David Henry photographing Lucy in the Saint-Sulpice neighborhood in Paris. —photo by Jérôme Cohen

One of the pictures taken during the photo shoot above. Take a look at other portraits taken in Paris…

Laurent taking pictures of Notre-Dame, basking in the late afternoon sun on the Left Bank in Paris.

Matthieu Facq photographing building façades in place des Vosges, Paris. Taken with a 20 mm lens, a polarizing filter, and the camera’s internal flash to fill in the shadows.

These one-on-one photography lessons, entirely tailored to your needs, and what you would like to learn, can help aspiring Parisian photographers in three ways:

1. from the visitor’s point of view, which places to visit, and when:
   • classic historical monuments: The Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame, l’arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Élysées, the musée du Louvre, photogenic locations that make up the visual identity of the city of Paris…
   • Paris “Off the beaten path”, the odd, quirky sides of Paris that most visitors do not find out about: the catacombs, the bird market, canal Saint-Martin, the chapelle de la Médaille Miraculeuse, the cat and dog cemetery in Asnières…
2. from an artistic point of view, how to take pictures:
   • perspectives: how different angles can change the mood of a image, explore various focal lengths and the perspectives they give, dramatic close-ups that create images that stand out from the rest.
   • timing: Predict the next movements of your subject, and catch the “Decisive Moment”, as is often said about Henri Cartier-Bresson’s photographs.
   • the time of day: the best light for photographing specific historic monuments in Paris.
   • candid pictures: make yourself invisible, and make pictures that transport people in to the scene you are photographing.
   • portraits: flattering pictures that reveal the true character of your subject, and the best settings and places to take them. Take portraits in every-day outdoor situations that look like they were taken in a studio!
   • nighttime photography: settings for best over-all exposures in the shadows and highlights.
   • the electronic flash: Fill-in flash, balancing the flash exposure with ambient light, whether during the day or at night; reflectors for diffusing the flash, the best angles from which to point the flash, and stroboscopic flash.
   • how to “make yourself lucky”: Sometimes people say, “oh, you were lucky” when looking at one of my pictures. Perhaps, but I strongly believe that it is possible to create one’s luck. Learn to put yourself where and when the action will take place minutes or seconds later.
3. from a technical point of view, going in to more detail on exposure and other settings on the camera, to…
   • Photoshop, a program I have been using for eighteen years now, advanced techniques for obtaining fine art picture quality, whether your images will be printed or shown in electronic presentations, such as web pages.

Write me a note if you would like to participate in a Parisian photography workshop!

Pay on-line for one workshop session, or for second and subsequent workshops sessions.

As seen in «Réponses Photo» Left: an announcement for photography lessons by David Henry printed on page 154, in the October 2005 edition of one of the leading photography magazines in France.

Questions and answers about Paris Photography Workshops:

