• Instructors

    Alex Strohl
  • Skill Level

    Level 3

    Made for rising photographers: You know how to use your camera, edit with Lightroom, and want to make an impact.

  • What You Get

    3.5 hours of learning

    + 40 segments

    + In-the-field content

    + Downloadable templates

    + Exclusive knowledge

  • Learn to

    Become a pro photographer

    + Choose gear and how to get more out of it.

    + Create story arcs.

    + Shoot action and adventure.

    + Edit, color grade, and organize.

    + Pitch and build clients.

What You'll Learn

Alex wants to teach you to take action, to improve your skills, to get uncomfortable in sh*t weather and get that banger shot that moves the viewer. He shares his expertise for scouting, pre-production, building a portfolio, and landing clients.

Introduction

1/39

For the past seven years, Alex has been lucky enough to travel the world, shooting for huge brands like Apple, and Land Rover. He's learned quite a few things along the way and wants to share it with you.

2020 Gear Walkthrough

2/39

Alex walks you through all the gear he uses; including different cameras because each one has unique characteristics that match the different goals of his shoots.

Mastering Camera Settings

3/39

As someone who wants to be a professional you need to know your camera inside and out, so you don't think about it when you're using it; just like when you drive your car.

Blue Hour; a How-To

4/39

A lot of outdoor photographers start packing their bags once the sun has set, but they are missing out on some of the best light. You'll go on location with Alex, where he'll walk you through his techniques for shooting blue hour.

Photos that Move Us

5/39

Alex explains that while there isn't a step-by-step recipe to making work that moves the viewer, there are ways to propel you in the right direction.

Visual Storytelling 101

6/39

This episode focuses on giving adventure photographers stronger foundations to visual storytelling so they can elevate the way they tell stories.

Endurance in a World of Sprinting

7/39

We've all heard the old adage that 'motivation is a muscle' and although in many ways that's true, there is much more to it that we rarely hear about. Knowing how to access our inner strength for projects that matter is a life skill that should be taught at school, but isn't.

Keeping your Ideas Fresh

8/39

Feeling uninspired as a creator has much to do with your mind but external events can have a huge influence on how inspired you feel. Learn strategies that the world's most celebrated creatives use to remain fresh and inspired day after day.

Plan. Scout. Shoot.

9/39

As an adventure photographer you need to be good at finding places and getting to them at the perfect time. Learn how the pros do it.

Shooting More: Action Plan

10/39

Alex has a 15 day action plan that will get you into a habit of getting out and shooting more, every day.

Building your Story Arc

11/39

Take part in a specially designed exercise by Alex to better understand the things you love and learn to build your own story arc as a creator.

Himalaya Shoot: Pre-Pro

12/39

Learn how to prepare like a pro for a day long automotive assignment in a remote area of Wyoming.

Field Day: Himalaya Defender

13/39

This episode is for outdoor photographers who've been commissioned to shoot an important automotive/action assignment. You will learn to build and interpret a brief, how to use shot types to get a variety of images, and the unspoken rules for photographing cars.

Canon Shoot: Pre-Pro

14/39

Learn how to staff an entire shoot through social media. Introduce yourself to new people, get them stoked on your shoot, and build a team of people who will make you better.

Field Day: Canon USA Shoot

15/39

This episode is for photographers who have to tackle a commercial shoot where the object of the shoot is used, not photographed: a lens. You'll go through developing a concept for a shoot, then staff and scout it.

Keywords and Organizing Images

16/39

Staying organized as your photo archive grows is an essential skill. Learn how to properly keyword & organize your photos when importing them to Lightroom.

Gradients in Lightroom

17/39

Learn how to use gradients in Lightroom to subtly guide the viewers eye to your focal point.

Perspective Correction

18/39

It's important when shooting cars to avoid distortion commonly found in wider lenses.

HDR (Hand Held)

19/39

Sometimes when shooting hand held HDR comps you'll need to use a little "magic;" Alex shares his tips and tricks with you.

