In a very rare opportunity our Head Trainer, Founder and Talented Photographer Ion Paciu has taken the time to write a blog post for us giving us a little insight into his photography journey and what it’s like to learn in a one to one photography course with him! Check out his blog post (including some amazing images) below:

ION PACIU:

“Training is the key that unlocks your photographic potential. Knowing how to see, use your camera and create wonderful light in the studio using your portable  flashgun or speedlite is a skill which can be learnt. I can teach you these skills.”

I’ve been teaching photography for over 6 years now and I’ve seen many beautiful pictures coming out from my former students’ cameras. I thought basics, advanced topics, lighting, composition in portrait, street, night photography and some other different topics are crucial lessons for students in a group learning environment (sometimes up to 12 people) and students on one to one photography courses.

One to one photography courses are always very close to my heart. I love one to one photography courses because they bring me closer to my student and we can establish a special relationship that ultimately gets the best out of them!

If you would like to take a private one to one photography course then I’m your guy. I am really easy going and I love what I’m doing. My goal is to see you “making” (rather than taking) beautiful photographs. I love photography and love sharing, this is a key aspect in teaching. No matter  how good a photographer is, the love of sharing makes all the difference. And the skills to transfer the knowledge, the knowhow is a powerful asset. Here are some success stories of some of my former students you can check it out here.

During my private lessons, when we shoot, me and my students have a lot of fun, there is no time constraints and no pressure, just learning in a really constructive environment. I teach you at your own pace, I love to do one to one photography courses because I can tailor the lesson to your equipment, skills and photography style.

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Moon over the plane at sunset in London – I took this picture from my balcony in central London.

These images were taken during a private one to one photography courses with Chris who is a full time photographer for Ocean Outdoor, a boutique media company that fills a unique position in the Outdoor advertising landscape in the UK. The images were made from the roof top of the Union Jack Club in central London were our indoor classes take place.

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Nightscape / cityscape in London, UK – with to Imax, London Eye, Shell, Embankment and BT Tower (fish eye lens)

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Image taken during a one to one photography workshop in central London – Imax london eye fisheye

See more images from my cityscape portfolio below:

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Battersea Power Station – London, UK

Little Mermaid, Copenhagen, Denmark

Little Mermaid, Copenhagen, Denmark

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London Eye and County Hall, London, UK

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Westminster Palace / Big Ben, SouthBank, London, UK

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Westminster Palace / Big Ben, Thames River, Southbank, London, UK

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London Eye, London, Southbank, UK – sepia version

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Westminster Palace / Big Ben, SouthBank, London, UK

Whether it’s a portrait, a photo of the moon, in the forest or the sky in the middle of the night I can teach you how you can approach the subject. Here are some such images- hopefully I don’t need to explain this any further:

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One to one portrait photography courses by Ion Paciu – London

There are even more images from this project here www.peopleididntknow.co.uk/ feel free to head over and check them out!

The below images were taken in the studio during a one to one creative photography course studio lighting lesson with Keiko. We loved the day and we had lots of fun too, Keiko learnt a lot from this lesson and we ended up with some great images:

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Photo taken by Keiko Kumamaru during a one to one beauty photography workshop.

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Studio Lighting Beauty-Fashion photography – image taken by Ion Paciu

Latesha by Keiko Kumamaru, taken on our One to one Portfolio Building photography workshop

Latesha by Keiko Kumamaru, taken on our One to one Portfolio Building photography workshop

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Image taken during a one to one Beauty Photography Workshop in London

No matter where I am, I am always “seeing”. It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you ‘see.’ Whilst in Brussels, in Vincent’s restaurant waiting for my dish, the chef, Andreas, a real maestro of food art ended up in one of my images while he was cooking my steak.

one to one photography workshops Ion Paciu portrait photography

I took this image in Brussels while I was visiting this restaurant – Ion Paciu portrait photography

Yes, I love portraits, I love people and because I love them, I can photograph them. This image was taken during a portrait photography workshop on the street. Cheryl, one my favourite models, is an actress:

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Image taken during a one to one portrait photography workshop in London.

Below is Jasmin, another model I like to work with, but this image was made in a conference room using 2 small studio heads without any shapers. I can teach these kind of images so easily! All you need is to book me for a one to one photography course. She is available most of the time for one to one photography courses:

one to one photography workshops Ion Paciu retro studio lighting photography

One to one photography workshops Ion Paciu retro studio lighting photography.

I took this picture in Gothenburg, inside Le Petite Cafe, one of the most beautiful coffee shops in Europe. It was taken using only one flashgun off the camera. I can teach you how to take images like this one on our one to one photography courses.

one to one photography workshops Ion Paciu portrait photography

One to one art portrait photography workshops Ion Paciu – portrait photography

I can take you from a beginner and teach you the fundamentals in photography, then we can go a little further, delving into more advanced topics. The fundamentals are really important, explained and understood properly, they will be your photographic bible for the rest of your life.

I know the fundamentals in photography well, and through my experience I can photograph almost anything, and I can also teach you these skills. Look at my moon photographs, they’re not bad at all. This image was taken hand-held, holding the camera, no tripod was involved whatsoever. Impressive?

one to one photography workshops Ion Paciu moon photography

One to one photography workshops Ion Paciu moon photography

And a starry night shot taken in montenegro in the mountains. I love night photography and I can teach you this skill too on my one to one photography courses:

one to one photography workshops Ion Paciu night stars photography

One to one photography workshops Ion Paciu night stars photography

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Starry Night photography – nightscape in Tenerife with milkyway view

Also, Ion is able to produce very good wildlife images, trough his special skills and exposure techniques he can capture the animals’ life easily, and he can teach you these skills and techniques.

