• You Just Shot a Bunch of Photos.

    Now What?

  • How can Beyond The Shutter help make you a stronger photographer?
    Press play, give me a few minutes, and I'll explain.

  • So Much Happens Beyond The Shutter

     

    Making photographs is so much more than just pressing the shutter button—like choosing the strongest frame from among many. How do you think about that? And how do you stay organized, build bodies of work, refine your images, or put them into the world?

    Beyond The Shutter was created to solve one big problem: you just shot a bunch of images—now what? What do you do once the camera work is over and how do you keep the creativity and momentum going? And perhaps most importantly: what if changing the way you think about the work you do after you've put the camera down could dramatically change the way you made photographs while the camera is in your hand? What if it could all be so much more intentional, without being quite so overwhelming?

  •  

    "I never imagined this course would so increase my joy in making photographs. This deeper understanding of the editing process makes my own camera work more creative, focused, and playful. A wonderful offering with endless possibilities. Highly recommended." 
     

    - Corinna Hofer, Germany

  • 10 Powerful Video Lessons

     

    Beyond the Shutter is a 10-Lesson video course designed to change the way you think about importing and organizing your work, selecting the very best of it, and getting it out into the world in beautiful monographs, slideshows, and web galleries using the tools of Adobe Lightroom CC.

     

    Each lesson is 30 minutes long and filled with ideas and techniques to help you answer that nagging question: "What do I do with my photographs?" How do you get them into the world beautifully, quickly, and easily? How do you even choose which ones are the best? And what if knowing this ahead of time could help you make stronger photographs in the first place?

     

    Drawing from a project for which I shot 20,000 frames in the fall of 2021, Beyond The Shutter is not about landscape photography or wildlife photography, it's about what you do with our best photographs and how to filter through the many sketch images you need to make them—no matter the genre of those images.

     

    broken image

    Lesson One

    Shoot For The Edit

    Before you can edit what you've shot, learning to shoot for the edit gives you the best chance at the strongest work.

    broken image

    Lesson Two

    Organizing The Edit

    Learn to use Adobe Lightroom to stay organized and create a system that's simple and avoids the paralysis of analysis.

    broken image

    Lesson Three

    Making The Edit, Part One

    Understanding your own criteria for choosing your best work, and getting comfortable with the art of the edit.

    broken image

    Lesson Four

    Making The Edit, Part Two

    Begin thinking in sequences and hone your instincts when selecting your best images from among the many you've shot.

    broken image

    Lesson Five

    Making The Edit, Part Three

    Learn to use Stacking to simplify your editing and explore the thinking behind my own choices in a project with 20,000 images.

    broken image

    Lesson Six

    The Power of Collections

    Focus, organize, and refine your edits and make the process easier with Collections and tighter use-specific selections.

    broken image

    Lesson Seven

    Books: The Ten Minute Monograph

    Learn to use Lightroom's Book module to make stunning PDF monographs and printed books.

    broken image

    Lesson Eight

    Multi-Media: The Seven-Minute Slideshow

    Explore Lightroom's Slideshow module to create powerful and easily shared multi-media presentions.

    broken image

    Lesson Nine

    Galleries: Easily to the Web

    Getting your work beautifully and consistently to the web is easier than you think—and it has nothing to do with Lightroom's Web module.

     

    broken image

    Lesson Ten

    Protecting Your Work

    A discussion of real-world strategies for protecting your photographs and your work once you've done the hard part of creating it.

     

  •  

    Great Bonus Resources

    In addition to the 10 video lessons that make up Beyond The Shutter, there are some extra resources that I think make this an even stronger value and a more powerful learning opportunity as you move forward in your craft.

    broken image

    The Vision-Driven Development Video

     

    When I talk about editing, I do not mean "stylization" or "development"—but that doesn't mean those aren't an important part of what happens beyond the shutter. This 34-minute video explains a powerful framework for making your development work in Lighroom much simpler and more focused.

     

    broken image

    21 PDF Monographs

     

    One of the best ways to learn about selecting your best work and putting that work into sequences for books, monographs, slideshows, or even web galleries is to look at what others have done. Beyond The Shutter includes 21 of my personal monographs (PDF format) to help with this.

     

    broken image

    The Photographer's Voice

     

    This year Beyond the Shutter includes enrollment in The Photographer's Voice. A 10 lesson course that's powerful on it's own, it's even more relevant and helpful when combined with Beyond The Shutter, and you'll save $100.

