I am so excited to be doing a podcast for the Canada Photo Convention this week! My podcast will go live over the weekend but I need questions to answer! if you have any questions for me relating to business, shooting, inspiration, or anything else, please comment away. One question will be selected and if it is yours, there will be a little gift heading your way!
I love answering questions from fellow photographers so if you have one, please ask! Leave a comment, eh?
For those of you who follow me on Facebook, you may already know that in addition to offering one on one Mentor Sessions I will also be teaching two classes this summer at The Define School! These classes will take place online (so anybody with a computer can take them) and they are PACKED with information. I have been pouring a ludicrous amount of energy and thought into the lessons for my classes and can’t wait to share them with fellow photographers who want to push their work and business forward! Over the past few years I have had countless photographers ask me if I offer longer workshops and these classes are my answer. Learn more about each class by clicking it’s image below. Classes start on June 3rd and registration opens at 12pm EST on May 20th…See you there!
OVERVIEW
This class is perfect for people looking to get their foot in the door in the lifestyle or editorial market. During these six weeks we will learn how to turn the smallest bit of inspiration into our strongest set of images yet by making decisions that solidify the emotions that you want to bring out.
WEEK 1
Get Inspired! This is where it all starts. Finding, creating and keeping track of inspiration is absolutely critical and now is the time to learn how to do it. Be ready to get out your journal and open your eyes.
WEEK 2
Creating the Mood. Once we have our first spark of inspiration, we will begin to build the fire. Learn how different decisions in the planning process will affect the final mood of your images. Think mood boards, color choices and how to control what our audience feels.
WEEK 3
Find your Location. Location scouting is a key step in the process and if it isn’t done right, it will run your mood into the ground. This week you will learn where to look, what to look for and how to take advantage of different tools that can help you along.
WEEK 4
Posing, Composition, and Equipment Choice. Here we will learn how to pose our model to convey our mood, why certain compositions make us feel certain ways and which equipment is best for the emotions we want to bring through.
WEEK 5
Solidify the Mood. Post processing and retouching plays a pivotal role in the emotion you want to convey. We will discuss different techniques and learn how to emphasize our audience’s feelings through the choices we make while editing.
WEEK 6
Moving Forward. During the last week you will turn in your 10 best images for critiques and advice as well as learning what it takes to get you foot in the door in the editorial world. Here we will discuss topics including branding, social media, getting published.
OVERVIEW
During this three week class we will not only define our personal styles in order to solidify our niche market and bring in the clients that are right for our business, but we will learn about the importance of venturing outside of that style in order to become more sophisticated artist.
WEEK 1
Defining Your Style. What type of images fill your portfolio and why? Aside from narrowing and solidifying your style we will discuss the importance and benefits of having a well defined niche in your marketplace and the industry, at large.
WEEK 2
The Importance of Experimentation. Even though a distinct style is important to have, there is value in stepping outside of it. The point of this week will be to take a leap into something we aren’t comfortable with in order to become a stronger artist.
WEEK 3
Final Portfolio Review. Together we will look over your portfolio to discover your strengths and areas there are room to improve in order to showcase the strongest portfolio possible.
+ 1 comment
I’m excited to be taking your “Developing your Style” class! Your portfolio is incredible!
After spending almost two weeks in the rain (in the so called “Sunshine State”), I was SO thrilled to see the sun finally come out for Amy and Andrew’s engagement session on Sunday morning. A few days ago I posted a sneak peak of their shoot and now I am happy to share a few more! They are the epitome of being awesome to work with and I can’t wait to photograph their wedding in March!
+ 9 comments
You make everything so light and dreamy. These are beautiful, Ben!
Your work always amazes me, Ben!
YOU ARE SO GOOD!!!
Love the light, airy feel to these. You’re excellent at capturing a mood. Great work.
These pictures are beautiful. Amy you look stunning, AOT.
This is my favorite shoot of yours ever!
Incredible. I absolutely love looking through your work!
So gorgeous 
gorgeous shoot! love how bright the images are and how at ease they both look
I had such a blast shooting with Amy and Andrew this past weekend! I will be posting more of these later this week but couldn’t wait to share a few!
+ 2 comments
beautiful! can’t wait to see more.
