. The lessons provided a base from which I can now try to learn more for myself.

It's a good starting point, because now reading information on how to take good photos - whether it be a book, internet, magazine - makes more sense.

It was very helpful, and very much enjoyed the lessons! You made it so simple.

My favourite part was actually the first lesson on how to get a good exposure when there are moving objects, indoor shooting etc. The second lesson was also good, as it taught me how to compose a good photo that can draw attention.

In that respect, the first lesson was the most practical. I was pleased that you could adapt your lessons to address my particular problems. Two lessons are clearly not enough to turn me into a first-rate photographer, but they certainly helped me to understand some of the basics together with a nodding acquaintance with the tools and principles.

Now I just have to put the information you provided into practice ...

Now I plan to go step by step, back to your notes and practice one thing at a time. The first part is very technical for a beginner like me but ... I needed to understand how the camera works ...

The second part was my favorite. I will look and try to take photos in a different way now ... All your explanations are very clear and organised ...

You have a skill of making things very simple, the lessons were very clear and informative and I really liked seeing samples of photographs in relation to parts of the lesson, I now have a very clear idea of what it takes to create a good photo.

I would recommend to friends to do the course even to understand their camera or how to improve basic photos, and I really look forward to doing a field trip to see how much I may have improved!

The takeaway notes were very useful and I have re-read them a couple of times.

I like that the technical part is separate from composition ... My overall feeling after my 2 lessons is that I feel like I have learned a lot, am keen to get out there ...

I especially think I benefitted from the walk we had through the Central Markets, and from the way you made me see things differently. I pass by that part of Central a lot and have been wanting to take some photos, but I never thought I could spend 2 hours there and still find it not enough! Your coaching definitely made a difference.

Most of all, I think the session today inspired me to go out and just practice.

Thanks again!

I was a complete beginner, never touched an SLR camera before and was scared to approach it because I was missing the technical aspects and found them hard to understand ... I feel more confident in approaching photography ... and have started experimenting ...

You taught me the fundamentals that I ... would have hardly understood through books or manuals, which I never read because I get lost or bored after page 1! Your lessons were very clear, entertaining and easy to understand. Also your way of speaking is lively and entertaining, you kept my attention and made those two hours fly.

... first the more technical part, which you made easy to understand and then the composition part ... we've learned how to see pictures in a whole different way, with "other" eyes ...

... one of the most helpful parts was ... being able to go through a couple of my own shots with you and having your constructive criticism.