Digital Photo Academy

Learn How To Use Your Digital Camera

San Francisco

San Francisco

Join a Digital Photo Academy teacher for San Francisco photo workshops, small group or private live sessions. You’ll learn all about your camera controls and how to create powerful images.

Click or scroll down for full schedule of live workshops

Welcome to the San Francisco market for the international network of live and online photo classes, all under the banner of Digital Photo Academy.

This section is devoted to our San Francisco photo workshops. The DPA Instructors who lead these workshops are professional photographers who have lived in San Francisco for at least 10 years, usually longer.

These pro shooters also have teaching experience and they love teaching. (Not all photographers do.) They know the local retailers where you can get the better deals on photo equipment and more importantly, they know where the best photo ops are which allows us to provide you with a rotation of interesting places to shoot, throughout the year, whether indoors or outdoors, winter, spring, summer of fall. Sometimes one time of day to shoot is better than another and our DPA instructors keep us informed.

About Our San Francisco Photo Workshop Venues

Often, the DPA Instructors even have private access to various locales in the city where they live. Themes vary from street photography and dynamic architecture, to flowers and landscapes, as well as waterscapes, sunsets, lush scenery and everything in between.

During one month, you might be invited to rendezvous in the luxurious natural light streaming in to a religious venue via spectacular stained glass windows and the following month, it might be a small relatively unknown park with very special landscapes. This is why we offer a special ALUMNI Discount to people who attend more than one workshop.

Nationally, we organize these workshops to provide variety for the participants in each local market, but we could not do it without the expertise and connections provided by the DPA instructors in each of those markets.

Phone the national headquarters of Digital Photo Academy at 1 877 372 2231 but know that each of the Digital Photo Academy markets includes a local office. In San Francisco, that office is at:

968 Madrone Ave, Larkspur, CA 94977

E-MAIL US AT [email protected] OR CALL 1-877-372-2231 OR click here TO LEARN ABOUT OUR PRIVATE ALL DAY OR HALF DAY CLASS

ASK ABOUT OUR BACK-TO-BACK SAME DAY WORKSHOP OFFER WHICH ALLOWS YOU TO PAY $150 TOTAL, $65 LESS THAN IF YOU TOOK THE CLASSES ON SEPARATE DAYS.  THIS STARTS WITH A SIT-DOWN SESSION FOLLOWED BY A 3-HOUR DEMONSTRATION PHOTO SHOOT, LED BY A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER.

And in case you’re interested, click here to check out some FREE SAMPLES of our ONLINE CLASSES

CLASSES & DATES

Comments to “San Francisco”


  1. Thank you, Jerry! You offer so much!
    I appreciate the opportunity to learn from you.
    Your use of reflective surfaces, layered textures and perspectives is both inspiring and enlightening. There is so much more for me to learn.
    I’m looking forward to sharing experiences and being educated by you.


  2. We had a great class with Jerry today in Golden Gate Park.


  3. The day was a lot of fun!!! Thank you Jerry for all your knowledge and instruction.


  4. The DPA team has to coordinate the DPA workshops across the whole country; which I imagine entails a lot of names. Your national office team members and the folks who teach where they live do a wonderful job. That’s why I keep coming back!


  5. Thank you Peter for the information and the composition link.
    I’m planning to work on some photos this weekend and get them posted.
    I’ll keep you updated.
    Vashti 😁


  6. Had a great day with Peter yesterday! I look forward to taking another workshop with you guys.
    Thank you,
    Vashti


  7. Great site. Very informative. Learned a lot. Great teaching.
    Thank you very much.


  8. I loved it, the teacher is awesome and very knowledgeable.


  9. Great class. Well worth it.


  10. Great class. Very worthwhile.


  11. Jerry Downs was an excellent teacher and great fun.


  12. Jerry!

    Thank you so much for a great lesson! I’ll be back to the DeYoung as soon as I’m done with all my travels! I feel much more ready to practice on holiday!! That photo is crazy! It’s like he was paid to stand there!


