My goal is to instill enthusiasm in any photographer and raise his or her skill level, self-confidence and production volume. And I do.

By: Thorsten Overgaard

The very basis of becoming a better photographer stems from first having an intention to advance, an intention to improve. An intention to take a certain challenge, any particular thing that you think of, and then you have an idea that you would like to improve.

I generally don't focus on technology or offer Nirvana for gearheads. But I recognize any sort of photography as an art form and a way to communicate on an aesthetic level without words. Which is an ability we all have and which can be improved from no matter what level you are at.

And that is the only business plan I have: I can make you a better photographer by insatlling enthusiasm and raise skill level, self-confidence and production volume.

Since I started delivering photo seminars some years ago I have expanded the ways to share what I know. And here is an overview.

1. One-on-one tutoring with Thorsten Overgaard

	Working with Leica S and timing by shooting bicycles in speed.
	Student working with models, natural light and me and my assistant as helpers
	Working with model and natural light, wardrobe and assistants

A very fun and exclusive offer is my one-on-one training. It's usually a week or two of personalized workshop in the editing office and out shooting models and real life, mixed with bits of theory I find necessary to go over. It can take place anywhere in the world we see fit.

For some people it makes sense that now they have spend tens of tousands of dollars on equipment, they should spend a bit more money and learn how to utilize it, without spending months or years learing by them self. The need is always very specific why the tutoring is tailored to the exact need and choice of equipment.

Some times one-on-one training can be an afternoon where we go shoot and address a certain skill or problem. It's very easy to fix things and see how they are done correct when you experience them, rather tha read about them.

The way to go about is by sending an e-mail to me at thorsten@overgaard.dk

Student sample from the one-on-one:

As Lars Klottrup of Denmark stated after a daylight studio experience (above) where he couldn't believe that the display of his Nikon was not correct, he had the following comment after the images had been through Lightroom: "Ok, an external light meter isn't that bad an idea!". The two top samples are outdoor with the use of reflectors and silk screens.

The One-on-One training also comes around setting up a professional workflow for yourself.

Khalid Al-Thani and me working by the moon light in the desert outside Doha, Qatar. Read the arrticle "Writing light letters by the moonlight" for more on this adventure.

2. The basic and very popular Overgaard Workshop

Seminar drilling on the first evening of the seminar at Fitzroy Square in London     Theory on first evening in Copenhagen     National Arts Club \     Home assignment work in Aurba, December 2009

The photo seminar is usually for up to ten people in an exiting location somewhere in the world. e and

The workshop starts out the first evening where we go over theory and introduction. You will find the group to be people from all over the world but very likeminded and almost exclusively Leica photogrphers with many years experience, or brand new to Leica.

The next day we go out and shoot in the city, trying to shoot indoor, on large places and in more compact places, as well as people. We mainly look for light and you will find that when you walk a whole day, the most unexpected and surprising things happen.

Photogarphing people in the street is always a subject of interest to many. It's a very friendly experience as the group usually consist of people from that city as well as people who came in for the seminar from far away.

We get to exchange equipment, tips and tricks, and there is always time for individual questions either on the street or when we go to have coffee or dinner.

The first evening of the seminar contains a "dogma assignment" where each participant has to do three assignments. Those can be done on the day we go shoot or at other times.

The third day is a full day where we focus on workflow and editing in Lightroom. With digital photography you will find that you have to be able to edit your photographs on computer, as well as make painful selections as to which to keep.

To spice it all up, we each have to select three photos to show to the group by the end of the day. It's not as easy as it sounds, and of course the three you will want to show to this group will differ from what you would like to show to for example your family.

The fourth and last day we do portrait photography from the morning and then go into model photography. Both require finding a spot with good light, as well as handling both a person in front of the camera, as well as the camera itself.

We end off the last day with editing those pictures, and again we select three images to share before we say good bye to people you likely will stay in contacrt with in the future. Some times business relations is a biproduct of the workshop, and a large percentage of participants - 30% - will be doing my workshop again.

The group is usually a majority of Leica photographers, and those who are not usually become Leica users very soon after. Thing is that photography is simple and doesn't require loads of gear and features. It requires knowledge and workability, at least the way I teach it, and if there is one camera brand that delivers just that, it's Leica.

Student photo by William Lai. The group taking a relaxing moment in the sun in a rather cold Hong Kong November day in 2014, waiting for the rest having lunch on the other side.

Your skill level is not as important as the fact that you want to improve. For long-time photographers there are questions to be answered and holes to be filled, and for those new to Leica who have taken up the interst for serious photography up again recently, everything talked about is of interest, and there is time to address the questions most have.

The end product of the workshop is not that you know all technical details, but that you are enthusiastic and can make good photographs with the equipment you have.

See the seminar calender for planned dates

The photo seminar continues to be happening around the world.

To find out more or to learn how to participate click here, or e-mail directly at thorsten@overgaard.dk

See student photos from previous seminars here.

Also, see the Hong Kong Workshop story from December 2014 here.

Matthias, Thomas and Chrostoph in the Zürich Workshop.

Theory. Student photo by Ulli Seeberg from the London Seminar in September 2010 (Leica M9 and new 35/1.4)

Thorsten explaining about small cameras at the seminar in Leica Gallery Tokyo in January 2011. Photo by Pieter Franken.

