BPW
Have fun, while learning the foundation of incredible photography in one day, and with one of Canada’s most sought after portrait artists.
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Chris Keating has been in high demand since opening his studio in 2006. Since then he has worked with over 4000 families! Attendees of the Betterphoto workshops get all of Chris’ experience concentrated into a quick moving day filled with laughs. The content covered is basic enough for the extreme beginner, with enough nuggets thrown in to make it worth while for the more experienced in the crowd.
Master your camera with live hands-on instruction.
Upon opening his second studio, Towne Photography Keating has very quickly risen to the ranks as an industry leader. His entertaining style and no nonsense content has taken Chris all over the world to speak. No stranger to the stage, he has addressed crowds of thousands. Until now only to professional photographers.
I sat down with Keating in Calgary, Alberta to get to the bottom of what he was doing.
BP: Chris, you have been so busy with your studio. Why do a national photography tour geared towards hobbyists?
CK: I’ve always loved spending time with what I would call non photographers. People who enjoy photography, but haven’t made it their life practice. As a guy who knows what it takes to make images clients would be happy to pay for, it has always been frustrating to see the marketing that the camera companies have been putting out over the last few decades. If you look at most of the marketing, it would leave you to believe that the only thing you need to make outstanding images is the latest camera. While good gear is helpful, it is a small part of the process. You can do way more with knowledge and bad gear than you could do with great gear and no idea what you are doing.
I have always wanted to do a program for the hobbyist, but it wasn’t until Groupon approached me about doing the tour that I ever thought I would do it.
BP: You seem to have gained your success overnight, what was the turning point for you?
CK: (He laughs)…Well overnight is a very lose term, I imagine. I have been training a long time for this one magical night. It’s cool if people want to say that, but I have been working hard for the last 10 years. I don’t really feel like I am a success. I’m proud of how far I have come, but I still have a long way to go, or a long way I want to go. I guess the turning point was when I started working with a lot of clients, like hundreds a year. The more I shoot, the better my work was becoming. Also the more I was shooting, the more I gained clarity to the direction and gifts I wanted to give my clients. In the past few years, I have been feeling like I am much more of an artist than a photographer. I hope that answers your question.
BP: You said gifts you want to give your clients. What gifts do you want to give the attendees of your workshops?
CK: Um, lots. Gosh, there are lots I want to give them. I think first off, I would like them to have some fun! Nothing in my world is worth doing if you can’t have a few laughs and I always want to entertain as much as I want to educate. If people are bored, then there is no way for them to learn. Of course I want them to learn how to make better photographs. It’s a photography class! I also would like to instill some excitement and passion. I get so jacked up when I’m talking about this stuff! If you aren’t jazzed about it, then I would imagine you could see me as a crazy person. Oh well I’m sure most people do anyways. (He laughs).
Create professional looking images in just one day.
BP: How did you get started in the photo biz? Did you go to school or are you self-taught?
CK: I’m neither! I didn’t get formal training from an organized school. And I definitely did not teach myself. I’m not that smart. Actually I have had a whole slough of teachers and mentors. I have toured, or met with, over 250 studios around the world and I am constantly learning from others. Actually, the way I got started was the photographer, who I first asked for help,taught this program in the basement of a local lab. It is eerily similar to this Betterphoto program. Wow, I guess I owe her some royalties or something. That’s funny, I never really thought about that before. I’m going to call her.
BP: It seems like you get a ton of people at these workshops. How can you ensure that everyone is able to master their own camera?
CK: Oh, this is really cool! I have friends in every location. It’s so fun because I get all my friends to come help out. It’s so cool! I get a half a dozen (sometimes more) professional working photographers to come hang out, roam around and help anyone who needs it. It’s a blast, It is not very often you can get in a room with 6-10 pro’s all dedicated to help you with your craft.
BP: So what can one learn in this workshop?
CK: Ah, well lots. There are tons of things. But to generalize, it is really about understanding just how your camera works. Building the foundation for a life time of enjoying photography. What your camera settings do, what to use and what to stay away from. How to get the perfect exposure using what I call the exposure trifecta. It sounds complicated, but it really is not. It is just a simple way, that I show you, of how to use the three different adjustments in photography, shutter speed, aperture and ISO, to decide just how you want your photo’s to turn out. There is more than that, but we could be here all day. I guess you’ll just have to come to the class to find out.
BP: Looks like I will. Thanks for your time Chris.
CK: Hey my pleasure, I appreciate you taking the time. Love and Peace. See you there!