    • Here’s one from yesterday…


  13. Thank you Richard for setting us up with Jerry, it was a great lesson. I will be sharing photos with you and Jerry soon.


  14. Thanks again for a great experience


  15. Jerry and Peter.
    Wonderful. Love it. Thanks for sharing the pictures. You both were awesome. Enjoyed every minute of it.
    Take care.
    Anwar.


  16. Thanks for sharing your knowledge about different gear, techniques, and concepts; I learned quite a bit. I cannot practice photoshop today but if you could send me a link to any videos that you’ve found useful I’d greatly appreciate it. And, as I mentioned yesterday, I would love to participate in other outdoor classes or hikes that you hold in the future.


  17. Jerry, thank you as well for all of the creative insights and exercises as well. So great to experience the instructors and learn so much in such little time. Richard, I am absolutely thankful I was able to find your courses and can’t tell you how much I appreciate your hospitality and kindness. I am extremely likely to book again for more discovery courses..will keep you posted!


  18. Hi Richard – Peter was great! I really enjoyed it. Thanks for the class.


  19. Jerry’s workshop was excellent.

    I had some technical problems with my camera so I didn’t get as many great photos as I would have liked and had to leave early for work.

    I’d like to take another class with Jerry. He was very cool.


  20. Jerry Downs offers a wealth of experience and knowledge regarding the fundamental mechanics of taking digital photos; how to use your camera effectively.

    However, Jerry is a gift to anyone seeking to learn why and how to take a photograph that reflects what you see with your own eye sight.

    The mentoring environment Jerry provides instills confidence and results.

    I highly recommend this work shop and Jerry Downs.

    Your photos will reflect your soul through the lens – an invaluable experience that will last a life time.


  21. Jerry Downs is an excellent instructor. Not only did Jerry show us how to sharpen & improve our photography skills he taught us how to think outside the box & take creative photographs while having fun.

    Jerry is passionate about photography & it comes across to his students.

    I had an excellent experience and I was able to take numerous photographs while walking through very colorful neighborhoods.

    I enjoyed meeting & spending time with the other students who were inspiring to take photographs with.

    I would definitely recommend instructor Jerry Downs to my friends & his photography walks to anyone who enjoys photography.

    Digital Photo Academy has classes in other cities as well & is a first rate company.


  22. Fun class! Definitely worth the money and time. My partner and I learned to view the world around us differently and we got really good photography fundamentals to build on. Jerry was helpful and super kind! I just recommend that you be familiar with your camera before you get there (know how to change the ISO, Aperture, and Shutter speed). In fact I’d recommend googling it before you get there cause every camera is different and I spent a long time trying to figure mine out instead of taking pictures. But otherwise a really lovely afternoon spent in downtown S


  23. Very helpful. I learned a lot about how my camera worked.


  24. “I was able to tailor the class to be exactly what I needed to learn. Jerry is great to work with.”

    -Anonymous


  25. “We had a private session with Jerry which was very informative. Our session was at the De Young Museum which was a perfect location for experimentation. Jerry not only showed us new technical skills, but taught us a new way of looking at the world. Thanks Jerry!”

    -Isabella S.


  26. “I recently went on a composition tour of Chinatown with Peter, and I was absolutely blown away. I had so much fun and could not believe how much I learned in the span of three hours. I just wanted to say thank you so much for creating such a well thought out and incredibly fun program. I was not only inspired by my awesome instructor, Peter, but also by the group of people that I was with that all had the same passion to become better.”

    -Crystal A.


  27. “The class was awesome. I loved it.”

    -Yining Liu


  28. “The meeting place and the subject of the Golden bridge made for an outstanding experience.”

    -Ken


  29. “What an awesome experience! Jerry Downs is a great photographer, but above all a great person! I had so much fun! Jerry is letting you be the photographer and then he explains and guides you on capturing the perfect moment! Highly recommend!”