Michael, Hans, Friedl and Oskar of the Advanced Workshop at work in the streets of Palermo.

Sori Gottdenker on the photo seminar, January 2011, with her white Leica M8.

"Picture Perfect" video about Danish feature writer and photographer Thorsten Overgaard for Channel Four. The video was done on The Faeroe Islands in 2008 during a week of photographing climate changes, when vice president Al Gore visited the islands. Thorsten Overgaard uses Leica Digilux 2 and Leica R9 to photograph.

One wouldn't be able to imagine all the equipment a handful of photographers can bring together... Photo by Pieter Franken.

Advanced workshop in Palermo, May 2011. Photo by Ulli Seeberger.

The workshop challenge you and teach you new techniques and better control of camera and light by guided hands-on assignemnts. Some of the subjects we may indulge in will be "Timing in portraitture", "Making available light the best light", "Finding the exact right light", "Working with models and people", "Shooting strangers - and they like it!", "Using reflectors for portraits" ... and more.

Editing in London.

One thing you will learn is to actually use the basics of photography, work fast and get results. And have lots of fun doing so!

Read more about the Palermo Advanced Workshop in this "The Story Beind the Picture."

Adrian Hawkmoon working with a model in a very low light setup.

Coffee Break in Hong Kong, January 2011.

3. Lightroom Survival Kit

Before the Overgaard Workshop was expanded to include a Lightroom editing day, the workshop was solely focused on photography. People started requesting an editing workshop, and I did a few of them.

Lightroom Survival Kit Workshop

	Working with computer workflow in Berlin, 2009
	Workflow seminar in London, 2010

However, a workshop on computer editing alone turned out to be so dull for photographers that I decided to include the editing teaching where it really matterered - in a worksshop where you make photos you need to edit!

Now you can buy the Lightroom Survival Kit Extension Course that will make you able to use all my experience from my years of working with editing and archiving, getting it all implemented for yourself in a matter of hours.

In short, it teaches the tricks necessary to produce a flood of final images ready to use.

There is usually quite some learning courve involved in going from amateur to professional, so the seminar teaches the pieces necessary to be a very high producing photographer in the digital age - not in terms of images shot but in terms of final images that are ready to be used.

As an example, I will usually shoot 200-1,200 images in a day and have finished the editing of all of them the same day. They are completely done, delivered and backed up.

So how does one do that every day? That is what one learn, and it involves color calibrated workflow, decision-making and selction of images, editing in Lightroom, Digital Asset Management, keywords, folders, backup, basic Photoshop skills (the ones necesary to finish an image), storing and delivering images ready for use on web and in print.

It's an 8-hour checklist and it will change your life from one who spend 2/3 of your time never actually finishing editing all of your images to one who will now spend 2/3 of your energy photographing and alwayshave final images from the day to present family, colleagues and clients with (and an orderly archive).

More info on the Lightroom Survival Kit Extension Course page.

4. The Overgaard New Inspiration Extension Course

The New Inspiration Extension Course is for everybody, also people who have already done a Overgaard Workshop. It is an extension course that challenges your imagination and force you to use your photograhs.

The course was introduced in 2014 and has been a great success for those who have done it.

It offers the perhaps most important thing you need, which is inspiration to fire up enthusiasm for photography: An extension course that make you want to go out and make photographs! This Extension Course is for you!

Read more about The New Inspiration Extension Course here.

5. The Overgaard Photography Extension Course

The Overgaard Photography Extension Course is the basic technology and knowledge of photography for anyone who want to be an expert in handling a camera.

The extension course naturally doesn't have the live aspect and we don't get to meet in person. But I actually like extension courses myself because you get some data in bits that you can try out, then you get some more to build further on, then some more. It's a very good way to learn that is fitted individually so you can drink coffe, go on holidays, have babies, do the lawn and make money in between course sessions. And yet you get all the data because you are the "only one in the class room."

The extension courses also allow for more examples, more home assignments and more text than the live seminars, simply because we don't have to sit together with a time limit. So the extension course offers more material and more work and a much lower price than the seminar.

Usual completion time is 40 hours of work, spread over 22 sections done over periods from 2 to 12 months. The price is 798$ for The Photography Extension Course and 498$ for the workflow course. You can click on the links and sign up immediately via PayPal.

Student example from the extension course
(using Leica X1):

Manual white balance using grey card
Electronic flash setting		Outdoor sunlight		Incandescent light
Auto white balance		Cloudy		Shade

Some times home assignments can take a dramatic turn, as in the above with dangerous animals in the livingroom in front of the Leica X1. Jan Martijn Metselaar of Netherlands who did this impressive and methodical home assignment on the subject of white balance, noted "I always though Auto White Balance was fairly correct, but never realized the difference could be so big. The Manual White Balance results is a far better reproduction of the actual colors than the Auto White Balance."

6. Thorsten Overgaard eBooks on Photography

I continue to do eBooks and will be adressing many intersting subjects in the coming months. From the Magic of Light to how to use specific cameras. I like the PDF format because it can be read on computer and iPad and smartphones, and you may print your own sample of the book.

Below are a few of the titles available for order and preorder now:

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As always, feel free to e-mail questions or comments to me at thorsten@overgaard.dk

- Thorsten Overgaard