Capturing Real Moments

As someone who reads reviews RELIGIOUSLY before buying ANYTHING (I’m super OCD like that), I must admit that I generally only write a review if the service/​product is amazing or really poor. I took a chance buying a groupon for a couple photog classes from Capturing Real Moments based on reviews for the instructors thriving Seattle photog business (which I will refrain from naming as I understand the businesses coexist but are separate), rather than CRM’s reviews, which, at the time of this writing, averaged 2.5 and, in my experience, were not an accurate representation of the business/​service. Allow me to elaborate.
I purchased my Groupon and was able to register for both the Basic and Intermediate classes within a week of purchase (I took the Aug 22 & Sept 6, 2012 classes). I’ve been using Groupon/​Living Social, etc. for YEARS and this was BY FAR the EASIEST scheduling for a lesson/​class, that I’ve ever experienced. Typically, small businesses underestimate the response to mass buying sites like the aforementioned and cannot keep up with demand. CRM offered a variety of day/​evening/​weekend classes and as those filled, more were added. A+ for usability. Additionally, the eco-​friendly will be thrilled to know that you don’t have to print your cert. CRM can manage this digitally.
As far as the class itself goes: the student/​teacher ratio was manageable. As an OCD type, I appreciated the email after registration, advising me of «homework» I should complete before the class. My husband had bought me a DSLR that I’d yet to remove from the box and was grateful to be able to practice SOMETHING before I got to the class. Since everyone is at a slightly different level, this at least ensures not much class time will be wasted on things that one can familiarize themselves with beforehand.
In 4 hours, I learned enough to start taking some great family shots. I’d advise anyone taking the class to bring a paper/​pen to jot down notes (something that, as a new Mommy, I’d forgotten). Thankfully, afterward, CRM sent a follow-​on email with «Photo recipes» of what we’d learned in class so I didn’t totally lose everything (I am not one of those people that can retain something the first time I hear/​see it… unless it’s a social science and photography feels more like math/​science to me! :D
Another plus to taking courses through CRM? You get to see some seriously neat photos and learn the techniques used to create them so hopefully you can create your own. I agree with the reviewer below that said that folks who expect to be a master photographer in one or two classes are going to be disappointed. It takes practice, people! I’ve noticed a definite improvement in my photos since taking this course. Likewise, my Facebook friends have noticed an improvement in my photos so I’m definitely on the right track!
Thanks, CRM, for giving me some tools to help capture special family moments for years to come! You can expect to see my husband in a course soon. He needs to learn how to take photos, too, or my daughter is going to grow up having no pics of Mommy! :D

I first attended one of these workshops last fall. I had a great time, learned quite a few things about my camera, and I am happy to say that it was an awesome experience! I especially liked talking with other photography enthusiasts of all levels.
The instructor lead the class with a power point where he made it very easy to understand the basics of exposure and provided everyone with corresponding handouts. As he covered each topic, he showed us some of his amazing work, revealing his secrets of how he made each shot happen. His work really inspires me and I admire his enthusiasm to help others understand their camera so they can create great images too!
After the power point show, we went on a «shootari» where the instructor challenged us with a few exercises. Everyone seemed to have a fun time, asking questions and learning as we tackled his challenges for us.
Since attending this workshop, my work has improved tremendously and I’ve sat in on many workshops so I can learn more and help out some of the beginners and intermediates. Thanks to the Capturing Real Moments workshop, I feel like I’m one of the emerging Seattle pro photographers now and I’m so excited about what the future has to offer for my photography!
If you get a chance to attend this workshop, I highly recommend it!

