I recently finished the Beginner and Intermediate 1-2 workshops at PhotoSprouts. Jordi is an…read moreamazing and incredibly knowledgeable instructor who knows how to break down technical settings so they actually make sense. Photosprouts provides their own mirrorless cameras and lenses for these workshops but you can bring your own as well. I brought my own and Jordi helped a ton with helping set it up and answered tons of my questions about when to use various features. The class structure is a mix of lectures and immediate hands-on exercises. The photowalks during the intermediate sessions were especially useful for applying manual settings to real-world scenes and learning how to compose shots on the fly. Getting that direct practice with my own gear was the biggest takeaway and I walked away with a much better handle on my camera. Highly recommend PhotoSprouts and I plan to take some of the more advanced workshops in the future!

Christina is the best!…read more I first came across PhotoSprouts when I took a beginner photography lesson in 2023 with Jordi. Afterwards I followed up with questions on what the best camera to buy for a safari would be, and PhotoSprouts owner Christina went above and beyond in helping me compare and contrast the 2 models and lens I was debating. She literally wrote me an essay and I remember being blown away. Fast forward to 2025 when I bought my first real camera (the Canon mirrorless one that she'd recommended two years ago) in advance of a safari honeymoon. I took 2 private lessons with her to learn how to use it. I'm a complete beginner (ex. I barely knew how to attach the lens and adapter to the camera base). Christina is knowledgeable, warm, and patient. She suggested we go to the SF Zoo to practice shooting different animals to best recreate what the honeymoon would be like. We started off with the basics (ex. aperture, ISO, shutter speed) in the Zoo cafe. Christina was prepared with printouts, props, and example pictures which helped me grasp the concepts faster. After we went through the 101 printout, we walked around the zoo to put the concepts in action. It was so helpful to have her next to me so I could ask her all my questions as they came up in real-time. For example, she pointed out that I had a tendency to over-expose my shots (because they looked dark on the LCD and viewfinder when we were out in the sun) and that I could be more aggressive when pressing + holding down the shutter release button. I also only had one battery which died within an hour, and she kindly lent me another for the remainder of class. I was amazed by how much I learned in the 2 hour lesson and took a follow-up lesson on how to import, store, and edit photos. Thank you Christina for the amazing classes and tips!

Janna truly understood the vision I wanted to capture and the quality of the images are beyond…read moreexceptional. Her creative eye is so detailed and it reflects in the depth of her photography. The images Janna presented in the short turnaround truly connected with the emotions I wanted to set in time. Excited to learn Art & Clarity offers a custom guided photography adventure. I will definitely be back to experience.

Janna was wonderful and professional to work with, I needed headshots with a quick turn around and…read moreshe was able to accommodate my needs exactly. The location for the photos was a beautiful and special spot in downtown Napa, and her calm demeanor put me at ease while we took the photos. It was quick, easy and affordable. I will be definitely using her going forward for all my photography needs and recommending her to anyone who needs it. Thank you Janna!

This review is massively overdue. I'm a former frequent flyer here, and I have to say TIF is my…read moreall-time favorite one-stop shop for anything photographic in the Bay Area. I started coming here six years ago to augment the lab time and instruction I was getting in school. Their darkroom was my happy place for a long time and was fairly priced. What impressed me the most about their gorgeous space was that they encouraged clients to get their work off their screens and onto the walls. Literally, any time I had a question about anything related to photography or printing, Stuart, Ed, Constance, Chrysta, or Nathan would make the time for me and help me out or give me feedback. I enjoyed printing there and always left feeling inspired because they were so kind, knowledgeable, and professional. If you'd like to learn about photography, I highly recommend checking out their services, classes, and workshops. I wish I could give them more than five stars!

A a small business owner I have never left another business a bad review, but this experience was…read moreunacceptable. My artwork was mishandled and the finished product I had hired them for was poorly executed and unusable. I had to take it to a qualified business afterwards who confirmed they did not do a good job. When I raised the issue, the owner and staff were dismissive, refused a refund, and ignored multiple emails and calls. Their unprofessional behavior was bizarre and astonishing. They clearly aren't equipped to handle valuable artwork. Save yourself the headache and take your projects elsewhere.