Commercial Grading

20/39

For some shoots you'll need to grade the final deliverables in a very commercial way, this segment will walk you through how to do it.

Clone Stamping and Patch Tools

21/39

Alex walks you through one of the most valuable tools in Photoshop.

Moody Grading

22/39

Moody images are all the rage right now. Learn how Alex approaches grading with a bit more of an edge to it.

Export Settings

23/39

Exporting is a crucial part of photography. Alex goes over the settings he uses when exporting for mobile, web, and desktop.

Archiving and Organizing Images

24/39

Building an archive as a photographer is one of the most important things you can do. Alex demonstrates the drives and organization structure he uses.

Delivering Files to Clients

25/39

There are a few ways Alex uses to deliver files to clients. Here, he'll share his favorite method and show you how he makes a collection.

Let's Talk Business

26/39

This episode focuses on one of the most important things for any adventure photographer out there: selling your ideas.

Building a Desirable Portfolio

27/39

A portfolio is a collection of your best images. It is specifically built to land you clients and publications. It is also one of the hardest things to build as a photographer, but this segment walks you through Alex's method of building one here.

How to Contact Clients

28/39

This episode is for photographers who are prepared to reach out to prospective clients or have already reached out without much success. Often, photographers pitch the wrong people in the wrong way and fail at it. This episode gives photographers a systematic approach to preparing their pitch and reaching out to the brand.

Prospecting: Finding the Brands that Fit You

29/39

This episode addresses why and how you should pick brands that fit you to work with and then how to get their attention. Alex will teach you to avoid wasting your time on brands that wouldn't be a good fit, and also delivers some ideas for how to find the right person to contact

Getting Clients to See your Value

30/39

How do you define what your work is worth? You'll hear pros saying: my day rate is XX a day or X a day and when you're still establishing yourself as a pro, you might think: that's a lot of money! Learn how the value of what we do is determined.

Paid to Travel the World in 2019

31/39

The big question: how do you get paid to travel the world? The idea that someone is going to hand you money to go on a trip sounds too good to be true, but Tourism Boards do it all the time. Learn how to pitch them step-by-step.

The Art of Crafting Mood Boards and Treatments

32/39

As a working photographer, you've probably had to build these document There is a lot of contradictory information on the web about this and Alex wants to create and share a complete guide to building treatments and pre-pro books for adventure photographers.

Keys to a Fulfilling Photo Career

33/39

Being successful in photography takes much more than being a very good photographer. We all wish we could go out everyday, make photos we love, and have people will line up at the door to buy our prints and hire us for massive campaigns, but that's not the reality. Learn how to set your priorities.

Three Things you Need to Know Before Pitching

34/39

Before you go out and pitch your big idea, Alex will go over a handful of important points, including: Ad Agencies versus Clients, Image Licensing, and defining what you really want.

Finding your Value Proposition

35/39

What is the client's problem and how are we going to solve it? Alex shares his tried and tested approach to finding your value prop. You'll also learn what his is.

Media Kit: A Walkthrough

36/39

Alex walks you through his private media kit and breaks it down so you can understand what's really important when building yours.

How Alex Built his Audience

37/39

What does an iPhone 4 photo of a snow pile at blue hour have to do with Alex's journey? Hear the untold account of how Alex built his audience.

Social Media Landscape of 2020

38/39

The scene has evolved, organic growth has dramatically slowed down, what can you do to keep growing? Hear Alex's perspective in this intimate episode.

Alex's Favorite Software

39/39

Alex gives you an in depth look at the apps and websites that he uses in his daily work and why they are some of his favorites.

"Strohl's work transports you into magical moments..."

— NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Student Spotlight - Peter O'Hara

A freelance adventure photographer and filmmaker. Passionate about being immersed in and capturing the outdoors, whether it's working for brands or just for fun.

Alex Strohl

Photographer, traveler, teacher.
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