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Night Photography, Light Trails and Shutter Speed Creativity: Tower Bridge, London

4.9(27 reviews)
Learn night photography, light trails and panning while exploring St Pauls & Tower Bridge in London with professional Travel Photographer Matthew Williams-Ellis
Tower Bridge and St Pauls
In-person
from £80 pp
3hrs
Intermediate
Next available date:27th January 2025
What happens in this class?

If you love taking photos, but want to get to grips with night photography, light trails and using shutter speeds to produce more creative photos, then this is the photography workshop for you! This photography workshop - lead by professional travel and landscape photographer Matthew Williams-Ellis - will teach you all you need to know!

  • During the workshop you will learn about different types of panning, light trails, night photography, long exposures and intentional camera movement (ICM) with ‘in the field’ tutorials, allowing you to practise and experiment with newly learned techniques. You will learn how using shutter speeds creatively can add energy and life to images, while photographing around St Pauls, Leadenhall Market and Tower Bridge.

  • At the same time as learning the technical side of photography, we will talk a lot about the thought process of creating (not just taking) photos. Matthew will offer tips on composition, guide your photographic eye and help you develop a proactive photography mindset, ensuring you can apply your new found skills to any given situation when photographing in the future.

  • Please note: I will always be happy to talk about any topic that you do not understand, however depending on your skill level, I strongly recommend attending one of my 'Ultimate Introduction to Photography' workshops prior to attending this photography workshop.

Your instructor

  • Matthew Williams-Ellis is a professional travel and landscape photographer who has been awarded in Travel Photographer of the Year, and been a finalist on many other occasions. He carries out commissions for the travel industry, leads photography holidays and workshops and runs a youtube channel called Photo Escapes.
  • Matthew says "travel offers endless fascinating subjects for photography. Whether you join me photographing central London at sunset, Regent's Park in Autumn or learning long exposures at The London Eye, you will always receive plenty of 1 to 1 time and my absolute promise to devote my time and efforts to helping you produce the best photos possible!"

Subjects covered:

  • Night photography
  • Experiment with different types of panning
  • Being creative with shutter speed priority mode
  • How to shoot light trails
  • How to do Intentional camera movement (ICM)
  • How to photograph long exposures
  • Best practises for capturing pin point sharp photos with a tripod
  • How to create milky water and streaky clouds
  • Using filters (if you own them)
  • Tips and tricks for eye-catching compositions
  • The importance of light and shooting at the best time of day
  • Shooting in manual mode
  • Selecting the most appropriate equipment (although it is not about what equipment you have, it is how you use it!)
Things to remember

Equipment

-Camera: Essential(!). Any digital SLR or other camera that can be controlled manually. Please contact before booking if you only have a smart phone. -Lenses: Wide angle lens essential, telephoto lens optional. -Tripod: Essential. Any size will be fine, but the more sturdy the better! Loan can be arranged…

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Latest Reviews
4.9(27 reviews)
Jill North - 31 October 2024
Excellent 3 hr workshop covering several different techniques
Eli - 11 June 2024
This was my second workshop with Matt and I learned more new things. We had a fantastic time - great sites, just the right balance of tuition and time to "play" and some fantastic images to remember the evening by!
Daniel Brown - 21 February 2024
Had a great night photography workshop with Matthew a couple of weeks ago. He was really helpful and encouraging, making sure he took the time to assist 1-on-1 whenever he could. I picked up so many good tips & tricks, and learnt so much during the workshop, managed to get some really good shots too! Already looking to book some of his other workshops, would highly recommend.
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Booking Options
3hrs workshop1 class
from £80
Private BookingFor groups of 2 to 20 guests
£175

Obby Guarantee

We ensure quality. If your class doesn't reach your expectations, we'll give your money back.
Obby guarantees good classes

Age Requirement

16

Flexible cancellation policy

Any class can be cancelled and fully refunded within 24 hours of purchase. See cancellation policy.
Your Teacher

Matthew's photography workshops are about learning your camera inside out, immersing yourself in photography, trying new techniques, and having fun with your camera alongside like-minded people! Tutorials are 'in the field', where you are encouraged to experiment with your new skills to create eye-catching photos of some of London's most iconic sites!

