. During July 2014 I volunteered as a classroom assistant at St Helens Infants School. During the time that I was there the school was having an activity. This is when a number of children from each year group come together as a class do activities that relate to the country that they are learning about. I helped organise things for the teacher, helped out the children with their work and I also took some photos for the class to show what they were doing during the week.

. Also during July 2014 and various dates since then I have helped out at fundraising events. I worked on various stalls selling toys and food. This helped me grow in confidence and also learn new skills in communicating with people. Furthermore it taught me about thinking quickly and working under pressure because it was very busy.

. In March 2015 I was the photographer for Ignite Youth Festival in Swaffham, Norfolk. I took photos around the site where the event was taking place. I would then take photos of the events and workshops that were taking place over the weekend. After the weekend I took the photos home to organise and edit them so that I could then send them to the relevant people. My photos have been used in various social media accounts and they are also going to be used in the Newspaper.

This was all external work. By doing this work it has helped me develop more confidence when working with other people but also helping me have more confidence in myself and what I am doing. All of the work experience I have done has also helped me to learn to be more responsible. Furthermore, I have learned to work from someone's instructions which will be helpful when I start looking for jobs because it shows that I can listen to someone and work to their standard.

Over four days, Lucia will detail the physical, technical and artistic challenges of surf and travel photography, drawing from her own experience and passing on cautions and caveats about what to do, what to avoid, how to keep your equipment and yourself safe and in working order.

Surf photography is just a hobby for some – for others, it’s a business. It’s not an easy business in this modern, lightning-fast digital world, and Lucia will also pass on what she has learned about selling photos – and being paid properly for her work.

These courses are designed for students at any level, who want to take their photography to the next. The classes are for aspiring photographers with a passion for documenting surf, the ocean, waves, travel and action sports.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

• An unvarnished overview of the perils, pleasures, challenges and rewards of professional surf action photography.
• An overview of the myriad cameras, lenses, housings, tripods, computers and photo manipulation software. Their advantages and disadvantages.
• Setup, breakdown and maintenance of all equipment.
• Adjusting camera and lens settings to adapt to sun, wind, water and light.
• Proper, safe use of water housings: before, during and after shooting from the water.
• Ocean knowledge needed when shooting from the water.
• Tips on shooting from the water safely, to get optimum results.
• Surf zone safety.
• Returning to shore safely, safely pulling camera from the housing and images from the camera. 
• Proper care, storage and transportation of camera equipment whilst in transit
• Storing, manipulating and preserving digital images.
• Manipulating raw images for better results.
• Marketing and selling images.

REQUIREMENTS

Students must bring:

• Their own Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera.
• A water housing if you have one. (Lucia has a selection of waterproof cameras she lets students use, if they don’t have their own.)
• A laptop with photo software installed. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, Bridge or camera raw software installed on your computer (you can download the 30-day trial version before the workshop if you don’t already have the software).
• Instructors will be using Apple Computers.
• Storage media and other equipment - cord, thumb drive, card reader - for transferring images from camera to computer.
• External hard drive to store and back up images daily.
• Swimsuits, wetsuits, reef shoes, fins, goggles, towels and other accoutrement for shooting from the water.
• Warm clothing and waterproof attire for outside conditions
• Tripods and accessories for assisting shooting.
• Batteries and charger for rechargeable batteries.
• Camera manual.
• Power adapters and cables for laptop and digital camera

It is expected that you know how to download images from your camera to the laptop, know basic editing techniques using your software, and are able to organize the edited images for critique.

PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP 3 Nights For 1 Person 

• Learn to shoot surf like the pro's
• Welcome and Farewell Meals
• Expert Advice
• 3 days / 3 nights

General workshops will teach you more about the technical side of photography and start to look at the fundamentals of composition, leaving you with the knowledge to keep your photography moving forwards.

Advanced workshops explore composition and how to approach the art of photography, with a view to tell fascinating stories through taking more unusual, creative and impactful photographs.