    -Andreas


  30. “The instructor was knowledgeable and shared many easy-to-understand tips and suggestions. The location (Chinatown) couldn’t have been more perfect: it was alive with culture and movement.”

    -Karen


  31. “I learned a lot and will no longer rely on my automatic settings. Thanks to Jerry and Richard for being awesome!”

    -Nora


  32. I recently went on a composition tour of Chinatown with Peter, and I was absolutely blown away. I had so much fun and could not believe how much I learned in the span of three hours. I was not only inspired by my awesome instructor, Peter, but also by the group of people that I was with who all had the same passion to become better.

    Thank you again!

    Crystal An


  33. It went well.

    -Peter Lee


  34. “Hi Richard,

    I hope this finds you well! Dad and I had a wonderful time during our session with Jerry.

    Thanks!”

    -Shani


  35. “Hi Richard, I just thought I would let you know that I have enjoyed our class very much. Jerry was very good. Let me know next time you have another photo class in San Francisco.”

    -Frances


  36. “Hi Jerry,
    Thank you, and thank you for the memorable and meaningful tour. I enjoyed it a great deal and learned a lot about photography, about seeing, and about interacting with the world. You conveyed your artistic vision as well as your personal philosophy.

    I also want to way that I love all the photos below, but am blown away by the one with the man in the blue plaid shirt, because I had not seen you take that one and did not see that color palette at all. It is a reminder that while we were all on the same trip, we were all seeing something different and there is so much more one can see than is immediately apparent. Wow, what an eye you have.

    Best regards,”

    -Debra (“Chicago”)


  37. “Thank you for the workshop! I enjoyed exploring your suggestion at getting down lower when taking photos, and taking the same photo from different heights and vantage points. I love shadows and reflections, so it was a fun day for me and now I’m inspired to practice some pointers that you taught in the workshop. I also enjoyed the fact that the group was small, so it felt like we were able to get more one on one coaching.

    Best,”
    ~Cheryl


  38. “Thank you all for being so flexible and arranging this 1:1 class. It was a lot of information and I’m looking forward to playing with the settings and learning more. Thanks again.

    Thank you,”

    -Nargis


  39. Hey Digital Photo Academy,

    Wow, these photos are amazing. I have always wanted to visit San Francisco and rather than doing a boring tour, I feel like this would be the best way to get a real sense of the location and amazing sites.

    Hope to make it out to you guys soon.

    Thanks,
    Dennis


  40. “Jerry! Thanks so much for an amazing day of pointing, shooting and reimaging. It was a great group, and a true pleasure meeting everyone. I would do it again in a heartbeat :-)”

    -Adrienne Fisher


  41. “Thanks for the great lesson and coaching! Thanks also for the links.
    I am now inspired to learn more and hopefully will shoot more as well!”

    -Janet


  42. “Robert Arnold was great!”

    – Mark L. Mosley


  43. “Thanks for a great photo class today! I learned a lot and really enjoyed myself. You were a great teacher and made for a fun experience.”

    – Lisa


  44. “I just wanted to let you know I have taken two of Erics classes. The first class was architectural photography in Oakland, it was very informative and fun. Eric was always there to help with the camera set up and help explain the lighting throughout the day. The second class I missed because I forgot my phone at home and there was a problem at the meeting place. Eric was great enough to email me and we set up for a few days later for me to make up the class. This is a total of 4 classes so far with DPA and I intend to take more, hopefully if I am free, I want to take Erics North Beach class.”

    – Joseph Gambardella


  45. “Thank you for helping me expand my photography knowledge yesterday via your wisdom (and I do mean wisdom)! It was really fun and I appreciate all the help and tips you gave me.”

    – Noah Levy

Reply





©2007-2018 Digital Photo Academy | How To Use Your Digital Camera
facebookdpa-80 black3square senior logo with Facebook version 2