San Francisco

Click or scroll down for full schedule of live workshops

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Covid is a global issue and varies, city by city, even day by day, here across North America, but we want you to know that you can enroll in workshops, currently posted through the first few months of 2021 and updated into the year 2021 on a monthly basis. (Founded in 2006, this format of updating new group workshop locales, times and dates have always been handled in this same manner. Should you require a private workshop, our professional photographers who lead group sessions in the community where they live, can accommodate PRIVATE WORKSHOPS on any photo topic and meet up with you and your guests on any day of the week that suits your schedule and locale selected within our active communities.) We can conform to your priorities.

As any workshop you select approaches, please know that we will adhere to the Covid social distancing directives relevant to your local community at that time, as they apply to the coronavirus, allowing you to receive a total refund or the chance to reschedule with no penalty fee no matter how long you require to make your rescheduling decisions. Please contact us toll free, 1 877 372 2231 or email us at DPABooking@DigitalPhotoAcademy.com. Again, once we communicate, we can provide either a full refund or postpone your workshop with no deadline on selecting a new date.

IF WORKSHOP DOES RUN, MASKS AND SOCIAL DISTANCING CONFORMS TO LOCAL DIRECTIVES

Welcome to the San Francisco market for the international network of live and online photo classes, all under the banner of Digital Photo Academy.

This section is devoted to the San Francisco community and the DPA Instructors who lead these workshops are professional photographers who have lived in San Francisco for at least 10 years, usually longer.

These pro shooters also have teaching experience and they love teaching. (Not all photographers do.) They know the local retailers where you can get the better deals on photo equipment and more importantly, they know where the best photo ops are which allows us to provide you with a rotation of interesting places to shoot, throughout the year, whether indoors or outdoors, winter, spring, summer of fall. Sometimes one time of day to shoot is better than another and our DPA instructors keep us informed.

Often, the DPA Instructors even have private access to various locales in the city where they live. Themes vary from street photography and dynamic architecture, to flowers and landscapes, as well as waterscapes, sunsets, lush scenery and everything in between.

During one month, you might be invited to rendezvous in the luxurious natural light streaming in to a religious venue via spectacular stained glass windows and the following month, it might be a small relatively unknown park with very special landscapes. This is why we offer a special ALUMNI Discount to people who attend more than one workshop.

Nationally, we organize these workshops to provide variety for the participants in each local market, but we could not do it without the expertise and connections provided by the DPA instructors in each of those markets.

Phone the national headquarters of Digital Photo Academy at 1 877 372 2231 but know that each of the Digital Photo Academy markets includes a local office. In San Francisco, that office is at:

968 Madrone Ave, Larkspur, CA 94977

E-MAIL US AT [email protected] OR CALL 1-877-372-2231 OR click here TO LEARN ABOUT OUR PRIVATE ALL DAY OR HALF DAY CLASS

ASK ABOUT OUR BACK-TO-BACK SAME DAY WORKSHOP OFFER WHICH ALLOWS YOU TO PAY $120 TOTAL, $49 LESS THAN IF YOU TOOK THE CLASSES ON SEPARATE DAYS.  THIS STARTS WITH A SIT-DOWN SESSION FOLLOWED BY A 3-HOUR DEMONSTRATION PHOTO SHOOT, LED BY A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER.

And in case you’re interested, click here to check out some FREE SAMPLES of our ONLINE CLASSES

CLASSES & DATES

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    32 Comments

  1. Noah Levy
    December 19, 2014

    “Thank you for helping me expand my photography knowledge yesterday via your wisdom (and I do mean wisdom)! It was really fun and I appreciate all the help and tips you gave me.”

    – Noah Levy

  2. Joseph Gambardella
    December 19, 2014

    “I just wanted to let you know I have taken two of Erics classes. The first class was architectural photography in Oakland, it was very informative and fun. Eric was always there to help with the camera set up and help explain the lighting throughout the day. The second class I missed because I forgot my phone at home and there was a problem at the meeting place. Eric was great enough to email me and we set up for a few days later for me to make up the class. This is a total of 4 classes so far with DPA and I intend to take more, hopefully if I am free, I want to take Erics North Beach class.”