You will always receive plenty of 1 to 1 time ensuring you master your camera, develop a proactive photography mindset and further your photographic eye. You will leave feeling confident about both the technical and creative aspects of photography, allowing you to capture unique…

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Class Location
Tower Bridge and St Pauls
Tower Bridge and St Pauls
Caffe Nero
EC4M 8AD
London

Reviews

Jill North - 31 October 2024
Excellent 3 hr workshop covering several different techniques
Eli - 11 June 2024
This was my second workshop with Matt and I learned more new things. We had a fantastic time - great sites, just the right balance of tuition and time to "play" and some fantastic images to remember the evening by!
Daniel Brown - 21 February 2024
Had a great night photography workshop with Matthew a couple of weeks ago. He was really helpful and encouraging, making sure he took the time to assist 1-on-1 whenever he could. I picked up so many good tips & tricks, and learnt so much during the workshop, managed to get some really good shots too! Already looking to book some of his other workshops, would highly recommend.
Nesrin Tisdale - 13 February 2024
Matt, was a great teacher!! He was so knowlagable about different aspects of photography and my camera compare . I have attended workshops at photography school and thus far Matt provided the best experience.
Kay Rawson - 28 November 2023
Interesting walk around St Paul’s to Leadenhall Market with Matthew. Matthew was enthusiastic, knowledgeable and keen to share techniques and tips to achieve photos out of the ordinary as not to get too hung up about technicalities, e.g under exposing a photo to great effect, the use of reflections in glass using sunlight at the right angle, and much more. I came away with shots that I was really pleased with.
Chris Taylor - 27 November 2023
Matthew showed us some great tips which showed both immediate results and great scope to be taken further. Friendly and patient, and clearly has a wealth of knowledge about the artistry and technology of photography.
Maurizio Tello - 13 October 2023
Great evening spent with Matthew during his workshop on how to get creative with exposure. He kept the group engage throughout the walk and jumped in to give advice on how to see things differently or to use a certain technique. It was very inspiring, refreshing my creative side!
Pam Rixon - 14 September 2023
I enjoyed the walk but it was a bit fast. I would have liked more stops and less time and more advice at Harry Potter market area. It was difficult due to the crowds. Thankyou.
Russ Hill - 13 July 2023
Very knowledgeable and patient, if you are looking to get into photography, do not hesitate to book with Matthew. You will not be disappointed. 5⭐️
Chris Clemens - 13 July 2023
Very enjoyable and informative session. Matthew used his wealth of experience and knowledge to help us understand the way to approach taking our photos with the outcome in mind, and shared some useful techniques to achieve the photos we wanted.
Birgit Kunze - 12 May 2023
Thank you so much for 3 interesting hours - for giving tips and advice! St.Pauls, Leadenhall Market and Tower Bridge are perfect locations for practicing with the camera. Can recommand Matthews course 100 %! Motivated me to learn more. See you again in London 😊
Natalie Levy - 10 May 2023
A really enjoyable workshop which left me with lots of ideas and the knowledge to try them out. Matt was very attentive & seemed to spread himself around the group with ease, giving everyone advice & help based on their own experience. I came away encouraged to do another workshop with him.
Toby Cook - 22 April 2023
Matthew was very knowledgeable and taught me on how to use the different shutter speeds on my camera to get light trails over London Bridge. Would definitely recommend him!! he took us to a few exciting locations where I was able to get some wonderful photos.
Sarah Garland - 29 March 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed my night photography experience with Matthew. It was an adventure! I learned new things in a relaxed and fun way. Matthew was a patient and approachable teacher. I highly recommend.
Daniella Williams - 28 March 2023
Great session with Matt learnt a lot and he is extremely patient. Would recommend anyone wanting to improve their photography skills.
Pete Sbert - 25 January 2023
