Private Photography Tours

Anything you want! We are happy to provide instruction to photographers of all levels in any of the following areas:

• Transforming your artistic vision into memorable photographs
• Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO – their relationship to one another and how to change them for exposure control
• Metering and getting a correct exposure
• Histograms, how to read them, and how to fine-tune exposure
• Creative depth-of-field effects using aperture control
• Capturing motion within your photos using different shutter speeds
• Timing waves to capture crashing spray, water streaks, and sandy reflections
• White balance and creative coloration
• Creating perspective, depth, and a sense of “being there” in your photos
• Creating powerful compositions with impact
• Composing to control your viewer’s attention in your photos
• Compositional balance, tension, and visual flow
• How to use filters to capture dramatic light or create long-exposure effects
• Light painting and night photography
• Post-processing
• Scouting and shoot planning
• Wilderness photography and more!

• Digital SLR camera
• Lenses. Wide and ultra-wide angle lenses are highly recommended
• A sturdy tripod
• Footwear with good traction
• Creativity and a positive attitude
• Warm clothes in layers, gloves, a warm hat, and a rain jacket
• A wide-brim hat and sunscreen
• A one-liter (or larger) water bottle

Highly recommended items

• Filters (ND, Grad ND, Polarizers)
• Remote shutter release
• Camera rain sleeve
• Flashlight

• Quality, professional, 1-on-1 photography instruction on par with your level as a photographer
• Water and snacks throughout the workshop
• A fun, positive, interactive learning environment

What's Not Included

• Transportation

View our cancellation policy

Josh Cripps shoots everything from wildlife to editorial photos to pet portraits. His true love though is landscape photography and he travels the world in search of the most beautiful places he can find, and finds the landscapes of New Zealand, California, and Utah to be especially inspiring. In addition to shooting, Josh loves to teach and has done so not just in photography but also in fields as wide-ranging as math and EFL (english as a foreign language). When he’s not out taking pictures, Josh loves helping photographers of all abilities push their photography to new heights.

Jim Patterson is a photographer living and working in Santa Cruz, California on the edge of the scenic and beautiful Monterey Bay. His background in marine biology led to explorations beneath the sea where an appreciation for the natural world and photography began. After years of dedicated underwater work, his focus has shifted to coastal landscape photography, a natural progression born from the inspiration found in and around the ocean. Coastal photography soon expanded into landscapes inland. Through photography as an art form, Jim works towards creating images which are both personally meaningful as well as impactful with the viewer. Jim’s main joy with teaching is to see that switch flip in a student’s mind, when an idea grabs hold and creativity follows.

Josh and Jim are both professional photographers from Santa Cruz, California. They have been teaching together since 2010 (and separately since 2008) and have developed a tag-team approach to helping students understand photography concepts. Through a combination of theory, philosophy, examples, and on-the-spot feedback, they help students reach those "a-ha!" moments that take their photography to the next level.

We offer private instruction throughout California and beyond. We specialize in Death Valley, Santa Cruz, Yosemite, Big Sur, the Eastern Sierra, and New Zealand. For private tours outside of the Santa Cruz area travel fees will be added to the final cost.

A few nice things folks have said about our private workshops...

[This was] beyond my expectations. I was just looking for a guide to show me some good spots, and "talk shop" for a few hours. I would have been totally satisfied with that, but I learned some incredible tips, some of which I had been doing more or less intuitively, but Josh gave me a more technical approach to those parts, which definitely ups my game and I'll be able to create more consistent images by ME determining the end result, and not the camera (i.e. ideal shutter speeds, expanded use of manual mode, exposure metering modes). [I'm] very happy with my images. Only downside was the cloudless sky, but in a way it was good, because Josh was able to work with me on ways of creating powerful images even under less than perfect conditions.

Josh went really above and beyond to ensure I could make the most of my visit, even outside of our scheduled tour time. [He] provided a great number photo locations via email, as well as other photo ideas, in clear and well-formatted emails. That means a lot, because that tells me you both are doing this not only to make a living, but because you are truly passionate about what you do. A sincere thanks to Josh for a great day. I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my time and money. ~ Eric B.

[I think] the lessons were very valuable, and have changed the way I think about composition and use of manual mode, filters, etc. Got everything I could hope for out of the session. (with Jim) ~Shea A.

I would highly recommend Josh for a 1-on-1 tour. Josh asked me in advance what I wanted to see and what my goals were, then he took it from there. He put together a great itinerary; he covered every technique for creating successful seascapes. He even kept in contact with me prior to my arrival and after our day together he followed up with an email giving me all the locations with Google map links so I could go back to those locations. I would highly recommend Josh, it was a fun filled day packed with fabulous locations and all I had requested to learn at my skill level. After a day with [Josh], I signed up for [the California Coast Workshop]. ~ Jeanne S.