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Wildlife Photography courses – one to one – by Ion Paciu – London

My regular students are rarely experts (though I’ve been teaching some professional photographers as well).

I can teach you how to take photographs shown below, it is not complicated to take pictures like these with the right know how and I can give you the skills in a very short time. I know you think that a new lens or camera will dramatically change your pictures, well, in reality the changes produced by the equipment are most times completely insignificant. Learning and training make the changes and sometimes in a very short period of time.

One of our students attended one of our 2 days beginners course over a weekend, he didn’t really know too much about photography, next week he came back with this picture (below), not bad!

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Image made by one of my students

What is my secret? Light and Patience! Determination and Passion, the love for photography. Light! I love light! Light really does have an impact on picture making which means whatever I am photographing I am always taking into consideration the light! No matter where I’m taking pictures; In a dark location, in the rain, in a pub or in a bright location, in the winter or in the summer.

I love landscape too. My big love in photography was cityscape. I spent years on the streets of London taking pictures, I love London and Photography, then what’s left? Nothing! This is the perfect combination.

one to one photography workshops Ion Paciu cityscape battersea power station

One to one photography workshops Ion Paciu cityscape battersea power station

one to one photography workshops Ion Paciu cityscape city hall

One to one photography workshops Ion Paciu cityscape city hall

Training is the key that unlocks your photographic potential. Knowing how to see, use your camera and create wonderful light in the studio using your portable  flashgun or speedlite is a skill which can be learnt. I can teach you these skills.

I love light, I can see light and I can teach you how to see, produce and use light. And not necessarily with expensive tools, sometimes I use very cheap improvised / DIY tools to take photographs. If I am on holiday and cannot carry all my gear with me, it’s impossible but I always find solutions to produce the light I need.

These fashion images were taken with a lighting tool made from aluminium kitchen foil and a flashgun / speedlite. The results speak for themselves:

one to one photography workshops Ion Paciu fashion

One to one photography workshops Ion Paciu fashion

one to one photography workshops Ion Paciu fashion

One to one photography workshops Ion Paciu fashion

one to one photography workshops Ion Paciu fashion

One to one photography workshops Ion Paciu fashion

one to one photography workshops Ion Paciu fashion

One to one photography workshops Ion Paciu fashion

I really like to combine the natural light with my lighting tools, I can teach you how to take images like these.

one to one photography workshops Ion Paciu fashion

One to one photography workshops Ion Paciu fashion

I love street and light, I shoot in the studio too but London offers an amazing diversity of exciting places good for taking your model out and snapping around.

See some fashion images I shot on the street using only a flashgun / speedlite.

one to one photography workshops Ion Paciu street fashion

One to one photography workshops Ion Paciu street fashion

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Fashion image taken using only 2 speedlites / flashguns on location in London.

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Fashion image taken using only 2 speedlites / flashguns on location in London.

Speedlite Photography Workshop in Central London

Street Fashion Speedlite Photography Images

Speedlite Photography Workshop in London

Speedlite Photography Workshop in London by Ion Paciu

I watch the streets of London, all the time. They always offer timeless subjects to photograph, I only have to “see them”. I see someone interesting, I stop the person and I never leave without a photograph. They have no choice as they can’t say no to a bit of love! The love for photography!

See below some images of strangers taken on the street:

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One to one photography workshops by Ion Paciu – street portrait

one to one photography workshops Ion Paciu street fashion portrait

One to one photography workshops Ion Paciu street fashion portrait

one to one photography workshops Ion Paciu street portrait

One to one photography workshops Ion Paciu street portrait

one to one photography workshops Ion Paciu street portrait

One to one photography workshops Ion Paciu street portrait

I spent hundreds of hours holding the camera, on the street, in the studio and home in my kitchen where I take so many photographs.

one to one photography workshops Ion Paciu macro photography

One to one photography workshops Ion Paciu macro photography

Why trow a dry rose in the bin? Photograph it!

one to one photography workshops Ion Paciu macro photography

One to one photography workshops Ion Paciu macro photography

Also, see some examples of my nude photography below:

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Nude Photography – The Warrior by Ion Paciu

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Nude Photography – Bodyscape by Ion Paciu

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Nude Photography Bodyscape – Detail

See more nude images from one to one workshops here:

I am also studying the glamour photography style and I am doing and teaching more and more and more this style, people love beauty and there is a lot of demand from my students. Aren’t we all loving beauty?

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Boudoir Photography, image of Tovey taken during a one to one boudoir / glamour photography lesson.

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Glamour Photography – Model lying in bed

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Glamour Photography – Model sitting on the sofa

Some time ago I visited Iceland for a fashion photo-shoot. It was spring, not very cold but still there was a lot of ice around. It is never summer in Iceland, not the summer we know on the mainland in Europe. But it is beautiful, very beautiful and some of the things Ive seen in Iceland I will probably never seen them anywhere else. I loved the northern lights but the Moon is exaggeratedly big, it was very difficult to drive in this country and I wish I had a driver with me.

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Northern Lights, iceland (aurora boreale)

one to one photography workshops Ion Paciu northern lighs photography

One to one photography workshops Ion Paciu northern lights photography in Iceland

I love photography, I love teaching and this is all you need, a photographer in love and a teacher to give you the skills and know how necessary to fall in love with your camera and photography.

And, I will finish with some group images taken during some of our photography courses and workshops. All images are taken by myself. See more group images here.

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Self group portrait photography taken by Ion Paciu on the street with his students.

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Self group portrait photography taken by Ion Paciu on the street during a street photography workshop with his students.

So, if you want to book a one to one photography course with us please follow this link.