     

  •  

    Take Your Craft Beyond The Camera

    Beyond The Shutter was created to answer some specific questions and solve some very real problems for photographers who want to do more than just fire off a bunch of frames, pick a couple of them and throw them onto social media. Here are some of the questions for which I hope Beyond The Shutter will help you find answers of your own.

     

    • How can I go into my next shoot or project with the eventual edits and output in mind and get the most out of that shoot, make the edit easier, and the work stronger?
    • How can I think about choosing my final images as an integral part of the creative process and free up my camera work?
       
    • What can I do to overcome the usual challenges of staying organized and avoid the paralysis of choice that hundreds or even thousands of images presents me with?
       
    • How do I think like a photo editor? What criteria do I use for making my selections and avoid a process that results in just "choosing the images that don't suck" or merely meet some technical standard?
    • Is there anything I can do to make it easier to "sacrifice my darlings" and still make the tightest, strongest edits?
       
    • What do I do with my images once I've made them? Isn't there an easier way for me to get the best of my work into the world?
       
    • How can I do all of this in less time, with less paralysis, and more enjoyment?
       

    I want to help you with this, and more. I want to talk about using the power of time and multiple edits, the power of daily edits, the insanity of deleting images and trusting your first edits.

     

    I want to show you tools in Adobe Lightroom CC that will make this all so much easier, but I also want to show you how to make stunning monographs, slideshows, and web galleries—easily and in less time than you might imagine.

     

    I also want to talk about protecting your work, show you my personal backup strategies, and discuss alternatives so you can sleep at night without worrying about losing the photographs you love.

     

    And I want to show you how to love the images you've already made with the same energy that you love the ones you haven't yet made (you know, the ones for which we all keep buying that new piece of gear). Beyond The Shutter will make your life easier (and your photographs stronger), but it will also give you new ways to be creative with the work you're making with your camera and get it out into the world.

     

  •  

    "3 weeks ago, I had over 10,000 images sitting on my external hard drive after a trip to Africa; I was overwhelmed and frustrated. After Beyond the Shutter, I had all my images quickly and easily organized and edited, I made my first monograph and am already on my way to finishing that website I told myself I would make years ago. "


    - Heather Mattera, Minnesota

     

  • Want More?

    Find Your Voice. Save $100.

     

    This year Beyond The Shutter is being being bundled with The Photographer's Voice for photographers who want to take things a little further in making photographs that are not only good but unmistakably their own. The best way to explain this is to give you a glimpse. Watch Episode 01 for free right now.

  • Your Photographs Are Getting Better,

    But Are They More and More Your Own?

     

    The Photographer's Voice is the perfect addition to Beyond The Shutter. Originally offered for $149, you'll save $100 when you enroll in Beyond The Shutter for only $299 this week. Episode one is free to watch (above), here's what you'll learn from the other nine.

     

    broken image

    Episode 02

    Learn to identify your personal visual tastes and preferences as the foundation for your unique voice as a photographer, and to hone that in both what you say and how you say it photographically.

    broken image

    Episode 03

    Having a voice means saying something; learning to identify the themes and through lines in your work is the first step. The next step is being intentional with your choice of those themes in bodies of work.

    broken image

    Episode 04

    Learn to look for specific beats and create the notes and rhythms that comprise a great body of work and make the strongest visual experiences as you create series that are stronger for having a unified theme.

    broken image

    Episode 05

    Discover new ways of thinking about selecting down to your keepers by editing your work on a theme and not only asking which images are best, but best for what?

    broken image

    Episode 06

    Using cinematographers as your example, explore the power of creating visual harmony in your bodies of work, specifically with the intentional use of colour palettes and tools.

    broken image

    Episode 08

    Learn about complementary colour and how to use it (together with HSL and color grading tools) to create mood, depth, and contrast in your work as well as keeping your bodies of work visually and thematically unified.

    broken image

    Episode 09

    Continue the exploration of colour with triadic harmonies and others, and my proposal for how you might use those colour harmonies more expressively in your work with an approach that begins more emotionally.

    broken image

    Episode 10

    Bring greater unity and power to your work by learning to be mindful of the output medium and conclude this series with a conversation about how photographic voice is more chosen than it is "discovered."

