A workshop must not be an escape from your own uncertainty

Monday 15 September 2025, 22:22 by Michiel Heijmans | 2,916 views | 5 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

'If I just knew the settings, I’d be able to do it'. I hear that sentence often. Especially in my street photography workshops, but it applies to almost every genre.

Whether you’re standing in the landscape with your tripod or walking through a busy city on your travels, the temptation to seek certainty in your camera controls is strong.

But the real tension lies elsewhere. On the street, it’s about attitude and courage, for example. In a portrait, it’s about making contact with the other person. And in a landscape, it’s about your choice to wait, look or take a step to the side. That’s where the uncertainty comes in.

Why we attend workshops

You often book a workshop out of curiosity or a desire to learn. You want to find inspiration, push your boundaries and learn something new. If you take one or two things away from a workshop, it has been a successful workshop. But beneath every participant and every attendance, there is often also an unspoken layer of doubt. Am I good enough? Do I dare to do this?

I clearly see that in my street photography and portrait photography groups. At the same time, colleagues tell me they see the same thing with landscapes, travel or events: that hesitation is universal. It’s part of photography. But a workshop must not be an excuse not to practise on your own.

Awkwardness and the search for certainty

Many participants initially turn to technique. "Which shutter speed are you using now?", "What filter have you got?" or “Can’t you just give us a list of settings that always work?”

Of course I give guidelines. I often work with "starting points" myself, such as a particular aperture or underexposure. But I always emphasise this: the key is not in those settings, but in how you move and, above all, how you look. On the street, you learn to trust yourself, just as you do during a portrait shoot. It’s no different in a landscape or at an event: technique can help, but it never removes the doubt.

This is how I move through the streets

In my workshops, I show how I do it myself. Nothing complicated. I move calmly among people with a smile. Never confrontational, always respectful. The camera held loosely in my hand. A quick movement and the photo is already taken. You often see participants relax at that point: "Oh, that’s how you do it!"

It’s no different with portraits. Don’t start with the settings, because you have your standard starting points. On my Fujifilm, that is often an aperture of f/5.6 for business headshots, for example. By using such a standard setting for each situation, you have all the time you need to start the conversation first. Have a laugh, get a cup of coffee, put the other person at ease. The photo only comes afterwards. That principle applies almost everywhere: attitude first, technique afterwards.

Technique and mentality

You need to know your camera, whether you’re walking the streets or standing in the studio. I said that earlier. But once you have mastered it, your mind needs to be free for what is really happening around you.

I regularly see hobby photographers getting lost in technical details, or worrying too much about them. Then we do a workshop, me included. The hope is that more knowledge will automatically bring more certainty. My experience is the opposite: the more you lose yourself in it and the more you know, the greater the doubt becomes. Confidence grows through experience, not manuals.

My own struggle with uncertainty

I have experienced it myself too. In portrait photography, I once thought I had to master every lighting setup and every lens. It mainly caused stress. Until I discovered that calm, composure and feeling were more important.

I noticed the same thing on the street. Those first times were nerve-racking, preferably with a long lens, but as soon as I allowed myself to make mistakes, a weight lifted from my shoulders. You don’t solve uncertainty by piling on even more knowledge, but by daring to trust. Yourself too.

The pitfall of escape

Sometimes I hear participants say: "I’ve already done several workshops, but I still don’t dare to go out on my own." That’s a shame. Of course, going out on the streets with a group is more comfortable. A workshop can inspire and should motivate, but it should never become a hiding place.

It’s like continuing to buy cookbooks but never actually cooking. You learn the basics in a workshop, but the real growth only comes when you go out on the streets yourself, or actually do that portrait shoot. Go out onto the heath.

From uncertainty to confidence

The best moment is when the penny drops. First tense, then suddenly relaxed. In street photography, you see it when a smile appears on someone’s face. In a portrait, it’s when the model suddenly visibly relaxes and a connection is made.

That moment is priceless. It shows that uncertainty is allowed to be there, but it doesn’t have to determine what you do.

After the workshop: how to hold on to what you have learned

The biggest challenge only starts afterwards. How do you hold on to that confidence?

My advice: keep it small. Go into the city for half an hour and set yourself a simple assignment. Photograph something yellow. Or plan a short portrait session with a friend or colleague, for example. No pressure, no major project. That can come later. This is how your confidence grows step by step.

And don’t forget: a lot of uncertainty is self-created. Realising that helps you take it a little less seriously.

A workshop as a springboard

A workshop is not an escape. It’s a springboard. For me, the reward is when someone says: "I feel freer. I dare to do more. It’s not that nerve-racking at all." It’s about the calm and confidence you take with you. Your camera no longer feels like a barrier, but like an extension of yourself.

Keep learning, keep trusting

In short: don’t use workshops to hide your uncertainty, but to grow through it and step beyond it. Let yourself be inspired and motivated, learn, and then put in the work yourself.

Photography isn’t about perfect settings. You simply need to adjust those regularly too. It’s about how you look and how you are present. Uncertainty is allowed to be there, but make sure it doesn’t take over. Trust yourself. Trust your camera.

And go and take photos. Above all, go and take photos!

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