David Henry taking pictures in the courtyard of the Musée Carnavalet in the Marais neighborhood, Paris, September 6th, 2005. —photo by Linda Schenck, a photo workshop participant from California. Who is David Henry? I’ve been taking pictures since the age of thirteen. I started with cameras I found at flea markets, with which I had to guess the distance, aperture and shutter speed. I studied photography at the Massachusetts College of Art, with Nicholas Nixon and Baldwin Lee. I grew up and spent most of my life in Boston, Massachusetts, and I’ve been living in Paris for the last twelve years. Most of my work consists of tourism and travel photography, for advertising agencies, graphic designers, architects, books, magazines and other kinds of publications. My latest, greatest success was the series of pictures I took for the illustrated edition of the da Vinci Code, published November 2004. You may wish to take a look at an overview of the pictures I take in Paris… Where are photography workshops held? Caroline Viciana photographing the fontaine des Innocents with her Nikon D40x, a 70–300 mm zoom, and a SB-25 flash, June 6th 2008. I teach photography in the city of Paris, in the neighborhood of your choice. This mostly has to do with what kind of pictures you like to take: If you like photographing buildings and monuments, the stretch from île Saint-Louis, to île de la Cité, then on towards to the musée du Louvre is a good choice. If you like taking pictures of people, there are plenty of spots in Montmartre with lots of subjects. If you’re looking for twisty old streets with medieval atmosphere, the Marais, and different places on the Left Bank are good. Of course, it is possible to arrange sessions in places around Paris, such as Versailles, Fontainebleau, Chartres, and so forth. What kind of camera equipment is necessary? David Henry discussing esthetic considerations and technical issues with Lucas Pollonghini, July 19th 2008; photos by Michel Enjalbert. I recommend a either a 35-mm reflex, a rangefinder camera, or a digital camera that allows manual exposures. Other cameras, such as medium format (which take 120/220 film), or panoramic cameras are perfectly fine, also. Participants should bring along commonly available black and white or color negative or slide film, and any accessories they would like to learn more about: electronic flash, wide angle, telephoto or zoom lenses, tripod, etc. If you do not have a camera that allows manual exposures, I can bring a basic 35 mm single-lens reflex camera. Why take a photography workshop? Amandine Baudelet taking pictures of people doing acrobatic tricks on roller blades in front of Notre-Dame with her Canon EOS 300V, March 8th, 2009. I have the impression that photography is going through a sort of renaissance. From the mid-1980s through the end of the 1990s, photographic technologies weren’t advancing that much because so much progress had already been made. There wasn’t much difference between a single-lens reflex from 1985 and one made seven years ago. These days, digital cameras are all the rage, and many people are buying a camera for the first time, or the first time in the last ten or twenty years. Traditionally, there were three kinds of film: black and white, and color negative and slide film, while with current cameras, people will be interested in learning about white balance, sensitivity, resolution, file formats like JPEG, TIFF, and Raw, and many other technical issues. Acquiring a new camera makes people want to brush up on their picture-taking, learn how to take the best photographs, technically and esthetically, while making the transition to digital photography. What previous skills and knowledge are required for participants? I work with people of all kinds of skill levels, from absolute beginners to people who know more than I do in certain ways. Participants need not know anything about photography, the only requirement is a will to learn, the energy to do creative exercises in the field, and the motivation to put in to practice the ideas and concepts I teach. When are the photography workshops held? Workshop sessions are in no way pre-organized, they are scheduled according to your availability. It is best to reserve sessions a few weeks in advance, to make sure I will be in Paris, and not previously engaged. You may look over available dates, below.

How many students are there per class? Rick Motschall taking pictures of spots of colored light projected by the stained glass windows of église Saint-Eustache, September 11th, 2006. Most of the time, there is just one participant: you! That is, unless you would like to participate with friends, in which case the rates are the same. These photography workshops are entirely customized, one-on-one sessions. You may think of these sessions as an opportunity to learn techniques I have gathered over the decades, to benefit from years of experience gained doing photo shoots for publication, learn the advantages and disadvantages of different kinds of photo equipment, and to “pick my brains”, and ask specific questions that most people wouldn’t have the answer to. What to do when it rains, when it’s cold, or when there’s no sun? Train tracks at Gare du Nord: Even with the worst of weather, it’s always worth heading out to take pictures. Naturally, we all prefer to take pictures on nice sunny days, however, taking great pictures on cold or rainy days can be a rewarding challenge, and certainly, there are plenty of impressive pictures in the history of photography taken during not the most “appetizing” of weather. When it rains it’s necessary to dress warmly and go out with a (big) umbrella. One trick is to search out glistening reflections on the streets, to look for reflections on the ground, often from neon signs of cafés, bars and tobacconist shops, or monuments, and people. Laura Bénéteau taking pictures of the Conciergerie on the pont d’Arcole, with my Nikon F70, October 28th 2008, taken with her Nikon D80 and my SB-26 flash. When it’s cold, once again, one should dress warmly. I spent most of my life in Boston, where it’s 20°F at high noon every day for a week in February, and the temperature rarely rises above freezing in December, January and February. If you’re truly frozen to the bone, we can always go in to a centuries-old church and learn about low-light photography, with the tripod. What’s impressive is to see how much more is visible in such pictures, as compared to the naked eye. When the sky is completely clouded over, (which can be worse than rain…), one solution is to wait until nighttime, when Paris turns in to the City of Lights. Aside from all this… voilà, most of us do prefer taking pictures in the spring, summer and fall. Except it’s better to stay in artistic activity all year long, and know how to make engaging images no matter the weather. Is a digital camera necessary to participate? Elsa Bonnefoi photographing façades on quai de Bourbon, île Saint-Louis, an hour before sunset, March 12th, 2007. It makes no difference whether you have a digital or a film-based camera, however, I have found digital cameras extremely useful for learning composition, and the art of photography. Do remember to bring extra batteries if you have a digital camera, I’ve found they get tired quickly during workshops as we spend a lot of time looking over settings, options in the menus, and reviewing photographs as we take them. If you would like to learn how to improve pictures with a computer you may wish to look over a page about Photoshop workshops. What about the French language? Jean-Baptiste Labelle taking pictures of saints inside Saint-Gervais church with his Canon EOS 30d, March 30th, 2009. Have no fear, I’ve been living in Paris for twelve years, I am very fluent in French, especially as concerns photography and computers. I’m very much at ease switching between the two languages, which comes in handy when you’d like to ask permission to take peoples’ picture.

