Best Buy Has Photography Workshops Now

Photography workshop are a dime a dozen these days, but that isn’t stopping a retail heavyweight from launching its own: Best Buy is now in the business of photography workshops for beginner and intermediate photographers.

The workshops are being offered by Best Buy’s new Camera Experience Shop, a partnership between Best Buy, Canon, Nikon, Sony, and GoPro. The shops — there are over 80 across the US now — are staffed with camera experts and allow customers to go hands-on with a wider selection of cameras.

Professional photographers are being recruited to teach various photography techniques and subject matters — things like shooting action, capturing portraits, working in low-light, and close-up photography. Each class is capped at 30 students.

Beginner classes are held on a monthly basis at all Camera Experience Shops, and you can look up the workshops being taught in the shop nearest you.

“Learn the basics in this helpful two-hour class led by our Camera Experience Shop experts,” Best Buy states. “Bring your camera along to get tips and tricks on settings, creative elements and more.”

The three upcoming beginner workshops in the next three months cover back to school photography, concert photography, and Halloween photography.

If you already have a solid grasp of photography fundamentals, there are also less frequent half-day workshops being held for intermediate photographers at select shops (currently Atlanta, Houston, San Diego, Tampa, Seattle, Minneapolis, and New York). The next two topics are “Travel & Exploring” and “Social Sharing & Storytelling.”

“After check-in you will be transported by bus from your local Best Buy store to a specially-chosen location where we’ve created custom shooting set-ups complete with models, props, and accessories,” Best Buy says. “Each set-up is designed to teach key skills in portrait & action photography.

“You will learn how to maximize your camera’s settings, learn new techniques and how accessories can advance your photos to the next level, all with the hands-on help of our Experts.”

Here’s a video introduction to Best Buy’s Photography Workshop Tours:

Unlike the beginner workshops, which are free, you’ll need to pay $50 for the intermediate workshops when you register for them through the Best Buy photo workshop site. The fee covers transportation, lunch, and a snack.

(via Best Buy via Fstoppers)