I've been buying camera equipment from Mike's Camera for quite some time and have always found them…read moreto above and beyond the competition. Shawn in their Pleasant Hill store is a pro's pro. He is quite knowledgeable and experienced with an in-depth understanding of cameras and equipment With Shawn there are no stupid questions or surprises. He is always willing to go that extra mile to ensure that everything is crystal clear. Most importantly he knows that cameras are commodities and what people pay for or buy is customer service. Negating any shortcomings, he is a customer service savant. I rate Mike's Camera and Shawn 5 because I can't rate them 10.

These guys were great. I needed to have some photos made, and they went above and beyond to help…read moreme. They took the time to explain how to upload everything on the computer and walked me through the whole process. They also gave me helpful tips on the best time of the week to purchase the photos, which I really appreciated. Very helpful and easy to work with. Highly recommend.

We just finished a wonderful week of fundamentals of photography camp where my 13 year-old teen…read morereally enjoyed everything she learned from the instructor Tara. The various field trips to different parts of the Bay Area really built on each other and leveraged the techniques learned during camp throughout the week. We actually joined this camp as an out-of-towner (but ex-Bay Area-er) from Southern California and found it worth all of the efforts to make it happen, thanks to the heart and soul Tara has put into making this camp possible. Highly recommend!

Our son has joined Tara's photo school for three summers in a row. Tara gets the class to…read moredifferent, interesting places to take photos. She also has a teaching style that is both challenging and encouraging--helping students expand their technical skills and artistic vision. It has been fun for him, and exciting for us to see the growth in his work.

I highly recommend this photography class! Peter is a very skilled photographer and will explain…read morehow to work your camera and take beautiful photos. He will give you tips on how to se

I just finished Peter's class today. I've read so many things on the concepts of how the elements…read moreof apeture, shutter speed and ISO work, but I couldn't get the concepts to click to put it into action with my camera. I'm now walking away finally understanding the main concepts to get my DSLR out of AUTO and it has already significantly improved my photography. Peter was patient, funny and very knowledgeable. I highly recommend this class to anyone wanting to improve their skills. I will say that this is not a class for someone that doesn't know how to use their camera at all. You do need to know the basics of how to find and adjust settings and in my opinion you'll get way more out of the class . Thanks Peter for inspiring my creative side again!

I've had a DSLR for four years and finally decided that I needed to stop treating it like a…read morepoint-and-shoot. At first I tried looking up photography blogs online and tutorials on YouTube. While I found a lot of helpful tips, I ultimately felt like I needed to set aside a dedicated chunk of time and attention to learning the basics. One quick "photography class" search on Groupon, and a cross-check of Yelp reviews for this studio later, and I had a voucher for two beginner classes and/or photo walks for $142.40 (the usual price is $178, which is still a steal, but Groupon usually has some sort of 20/25% off promotional code floating around). It was easy enough to book the beginner class because they offered at least one each week, usually on Saturday or Sunday morning. I chose a Saturday morning session, 10 am to 1 pm, at their studio in the Mission. For some reason 3 hours seemed like a long period of time on paper, but the actual class just flew by. Darrell was our instructor and he walked us through shutter speed, aperture, ISO and some composition tips, all while fielding questions specific to the different cameras everyone brought in - very helpful! He also gave some suggestions on starter equipment with reasonable price ranges (i.e. prime lenses, tripod, circular lenses, etc.). It was a bit harder to book the photo walk since those only seem to come around once per month, but it's not impossible. In late November, I was able to book a Sunday evening session, 3:30 to 5:30 PM, in early December. You start off at the Warming Hut Cafe near Crissy Field, make your way up to a lookout point with a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge, and then head up close to Fort Point with views of the Golden Gate and the SF skyline at dusk. Darrell was our guide on this excursion and we had a chance to play around with f-stops, depth of field, white balance, histograms and metering. After we wrapped up our class, I decided to head off to Farmhouse Thai for dinner with coworkers and then Salt & Straw for dessert (can't waste any trips into SF if you live in the East Bay), lol. All in all, I credit Isla Studio with helping me feel more confident in manual mode - no more auto for me!

Wow! After years of treating my expensive DSLR like a point-and-shoot camera, I decided to look…read moreinto a class, and boy am I glad I did! Our instructor (Lindsay) was incredibly patient, thorough, and taught us not just the basics of photography itself, but also how to operate our own cameras (and iPhones, for those who needed it). She gave great, practical suggestions on where we could go to continue our learning, and followed up with more great advice after the class. Couldn't recommend this class more.