Ok, these other reviews are COMPLETELY unfair. Is Brian a celebrity speaker with speaking engagements all over the country? No, he’s the best photographer in town with extremely valuable information and expertise. I went to this workshop knowing absolutely nothing about cameras except «push the big button when my camera was on the green box (auto-​mode).» However, when I left, not only did I manage to take some seriously cool photographs, but I learned how to continue practicing my photography skills in a much more focused manner than «point-​and-​click». If your expectation for a photography workshop is to walk away a master-​photographer, get real Unilocalers.
I walked into Kenmore Camera to buy some more lenses after the class (Brian gives excellent «next-​buy» ideas for your current camera). The guy, who sold me my own camera less than two weeks ago, stops me after 5 minutes and says, «you are a quick study, where did you learn about all this so fast?»
Am I a master-​photographer yet? Nope. But I know what I need to practice now.
Are my pictures crisper and cleaner? Absolutely. I’ve been taking photos for two weeks on my Canon EOS 20D and after I took Brian’s class, I had several friends ask me what camera I upgraded to.
When I get a blurry photo, do I know how to manipulate my camera to try and fix it? Yes.
Would I recommend everyone interested in learning how to take better photos take this class? Yes, no question, you are learning from a master with an incredibly artistic eye.
I was one of the more comfortable people in the class because when Brian sent out his preparation email for the class, not only did I do what he asked, but I played around with it for about 15 minutes taking photos with the different settings to see what effects they had. Everyone in the class who admittedly said they did not do the homework in the preparation email (to learn about their settings on their camera) were also the ones who did not catch on to the exercises very easily. One of the exercises we did in class was to take a photo of a moving object so the object (Brian and his chrome-​dome) was focused and the background was blurry. This required serious hand eye coordination and stillness as you pan. I got 1 photo in class that was perfect, and about 10 blurry, but I learned enough to go home and practice, and practice making perfect, I’ve actually gotten really good at this type of shot that is extremely difficult.
Without Brian’s class I’d still be pointing and shooting with my camera on the green-​box-​mode. Now I’m flipping through ISO settings, changing between shutter priority and aperture priority modes, using my flash about 8,000X more effectively, even when it’s not dark! He gave me some incredible ideas of shots to practice through his examples of his own photography. I have WAY more consideration for how I frame a shot, and most importantly I have way more fun with my camera.
I’m a musician, and the first thing you learn is you have to practice your scales. Brian gave me the tools with his very quirky workshop to practice my scales with my camera and I could not be more pleased with what I learned and my overall experience. Photography is physics and physics is confusing, so prepare for class, take notes, ask questions, and then go home and practice because as a camera-​salesman said to me at Glazer’s today, «you know more than 90% of photographers out there» — thank you Dion, but more importantly thank you to Brian for giving me a new direction for my photography.

I attended this photography workshop a few weekends ago and was rather disappointed. My friend and I decided to sign up for this workshop together (thankfully, for the discounted price of $ 50 rather than the regular price of $ 295!). We are both relatively new to photography but had taken a few intro courses prior to this one so we had some very basic knowledge. His presentation which focused primarily on ISO/​aperture/​shutterspeed was confusing and disorganized as he was unable to present the material in a succinct, concise manner. My friend and I were so glad that we had pre-​existing knowledge of these basics or else we would’ve been completely lost! He also had this ability to respond to questions without truly answering them which was really frustrating! From his photographs in the presentation, I could tell he was a good photographer from the pictures he used as examples in his powerpoint presentation but he really needs polish his teaching skills before charging people so much to attend his workshops. I hate giving 1-​star reviews, but I was really disappointed!

This review applies to photo workshops ONLY and not to Photo Élan’s photography services themselves. If you are looking for a wedding photographer, this info is not relevant. The «Capturing Special Moments» workshop was a complete waste of money even at $ 50 per head via RueLaLa instead of the $ 295 Photo Élan charges via their web site. Probably 20 people there, Brian was totally disorganized and unprepared, took three hours to communicate 30 minutes worth of info, and completely skipped several of the topics advertised as part of the workshop. The «shootari» consisted of walking around inside their studio (art gallery) not outside, and half of that time was spent with Brian trying and failing multiple times before finally demonstrating one type of clichéd specialty shot with a frozen moving figure in front of a blurred background. He didn’t even use that time to go through the whys and hows of the shot not working on the first attempts. I understand workshops like these are proxies for marketing the real money-​maker of photo services, but come on, at least pretend you put some effort into making it useful.