Linda Schenck taking pictures of the Pick-Clops Café on a sunny September day in the Marais, Paris.

Some testimonials…

Linda Schenck:

This past September I went to France to paint in Provence. While preparing for the trip I decided that I’d like to take my new Canon digital SLR with me and take some, hopefully, great photographs.

At the last moment I decided to check on the Internet for a photography instructor in Paris. The first thing to pop up was David Henry, photographer. I e-mailed him requesting a lesson from him and after a couple of e-mail exchanges I was set.

We met up in the Marais at a café in place des Vosges so we could discuss photography and Adobe Photoshop so he would know what I already knew and what he could teach me. He reviewed with me the settings on my camera and explained the different exposure modes: manual exposure, manual focus and color modes (sRGB vs Adobe RGB). We also discussed Photoshop and I was amazed at David’s grasp of this software.

I could have sat with him all day learning some of what he knew about Photoshop but I needed to learn how to use my camera to my best advantage. So we went for a walk through the Marais and came across the musée Carnavalet, where we took some photos, and David recounted some history of the museum as well as more hints, tips and advice on my camera.

After several hours we stopped at Pick-Clops café for coffee and David reviewed what he had been teaching for the last few hours.

And my instruction didn’t end there. When I returned home I e-mailed a couple of my photos to David for his advice on how to improve them in Photoshop and he looked them over and made suggestions and e-mailed them back to me, with his improvements to show me how to get the most out of the photos I’d taken. I learned more in half a day of shooting side by side with David than I have reading photography magazines for a year!

—Linda Schenck

Rachel Hofer:

I travel to Paris at least twice a year and am always looking for something new and interesting to do each time I go. This past fall, I was taking photography classes at home, but also wanted to learn more about night photography during my trip. I found David online and it was extremely easy to set-up a workshop. Before even leaving DC, we had exchanged detailed e-mails on my experience level as well as what I hoped to learn during the workshop. I really wanted to focus on long exposures and night photography and have to say, I took my photography skills to an entirely new level after only five hours on the streets of Paris with David.

The weather was warm, but a bit rainy the day of the workshop, so we went into Notre-Dame as we were walking by. Since flash is not allowed inside, it was the perfect place to learn how to use longer exposure times to capture images with the low light. We were using both digital and manual SLR cameras and David’s knowledge about both is extensive.

Tom and Nancy Donahoe taking pictures of sparrows; Nancy discussing composition with David, in the jardin des Tuileries, September 17th, 2006. —photo by Linda Schenck.

After an hour or so in Notre Dame, the sun had gone down and the rain had stopped, we headed over to the river by Hôtel de Ville, another favorite spot of mine, and focused on capturing the beautiful architecture of Paris illuminated at night. We used small tripods along the bridge and captured not only buildings, but people in motion.

During the entire workshop, I not only learned more about photography and my camera, but also about the history of Paris. I would highly recommend David’s workshops to anyone who loves photography and wants to take home some truly unique pictures of their visit to Paris.

—Rachel Hofer

Tom and Nancy Donahoe:

Nancy and I spent a Sunday with David walking through the Marais district and, in late afternoon and evening, through the jardin des Tuileries and the Louvre. We found wonderful places, people and street events to photograph. David worked with us to ensure that in doing street photography we took our shots quickly, carefully, and as unobtrusively as possible. He emphasized finding the right position for the camera on an axis which he calls XYZ—horizontal, vertical, and distance from the subject. He also illustrated the discrete use of fill-in flash when doing street photography. In his workshops, David will adapt to whatever area of photography the student wants. He knows Paris intimately, so even if you think you know what you are looking for, David will find some delightful locations to photograph that you had not anticipated.

—Tom and Nancy Donahoe

Nick Gorevic, a workshop participant in July 2006, has started his own photography web site.

Take a look at pictures by Stéphane Pestourie, taken during his workshop on November 9th 2007 with his Canon 400d in the jardin des Plantes.