Read Testimonials from Michael O'Brien's
Coaching Sessions for Photographers

The Digital Primer is an introduction to the working essentials of digital photography. It acts as a foundation to help those who are new to photography or can be used as a refresher to strengthen existing photography skills. It demystifies the vast array of features and the user manual of your camera. This allows you to spend more time making pictures and less time flipping with frustration through your manual. It makes an excellent gift to give any photographer, whether just beginning or experienced.

The use of light has a powerful effect on our photographs. Like the air we breathe, light is usually taken for granted. A deeper understanding of light takes our photographs beyond snapshots into the expressive realm. To use light effectively in photography is to learn a new language: a visual language.

This session offers a study of that language. It shows how to bring power and drama to photographs through the creative use of light. Discover ways to use existing light and your on-camera flash in order to improve your photographs. Read More »

Preparation is essential to creating good travel images. This 2-hour intensive photographic tutorial provides one-on-one coaching to help busy people prepare to travel with their cameras. We take an integrative approach to Travel Photography that combines theory with hands-on learning in the field.

This method quickly builds on existing strengths to create new skills. The time is used to work on the areas of photography that you choose. It is tailored to your specific interests and to your level of expertise.

This coaching session works with the basic functions of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom® image editing software. Lightroom® can smooth out the rocky road of file management for our digital photography needs. Learn to use the program's intuitive features that allow us to easily convert RAW files, sort, edit and organize large numbers of digital images.

Through a vast array of easy-to-use features, Lightroom® also provides a way to exercise creative control during the crucial 'development' stage in the digital photography process. One area where Lightroom® really shines is when we want to create strong collections of photographs, while also shaping their style. Sessions can be in person or online using Skype or Team Viewer.

Learn to produce stunning night photographs. The night world offers an opportunity to create unique photographs full of mystery and a special kind of beauty.

This hands-on tutorial will be of interest to anyone seeking to improve his or her skills in night photography. While working with existing light and on-camera flash technique, you will be shown how to develop your own working method for making powerful photographs at night.

Ever elusive and changing as a subject, people have been called ‘the most difficult landscape.’ Whether we intend to or not, we tell stories about people when we engage them with a camera. They are one of the most challenging and rewarding subjects we can photograph.

This personalized 2 hour workshop offers one-on-one coaching to help you develop creative approaches to portraiture, whatever your current skill level. In a free consultation before your workshop, we’ll explore where your current interests lie and use those interests as a framework for your learning.