The curriculum is designed for beginners and professionals alike. We assume that you will have at least a basic knowledge of photography, and a desire to build your experience. Whether you're a hobbyist trying to start shooting professionally or an established professional looking to improve your portfolio and reach new clients, this workshop can help get you to the next level.

This depends entirely on what kind of project you hope to shoot. You need access to some sort of camera, of course, but that could be anything from your mobile phone to an expensive DSLR.

This workshop focuses primarily on storytelling and what happens in front of the lens. Depending on what you hope to shoot, you may also need lighting gear, materials for building sets, hair and make-up supplies, and/or costume/wardrobe solutions.

While these kinds of tools can be helpful in realizing your vision for a project, what's important to remember here is that expensive gear itself doesn't shoot great photos: people shoot great photos.

The best thing you can do to prepare is to come to the course with an idea of what you want to shoot for your final project. The more developed that idea is when you start the course, the farther this course can take you.

If want to be super prepared, you can start laying the organizational groundwork for your shoot, which will take place in the second weekend of the course (December 19−20). If you know you want to shoot in a certain location, for example, you can start making arrangements to shoot there.

The video episodes are built around a live, offline workshop that we hosted in Tbilisi on November 7−8, 2020. In that workshop we produced an actual client commission from concept to screen in under 48 hours. You will see what worked and didn't work—our successes and our mistakes—and see all the moving parts that have to come together on a complex studio commercial shoot.

We've created a closed network of visual creatives who are alumni of our courses. This is a place to share work, ask for recommendations, and learn from each other. You will have access to this network from the beginning of your course, which means you can use it as a resource during the production of your project!

We love deadlines! Actually, we hate deadlines, but we know they are a powerful motivator for producing new work. We chose to tie this workshop to specific dates so that students will leave the workshop with a completed project. Though you will have access to the course material for three months, the live sessions with Andrei and Thomas, and their feedback on your work, will only be available during the scheduled window.

If you want to pay in some way other than Visa or Mastercard, send us a note at online@ckovalev.com and we'll make it work!

We've worked very hard to make a course that we feel will be useful for our students, and we stand behind this work. If you finish the course and submit your final project, but for some reason still aren't satisfied with the experience, we will refund 100% of your money, no questions asked (though we hope you will tell us how we can improve). We are very committed to making sure each student has a positive and transformational experience, so if you have questions or concerns, you can always send us a note at online@ckovalev.com.