When I got my first digital camera there were so many things I wanted to do with it. Most importantly: capture beautiful images of my family. I wanted to create albums, frame-worthy portraits, and photos to share. I was able to start using the camera right away by turning it on auto, but I knew I wanted to know more. I wanted to use all the settings and learn all the stuff.

So, I began by reading my manual. I’m a reader by nature, but that manual was a bit dry and rather complicated. I read it several times and didn’t fully understand it. What I wished for was someone who could just show me how it worked. Explain how to take pictures on all the settings. I wanted a step-by-step guide to making it work.

I didn’t find anything like that, so my learning was slow and included a lot of trial and error.

Now that I know how to use my camera, I love teaching other people how to use theirs. I know how frustrating it is to want to do something and not even know how to start. I know how it feels to feel to know that sometimes you don’t even know the question to ask, and I know how it feels when you’re embarrassed to ask the most basic questions.

This is why Ruthanne and I started the Shoot Shop. We’ve both gotten a lot of questions and emails over the years from friends who wanted to know how to use their cameras. So we started this class. It’s a way to teach a small group of people at once and get them on their way to using their camera and getting better at taking pictures.

You can find out more about the class on this information page.

If you’ve always wanted to know more about photography but didn’t know where to start, start here. Start with us. We would love to help you learn.