Flower Photography Workshop with Valerie Mather: Saturday 18th May 2024, 10am-3:30pm, includes Garden Entry and Cream Tea.
On the Day:
On the morning, you will meet Valerie at the café and garden entrance for an introductory talk about what the day will entail. Valerie will discuss some key photography techniques you will be using during the day and provide you with a handout containing some useful technical and creative composition tips and tricks. Please meet Valerie at the picnic benches located at the car park entrance, before she escorts you in on the day.
After this talk, you’ll head into the gardens themselves. You will learn about correct exposure, how to blur the background to make your flower portraits “pop” as well as composition tips for photographing gardens, plants and flowers. Importantly, Valeria will be on hand to guide you as you practice and hone your photography skills throughout this session and be there to answer your photography questions.
At lunch time, you’ll head down to café to enjoy a fresh homemade scone accessorised with Rhodda’s clotted cream and Tiptree jam, washed down with a much-deserved tea/coffee of your choice. (The cream tea and drink is included in your package, but you are welcome to purchase additional food and drink from the café as desired. Please make us aware of any dietary requirements – VG and GF alternatives available).
After you’re fed and watered, you will head back up to the gardens for your afternoon session where you’ll put those newly learned skills into practice. Valerie will lead you through many parts of the gardens helping you hone those key techniques. The workshop will conclude at 3:30pm, after which you are welcome to explore the gardens at your leisure.
This workshop is focused on giving a close group experience to budding nature photographers of all abilities. All you need is a digital camera and plenty of enthusiasm.
(And if you can't make this date, fear not! we'll be added a new date for May 2024 so watch this space!)
About Valerie:
Valerie specialises in teaching in a fun, jargon-free practical way. She was awarded the internationally respected Distinction of Associate of the Royal Photography Society (ARPS) in 2020. In September 2023 she had a solo exhibition of her work to be hosted by the National Trust at Nunnington Hall in North Yorkshire.
On the day, please bring your digital camera, a charged battery (a spare battery if you have one) and a memory card. Please wear suitable clothing and footwear for walking in the gardens. Because this is an outdoor event, we will go ahead in whatever the British weather throws at us, as long as conditions are safe. In the rare event that weather conditions are unsafe, we will get in contact to offer an alternative date for the group workshop.