  •  

    "I have done workshops with other photographers about finding my style and I was none the wiser at the end. The Photographer’s Voice gave me the tools and the confidence to recognise my voice."  

     

    - Claire Filson

  • Beyond Excited

    Here's what past students have said about Beyond The Shutter

    broken image

    A Wonderful Offering!


    "I never imagined this course would so increase my joy in making photographs. David's enthusiasm and passion for this craft is contagious. I felt like I was sitting at the same table watching David's whole process. This deeper understanding of the editing process makes my own camera work more creative, focused, and playful. A wonderful offering with endless possibilities. Highly recommended."
    - Corinna Hofer, Germany
    broken image

    Bravo!


    "Bravo! Beyond The Shutter is concise, enjoyable and so practical. I'm already proficient in Lightroom and still learned a lot! The value of this course is well worth the cost, and the bonus lesson is like another extraordinary short course on intent and vision-driven development"
    - Albert Adroer, Spain

    broken image

    A Game-Changer.


    “Exceptional! This is a game-changer for photographers like me. 3 weeks ago, I had over 10,000 images sitting on my external hard drive after a trip to Africa; I was overwhelmed and frustrated. After Beyond the Shutter, I had ALL my images quickly and easily organized and edited, I made my first monograph, and am already on my way to finishing that website I told myself I would make years ago. This class is well worth the time and money! I just wish it had been around 10 years ago!”

    - Heather Mattera, Minnesota

    broken image

    Simple But Powerful!


    “You’ve hit this one out of the ballpark! I am so impressed with this series. I'm picking up so much concrete advice. I am embarrassed at how much of the power of Lightroom I have been wasting. I've been mostly editing with brute strength and ignorance, which has led me to really dislike the process. The system you're teaching in this series is so simple but powerful and easy to implement. Thank you!” - Tina Blum, Oregon

     

    broken image

    Enjoy Your Images More.


    "This course is great! If you're anything like me and you plan weekends & vacations around opportunities to photograph and you want your photographs to have a life outside the hard drive, Beyond the Shutter is for you. I'm a Capture One user and still benefited greatly from each lesson. Beyond the Shutter will not only help you create better images during your trips, it will help you and others enjoy them more afterwards. It's a definite five stars!"

    - Dan Terrell, Portugal

    broken image

    Worth Every Penny!


    "Beyond the Shutter was an amazing experience for me. I own just about every course that you have created and am as inspired as ever with your teaching. This course has put into perspective new thoughts about how I can deal with my images; I've learned many new ideas and tricks to apply to my workflow. I have always admired your talent and ability to explain things to any level of photographer. I can't wait to hone my skills even further. Thank you so much for this course. It is truly worth every penny spent."
    - Nancy L., USA

  • Raising Their Voices

    Here's what photographers like you are saying about The Photographer's Voice

    broken image

    Way Beyond The Norm!

    "The Photographer's Voice will be one of my top go-to resources! It's so refreshing to find an accomplished photographer willing to share their thinking and processes beyond the average "how-to" courses that seem to be the norm. This course is way beyond the norm! I plan to re-watch each episode (probably many times) as I begin to build out my own set of collections and series of photos. Thanks so much for the work you put into this course!"

    - Renee Phoenix

    broken image

    A Real Wow!

    "Posting and sharing my work makes me anxious and queasy. I fear revealing how all over the place my photography is. The Photographer’s Voice teaches how and why our work is better envisioned, created, edited, developed, and presented in cohesive series of images. After watching the lessons, I took a small selection of images from my catalogue and applied what I learned. What was a “film roll,” became a honed series of cohesive images with the coveted “through line!” It’s a real “wow” to see a series of your own making! Thank you David!"

    - Anne Groton

    broken image

    Worth Every Penny!


    "Brilliant course. After 2 long years stuck at home, you’ve got me excited about photography again.I’m already going back through my archives with a different eye, discovering themes and personal preferences I didn’t realize I had. I can’t wait to go back and watch the course again, because I’m sure I’ll pick up new ideas each time I watch. Worth every penny!"

    - Victoria Bampton

  • Some Good Questions

  •  

    More Questions? Need Help?

    Send me an email here. I've got your back.

    broken image
    Cookie Use
    We use cookies to ensure a smooth browsing experience. By continuing we assume you accept the use of cookies.
    Learn More