    – Joseph Gambardella

  3. December 19, 2014

    “Thanks for a great photo class today! I learned a lot and really enjoyed myself. You were a great teacher and made for a fun experience.”

    – Lisa

  4. December 19, 2014

    “Robert Arnold was great!”

    – Mark L. Mosley

  5. Janet Sim
    October 20, 2015

    “Thanks for the great lesson and coaching! Thanks also for the links.
    I am now inspired to learn more and hopefully will shoot more as well!”

    -Janet

  6. Adrienne Fisher
    October 26, 2015

    “Jerry! Thanks so much for an amazing day of pointing, shooting and reimaging. It was a great group, and a true pleasure meeting everyone. I would do it again in a heartbeat :-)”

    -Adrienne Fisher

  7. Hey Digital Photo Academy,

    Wow, these photos are amazing. I have always wanted to visit San Francisco and rather than doing a boring tour, I feel like this would be the best way to get a real sense of the location and amazing sites.

    Hope to make it out to you guys soon.

    Thanks,
    Dennis

  8. Nargis Rabimova
    September 8, 2016

    “Thank you all for being so flexible and arranging this 1:1 class. It was a lot of information and I’m looking forward to playing with the settings and learning more. Thanks again.

    Thank you,”

    -Nargis

  9. Cheryl Strong
    February 7, 2017

    “Thank you for the workshop! I enjoyed exploring your suggestion at getting down lower when taking photos, and taking the same photo from different heights and vantage points. I love shadows and reflections, so it was a fun day for me and now I’m inspired to practice some pointers that you taught in the workshop. I also enjoyed the fact that the group was small, so it felt like we were able to get more one on one coaching.

    Best,”
    ~Cheryl

  10. Debra Aron
    March 20, 2017

    “Hi Jerry,
    Thank you, and thank you for the memorable and meaningful tour. I enjoyed it a great deal and learned a lot about photography, about seeing, and about interacting with the world. You conveyed your artistic vision as well as your personal philosophy.

    I also want to way that I love all the photos below, but am blown away by the one with the man in the blue plaid shirt, because I had not seen you take that one and did not see that color palette at all. It is a reminder that while we were all on the same trip, we were all seeing something different and there is so much more one can see than is immediately apparent. Wow, what an eye you have.

    Best regards,”

    -Debra (“Chicago”)

  11. Frances Vista
    July 13, 2017

    “Hi Richard, I just thought I would let you know that I have enjoyed our class very much. Jerry was very good. Let me know next time you have another photo class in San Francisco.”

    -Frances

  12. Shani Davis
    August 14, 2017

    “Hi Richard,

    I hope this finds you well! Dad and I had a wonderful time during our session with Jerry.

    Thanks!”

    -Shani

  13. Peter Lee
    May 7, 2018

    It went well.

    -Peter Lee

  14. ancrystal
    July 5, 2018

    I recently went on a composition tour of Chinatown with Peter, and I was absolutely blown away. I had so much fun and could not believe how much I learned in the span of three hours. I was not only inspired by my awesome instructor, Peter, but also by the group of people that I was with who all had the same passion to become better.

    Thank you again!

    Crystal An

  15. Nora
    July 9, 2018

    “I learned a lot and will no longer rely on my automatic settings. Thanks to Jerry and Richard for being awesome!”

    -Nora

  16. Karen
    July 9, 2018

    “The instructor was knowledgeable and shared many easy-to-understand tips and suggestions. The location (Chinatown) couldn’t have been more perfect: it was alive with culture and movement.”

    -Karen

  17. Andreas
    July 9, 2018

    “What an awesome experience! Jerry Downs is a great photographer, but above all a great person! I had so much fun! Jerry is letting you be the photographer and then he explains and guides you on capturing the perfect moment! Highly recommend!”

    -Andreas

  18. Ken
    July 9, 2018

    “The meeting place and the subject of the Golden bridge made for an outstanding experience.”

