Come and be inspired by the early spring flowers at West Dean with its sprinkling of narcissus, hellebores and early blossom. March is an ideal time to hone your garden photography skills before the spring really gets started. The main focus of this course is to learn and practice the art of frame ground hugging flowers whether close-up or landscape. To become aware of how different weather conditions influence and enhance an image by adding depth and atmosphere. This is an ideal opportunity to build on your photographic skills.

For the first time ever, I will be running this one day course midweek, on a Tuesday. Aimed at plant lovers who would like to develop their camera skills. Most of the day will be spent in the gardens of West Dean and summer is the ideal time as the roses, irises and peonies will be opening, the clematises flowering and there will still be drifts of cow parsley amongst the long grass. Composition is the theme of the day and we will be learning how to take stunning well-composed vistas. Students will gain confidence working with cameras in aperture mode, learning about depth of field and how and when to use exposure compensation.

Explore late summer at West Dean and one other Sussex garden. Learn how to make the most of the mellow light, mist and early morning dew to enrich vistas. Hone your skills at framing garden views, close-ups of dahlias, rudbeckias, salvias, the apples, pears and grasses. Experiment creating abstract images from the patterns and texture you find in the gardens. Spend time looking at architectural and plant structures and how they can be used to add leading lines and interest to your photos. The focus of this course is on composition, lighting and getting it right in camera rather than post image manipulation.

I am happy to arrange private tutorials tailored to your individual needs, whether you want to get to grips with your camera, need some further technical help on focus, exposure and composition or would like guidance on how to use your photographs to showcase your business. We can also go through practical aspects such as downloading and storing. We can discuss your requirements beforehand so you can get the very best from this one-to-one experience. On the day, we shall spend a few minutes talking through the basics and then will go out ‘into the field’ and take pictures. There will be plenty of time afterwards to go through your images. Private tutorial subjects include: table top/still life photography; gardens/plants. Cost: £45.00 per hour (If you bring a friend or partner there will be £5.00 (12.5% ) discount per person).