I signed up for the Introductory Photography Workshop through Groupon. I am a novice and just have a point and shoot digital camera, but wanted to know something about how to use my camera and some pointers on how to take better pictures. I asked in advance of buying the Groupon if my camera was OK for the workshop and was told it was so I purchased it. I felt very out of place because everyone seemed more advanced and had more advanced cameras, but that was no fault of hers so that was fine.
Prior to the workshop I talked to her on the phone several times trying to find a day I could do it because it wasn't going to be every Saturday like it was supposed to be. She was also supposed to email a link for a video. Usually if someone tells you they are emailing you something you expect it within a couple days unless they say otherwise. A week or so had passed and I told her I hadn't gotten it. She said 'Oh, I haven't sent it to you yet.' I reminded her in more than one call what kind of camera I had, that I really didn't know much, etc. She seemed kind of unorganized and never remembered what kind of camera I had.
The workshop was supposed to start at 12:00. She got a call a little after 12:00 and said it was probably a lost student, and it was her last student saying he wouldn't make it. She didn't turn her phone off, so every time she got a call she looked to see who was calling DURING her presentation, and some calls she even took which I thought was very unprofessional. I also thought the presentation was unorganized and not as 'introductory' as I hoped. The first 2 hours were supposed to be presentation and the next 2 hours photographing somewhere. Just before 2:30 we broke, but she said she would have to take a 15 minute break to eat something which she SHOULD have done before 12:00 and not during the 4 hours we were paying for. So she said we would meet at the Hispanic Cultural Center about 15 minutes away from her house - 15 minutes that she could be eating while driving if she really had to eat. We all went down there and waited. And waited. She showed up at 3:15 - 50 minutes after we broke. I thought we would photograph different things and all we did was photograph a little trough of water with water spouts and grass. It was fine to photograph the movement of water, but that was the only thing we filmed - no flowers, no architecture - nothing else. She also told me she didn't know I had that kind of camera.
She may be a good photographer, but I don't think she is a good teacher and I would definitely not recommend someone taking one of her workshops, especially if they are a novice or have a point and shoot digital camera. I think most Groupons are great deals, but this 4 hour waste of time for $69 was a huge disappointment and absolutely not worth the money. read more