    -Ken

  19. Yining Liu
    August 1, 2018

    “The class was awesome. I loved it.”

    -Yining Liu

  20. Crystal A
    August 6, 2018

    “I recently went on a composition tour of Chinatown with Peter, and I was absolutely blown away. I had so much fun and could not believe how much I learned in the span of three hours. I just wanted to say thank you so much for creating such a well thought out and incredibly fun program. I was not only inspired by my awesome instructor, Peter, but also by the group of people that I was with that all had the same passion to become better.”

    -Crystal A.

  21. Isabella S.
    January 7, 2019

    “We had a private session with Jerry which was very informative. Our session was at the De Young Museum which was a perfect location for experimentation. Jerry not only showed us new technical skills, but taught us a new way of looking at the world. Thanks Jerry!”

    -Isabella S.

  22. Anonymous
    January 7, 2019

    “I was able to tailor the class to be exactly what I needed to learn. Jerry is great to work with.”

    -Anonymous

  23. Anonymous
    May 2, 2019

    Very helpful. I learned a lot about how my camera worked.

  24. Ariel K
    May 3, 2019

    Fun class! Definitely worth the money and time. My partner and I learned to view the world around us differently and we got really good photography fundamentals to build on. Jerry was helpful and super kind! I just recommend that you be familiar with your camera before you get there (know how to change the ISO, Aperture, and Shutter speed). In fact I’d recommend googling it before you get there cause every camera is different and I spent a long time trying to figure mine out instead of taking pictures. But otherwise a really lovely afternoon spent in downtown S

  25. Marjorie Morgenstern
    July 30, 2019

    Jerry Downs is an excellent instructor. Not only did Jerry show us how to sharpen & improve our photography skills he taught us how to think outside the box & take creative photographs while having fun.

    Jerry is passionate about photography & it comes across to his students.

    I had an excellent experience and I was able to take numerous photographs while walking through very colorful neighborhoods.

    I enjoyed meeting & spending time with the other students who were inspiring to take photographs with.

    I would definitely recommend instructor Jerry Downs to my friends & his photography walks to anyone who enjoys photography.

    Digital Photo Academy has classes in other cities as well & is a first rate company.

  26. Steven V
    July 30, 2019

    Jerry Downs offers a wealth of experience and knowledge regarding the fundamental mechanics of taking digital photos; how to use your camera effectively.

    However, Jerry is a gift to anyone seeking to learn why and how to take a photograph that reflects what you see with your own eye sight.

    The mentoring environment Jerry provides instills confidence and results.

    I highly recommend this work shop and Jerry Downs.

    Your photos will reflect your soul through the lens – an invaluable experience that will last a life time.

  27. Jennifer Ziemba
    August 30, 2019

    Jerry’s workshop was excellent.

    I had some technical problems with my camera so I didn’t get as many great photos as I would have liked and had to leave early for work.

    I’d like to take another class with Jerry. He was very cool.

  28. Anisha Raghavan
    September 30, 2019

    Hi Richard – Peter was great! I really enjoyed it. Thanks for the class.

  29. Matt D
    December 18, 2019

    Jerry, thank you as well for all of the creative insights and exercises as well. So great to experience the instructors and learn so much in such little time. Richard, I am absolutely thankful I was able to find your courses and can’t tell you how much I appreciate your hospitality and kindness. I am extremely likely to book again for more discovery courses..will keep you posted!

  30. Alex
    August 22, 2020

    Thanks for sharing your knowledge about different gear, techniques, and concepts; I learned quite a bit. I cannot practice photoshop today but if you could send me a link to any videos that you’ve found useful I’d greatly appreciate it. And, as I mentioned yesterday, I would love to participate in other outdoor classes or hikes that you hold in the future.

  31. Anwar
    August 22, 2020

    Jerry and Peter.
    Wonderful. Love it. Thanks for sharing the pictures. You both were awesome. Enjoyed every minute of it.
    Take care.
    Anwar.

  32. ECKHART BEATTY
    August 22, 2020

    Thanks again for a great experience

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