This is an 8 week course in shooting and developing film photography, run in small groups so everyone gets proper attention, regardless of whether you've never touched a film camera before or you're dusting one off after years away. We cover how a camera actually works, the technical foundations that apply to any camera, then move into what's genuinely different about shooting film, loading and handling it, choosing the right stock, and developing your own negatives into finished images. Sessions run live online via Zoom, so you can join from wherever you are, and I bring 20 years of teaching experience and a degree in Photography to every session, alongside a real love of the slower, more deliberate process film forces on you.
Tuesdays, 7–9pm, online. New cohorts run periodically through the year, message me to find out the next start date and reserve your place.
How a camera actually works. Identifying the parts of a camera and learning what exposure means and why it matters.
How adjusting shutter speed affects exposure, and how it creates the illusion of movement in a photograph.
How adjusting aperture affects exposure and how much of the image is in focus, known as depth of field.
Adjusting the camera's sensitivity to improve photographs taken in low light conditions.
The film-specific part begins. How to load and unload your camera safely, without fogging or wasting a roll.
Black and white versus colour, grain, and how a film stock's own ISO rating changes the character of your images.
Building a frame with intention, balance, stillness, and what to leave out.
From exposed negative to finished image, developing your film and scanning it to share and print.
“Thank you Claire for all your knowledge sharing and fun classes you deliver each week. I have just completed an 8 week course and it has been the highlight of my week every week. Claire is very clear in her lessons as well as friendly and professional. I’ve learnt so much and I’m genuinely upset the course has come to an end :) highly recommend photography with Claire!”
— Photography course student
“Claire’s Introduction to Photography course was just what I needed to gain confidence with my new camera, which by coincidence I got a couple of weeks before the course started. She ran the course via Zoom and it was so nice to meet with fellow learners each week and collectively move our knowledge forward together. I’m so thankful to Claire for putting the course together, she is a very good teacher and takes each session at a good pace for everyone, making sure no one gets left behind. Claire explains concepts really well and also helps you navigate your camera. She has a great knowledge of different camera types. We learnt a key technique each week and over the ten week course built up a strong grasp of the fundamentals which will help us to go away and build up our skills on our own.”
— Photography course student
“Dear Claire, thank you so much for our photography lessons. I think both Jonah and I got a lot out of it, especially in the first few weeks. Our favourite bit was looking at other people’s pictures, even if they were taken by people outside the course and pasted into the slide show from the web, I found that really inspiring. My favourite week was the week about shutter speed, and it seemed like Jonah was having a good play about with the light pictures. Thank you so much for this opportunity, I’m sure we will both get a lot out of it in photographs to come!”
— A parent and child who took the course together
Join the Ahimsa Studio community for gentle updates on classes, workshops and the studio launch.
Ahimsa Studio