Fantastic experience. Matthew certainly knew his stuff and gave us a lot of guidance. I learnt so much during this experience. No question was too much even if it didn’t have anything to do directly with the course. Matthew was enthusiastic, very approachable and friendly. I most certainly recommend this to anyone wishing to learn more about skills and photography in general. I had a wonderful day and it was great meeting the other people on the course.
Len D'Cruz - 25 January 2023
Matthew was really friendly and approachable.He was very knowledgeable and gave advice about composition,settings and how to approach cityscapes and street photography.I learned sone new techniques and more about my camera -excellent !
Glenda Spackman - 23 August 2022
I really enjoyed the London workshop with Matthew. He knew the best spots to take us and provided lots of helpful technical advice on how to capture the images that best expressed what the feeling of the different locations. Matthew is very friendly, very professional and I definitely recommend that anyone wanting to learn how to take long exposures or to capture great night shots does the workshop with Matthew.
David Jones - 20 July 2022
So worthwhile! Matt is great, an excellent human and a brilliant guide and teacher. Definitely recommend this and to top off learning some new techniques, got a load of shots that I’m printing out too! Thanks Matt
Steven Wilson - 20 July 2022
This is the second class I have had with Matthew (one private and one group) both have been excellent. Matthew is patient and understanding of my novice level and is super helpful in assisting in setting up my camera and slowly getting me to set it up myself. Some of the 'tricks' Matthew showed me are awesome and most importantly he has given me the confidence to go out with my camera on my own!! So one huge high five to Matthew and two simple words.....thank you!!
Mariyana Tasheva - 13 July 2022
That was a very useful and enjoyable workshop. In a small group , Matthew made sure to show everyone the specific techniques we practice, and then checking with everyone individually to see if we had any questions or help needed. Matthew is very knowledgeable in the field, and very calm, has a wonderful approach with people, patience and creativity. Highly recommended his workshops!
Deborah - 2 March 2022
Great session around the City of London to practice creative shutter speeds - panning, use of filters for long exposures, light trails and thinking about unique and varied compositions for story telling. Recognising the ‘blue hour’ for better night photography (less contrast) and applying long exposures for skies & clouds (and not just water) were also key takeaways. Thanks Matthew.
Julian C - 29 January 2022
As a more experienced amateur photographer I chose this workshop knowing I’ll learn something new. In fact, I learnt a lot of new methods, skills and creative approaches as well as a few more functions on my camera I never knew existed. Matthew is a very skilled, talented and creative photographer such that he has a very natural way teaching a small group of mixed ability and experience. It didn’t matter whether an individual had only just picked up a camera or photographs very frequently, Matthew adjusted his teaching to suit. This workshop comes highly recommended for anyone looking to advance their photography to the next level, whatever that might look like.
Kishore Karamchandani - 27 January 2022
Great workshop. Mathew is an excellent teacher and pays attention to detail. He knows his stuff and has a great power of expression to get the message across. Not only does he guide you with the camera and techniques but gives a very different perspective of how to look at a scene and make creative images. Bottom line: highly recommended. Will be back for more classes.
Frank Harley - 27 January 2022
Mathew lead a great workshop using a good variety of camera techniques from panning to long exposure. He was attentive to each of his clients needs and spent time explaining everything well. He also tried to get everyone to think outside the box before actually taking a shot.
Jackie M - 19 November 2021
Had a great afternoon with Matthew on a 3 hour Shutter Speed Priority course. Took some varying photos from St Paul’s to Tower Bridge. Didn’t feel rushed or pressured - we talked about the most suitable camera settings to get the best result for what we were doing. Matthew was encouraging and helpful. Would definitely recommend him. I’ve now booked another lesson with him.
sarah augustin - 10 August 2021
An amazing class that I would recommend to anyone learning photography!