In this workshop.
Proper camera handling techniques Fundamentals of photography
Master Exposure (Av, Tv, and manual) Why not to use red eye reduction
Composition Shoot like a pro
Flash Basics Action photography
How to maximize battery life Overcoming capture lag Raw vs. Jpg
You can visit Chris’s studio website by clicking here or by visiting www.townephotography.com
Buy your ticket now only $229 by clicking here.
Already bought your voucher? Register by clicking on the date of your choice. While space lasts.
Calgary, AB.
Edmonton, AB.
London, ON.
Montreal, QC.
Ottawa, ON.
Regina, SK.
Saskatoon, SK.
Toronto, ON.
Vancouver, BC.
Victoria, BC.
“My ability to take better photos has just jumped miles ahead, and I am enjoying the ‘understanding’ of what makes a good photo. You did well at mixing the ‘basics’ with ‘professional tips’, that kept everyone interested. I noted that the ‘guru’ to the left of me was as interested as the beginner Grandma on my right. It was sort of like a Disney movie, that everyone could watch and be entertained at the same time. (no dis-respect with the Disney comment……..they are pros at this).”
- Ron Lefebvre, Edmonton Alberta.
Hi Chris! This is Crystal Cadieux, and I attended the Betterphoto Workshop and Walk this past weekend in Edmonton. I am sending your my evaluation of the event, as per your request. The event on Saturday was awesome! The venue was good, despite it being a bit crowded. I actually preferred it at that location because it was close to my house and I was able to come home to my young kids during lunch. As for the workshop itself, I had a blast. You are so freakin’ funny! Like seriously, I was able to learn lots about my camera and its settings and how to take good photos and you kept me awake the whole time! I’m sure you gete this lots, but I just want to say that you are a great presenter! I am also thankful for the extra Betterphoto staff that helped us when we needed it. There is one suggestion I’d like to make though, and that is showing more pics with their exposure and white values, somewhat as to how those photos were taken. I know you showed us pics in that slide but I’m not too sure if those showed their exposure value. As for the Betterphoto Walk, I was able to use the techniques mentioned in the workshop by taking various photos of different things. I still need to practice lots though. Thank you for teaching us the basics on photography. It was an awesome event to attend!!
Sincerly,
Crystal Cadieux
I woke up this morning thinking about apperature, shutter speed and Iso!! I learned a lot yesterday that I thought my head would spin. If you come to Edmonton again. I will go just to tweak what I leared yesterday. I would have love to go. As for the trip to Cuba, if you are doing it still in the next year or two I am so going!!!!. I really appreciate how you kept the mood light and you moved around. Some people stay still when they speak, and the audience gets put to sleep. I could definately see why you like the tiered seating that could work so much better. You are a great teacher and are so far the only one who explained the trifecta and the grey card how my brain receives it. THANK YOU!!!
Look foward to taking more workshops and other info you have to offer!
Kimberley
Good Morning Chris, my name is Iver and I was in your workshop at UofC on Saturday. You asked for some feedback, and I thought I would send you a quick note to help with your next workshop. I was so very impressed with you and your drive to help others to be able to create photography in the same way you see it. I had a “perma grin” on my face the whole drive back to Airdrie, and I couldn’t wait to explain some of the things I learned to my wife. I was even trying to think of ways I could explain some ideas to my 8 year old daughter who has her own “point and shoot” Canon, but would need to borrow mine to learn. Your passion and drive for photography was infectious, probably a bad choice of words but whatever, your sense of humor kept me entertained and focused. It’s quite an achievement to keep me awake and focused with the sleep my kids lets me have, I’ve been in many meetings and seminars for a shorter time than that and had trouble staying awake. I was amazed at the number of people at the event, but it in no way was a detriment to learning. You managed the crowd well, and the experts on hand were enough to get everyone caught up. I personally can’t think of anything that needs to be improved for that seminar (sorry), the amount of information I absorbed was enough to keep my camera on manual. There are many more things I would like to learn, including off camera lighting, and using some more lenses, but I really just want to get good at using my equipment the way it was meant to. If it’s practice I need, it’s practice I’ll get, my wife and my kids are great subjects. I really enjoyed myself at the workshop, and I know the next family portrait we do will be with Towne Photography. Thanks very much, and I wish you all the best in the future.
Iver Bonyai – Calgary
10 High street S.E. Calgary AB. Canada T2Z 3T8 1(877) 605-0855