Found these photos pinned on pinterest. Beautiful work! Now that I’m looking more closely, I’d love to know where Amy got her dress, it’s great! Especially for the “Americana” style of the photo.
Over the past year I have had plenty of photographers interested in learning from me via one on one mentor sessions and I have gladly accepted their offers. Teaching is something I have always loved I always enjoy working with fellow photographers to help them better their work and their business. Until now, I haven’t officially offered Mentor Sessions but have been blessed with fellow photographers who never let that stop them from getting in touch and setting one up! For the rest of you, I am now officially offering one on one Mentor Sessions and would love to hear from you!
First of all, awesome! I am so glad that you are looking into a session! Educating yourself comes in all different shapes and sizes but one thing is always true, if you want to take your work to the next level, you need intentionally and consistently push yourself forward. I learned A LOT from fellow photographers when I was starting out and I am a firm believer in building a strong community of fellow photographers who value progression and education. The beauty of these mentoring sessions is that they can be anything you want them to be. Every photographer out there has a completely unique set of strengths and weaknesses and your mentoring session can be tailored to fit your needs best.
Live in Antarctica? The middle of the Sahara Desert? A cave in Iceland? No problem! As long as you have the internet, you can book a session! In addition to in-person sessions, I also lead mentoring sessions over the web from anywhere in the world. In these sessions, we will use a service called WebEx that allows us to talk, and see and control each others screens. This means that you can watch my editing process while I explain the steps I take to get my images looking how I do and I can guide you through the process on your own images while giving you tips and pointers along the way!
Only you know the areas of your work that you want to see improve. Spend some time taking a serious look into every aspect of your work to find the areas that you want to invest in. Below are just a few of the possible session topics!
Online sessions: $150/hour
In-person sessions: Get in touch for pricing!
To book a Mentor Session send me an email at Ben@bensasso.com and let me know a bit about yourself and what area of your work you want to invest in. Looking forward to hearing from you!
+ 3 comments
Please book me in for a 2 hour session. I would love to work on “cleaning up” my photography and develop a cleaner editing style. I really enjoy looking at your images and would love to foster some of the “true to real” colors you bring out in your images while still having the colors look bold and sharp. Not sure if this is in camera, or editing but I am hoping to learn a bit about both in that 2 hours. Perhaps explaining how an image is shot then taking it into Photoshop and editing/processing. I am proficient in understanding layer modes and curves, etc. Its more of just perfecting the true to color styles I REALLY need to work on !! And the in camera pics. I am hoping to book something with you for the end of May or June. Also HI FROM ALBERTA, CANADA!
Hi Ben,
I am a local amateur photographer and would LOVE to book a one on one session with you in the up coming year.
I would be interested in the finding the best light and the editing and retouching sessions. I know you predominately shoot film. I know most of technique should still be the same, but will it pose a problem that I only shoot digital? I wouldn’t think so, but just want to check.
I would love to get pricing for a one on one editing session locally. I won’t be able to book it for a while (planning for a wedding as of right now, so will need to wait until that craziness is over 
but would love to know your quote so that I can start saving.
Chelsie
Definitely doing this SOON fist pump*
+ - 4 comments
Cameron - Hi Ben,
I see a lot of photographers, well advanced in the industry, who talk about their own experience of charging rock bottom at the start of their careers and then building up to the comfortable profit where they now reside. They talk about this as a bad experience as they were doing a tonne of work for almost no gain.
However, I see it as a HUGE learning experience for them in terms of building their skills throughout this time. Even though they weren’t seeing a whole lot of reward, they wouldn’t be where they are now without all of that experience. They only got that experience through charging rock bottom.
Do you have any thoughts or personal experience on a comfortable line when starting out; charge what you’re worth or gain valuable experience?
Thanks heaps,
Cam
Keaton Webb - Where do you find your inspiration for sessions? Whether in other photographer’s work, favorite music artists, anything.
What first got you interested in photography and the work you’re doing now?
Alyssa - I’m wondering what school of thought you follow on package vs. a-la-carte pricing?
Merari - Hi Ben!
I’ve been brainstorming lately about finding a “voice” for my work. How did you begin finding out what that was for you? Is it a business philosophy? The post-processing? The kind of mood of the images (fun, bright vs. dark, moody?)? How did you start narrowing it down?