What is a Photography Walkshop?

Strong Island Media and professional photographer Paul Gonella have delivered photography workshops for the last 10 years to literally thousands of people of all ages and abilities, all across the south coast.

Working with organisations such as Chichester Harbour Conservancy, University of Portsmouth, Making Space, Hampshire Cultural Trust plus many schools and youth groups we’ve developed Walkshops, where rather than sitting down in a classroom you actively learn different photography skills and techniques out and about with your camera, with support from an experience professional photographer.

You can view our current walkshops and classes for details and our FAQ for more information.

All Abilities

Everyone is welcome to come along, it doesn’t matter how confident you are with your camera, from total beginner to expert, there is always lots to discover and to learn.

All Cameras

Bring your camera: anything from a digital compact through to an DSLR or Mirrorless and if you want to shoot 35mm film, cool! Of course smartphones are very welcome too.

Different Locations

With a professional photographer as your guide, discover new locations along the south coast or re-discover places you know well, but with a whole new perspective.

Learn Together

It is great to explore a new photography location with a group of people, bringing together different abilities, experiences and equipment. Why not bring along a friend or two?

Photo Walkshop - 51 Southsea Seafront

Learn lots of new techniques, skills and tips with a professional photographer

On the walkshops you’ll have the opportunity to discover lots of new camera techniques and skills in fun and interesting ways, these new skills and techniques you can use time and again in the future.

Composition

Try lots of new compositional techniques including Rule of Thirds, Leading Lines, Natural Framing, Layering, etc. Make your photography more engaging and discover new ways to see the world around you.

Perspectives

Discover new ways to see what is around you, finding new ways of capturing the location and the things you find on your walkshop. After take these news skills and techniques and try them out in your own neighbourhood or favourite places.

Take Control

Move off of automatic and take more control of your camera with an understanding of aperture, shutter speed and ISO. Use this understanding to creative effect with Depth of Field, freeze and slow down time with high speed and long exposures, paint with light & so much more.

Themes & Narratives

Explore particular creative themes (such as B&W, textures, minimalism, intentional camera movement, portraiture, etc.) and learn how to build a narrative to your images with what you include, leave out and tips on creating atmosphere.

Upcoming Walkshops and Courses

Below are the current upcoming photography walkshops and classes available for booking, click on the image to find out all the details

I will be working on a community photography workshop project for the summer, but photo walkshops will be back in the autumn, if you sign up to the mailing list you'll be the first to find out about new dates. - Paul.

Sign Up to Newsletter

People subscribed to our newsletter get an email heads-up when new photo walkshop dates are added before they are announced on social media plus news of events, offers, etc.

Latest News

All the latest news about photography walkshops including new dates, photos from past workshops and much more.

Photo Walkshop - GCSE Students from St Edbunds School

Photos from St Edmunds School GCSE Night Photo Walkshop in Old Portsmouth

Photography Walkshops began with private workshops for schools, colleges and community groups back in 2012. I would share photos from these walkshops and get asked about making them for the general public, which I then did back in 2015. It’s funny how things go but when I shared photos recently from a night photography general…

Photo Walkshop - Hilsea Lines

Photos from the Hidden Ridge of Hilsea Lines Photo Walkshop

The 5th photography walkshop of 2023 was a new look at a popular past location for photo walks, with a walk along the ‘ridge’ of Hilsea Lines in Portsmouth. We started off at a bastion, warming up with exploring around the old army heritage site looking for patterns, shapes, textures and signs of the military…

Photo Walkshop - Emsworth

Photos from Emsworth Harbour Shoreline Photo Walkshop

The 4th photography walkshop of 2023 was taking it back to one of the first places I taught photography, the shoreline of Emsworth where it meets the waters of Chichester Harbour. With some overcast clouds we had some atmospheric skies as we started off exploring the collection of small boats on the shore mud at…

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Testimonials

I owe a lot to photo walkshops, consistently improving my photography and understanding of how to get the best out of a camera. It’s led to some great experiences and opened up some exciting opportunities for me.

Also getting to hang out with other photographers and meeting some new friends along the way is always a bonus.

– Mike

Paul has a calm, friendly and approachable manner. He is a natural communicator who is able to share his enthusiasm for, and expertise and knowledge of his craft. These qualities mean he is able to engage with all ages and abilities.

– Chichester Harbour Conservancy

Thank you for hosting these regular 2 hours of getting away from the hustle and bustle of what life throws at us… what better way to get away from it all by doing a top hobby in often newly discovered environments and getting very professional photography tuition and advice mixed into the bargain? 

– Jon

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Workshops

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Locations

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Photographers

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Partner Organisations