Beyond the Basics, 4 x Smartphone Photography Workshops

Join tutor Brendan Ó Sé for this series of online workshops designed to advance your smartphone photography skills. You will sharpen your eye for composition, master advanced camera and editing techniques, and further develop your unique photographic style. By the end of the course, you’ll possess the skills to create print-worthy images perfect for display or gifting.

Course Structure and Support:

• Personalised Preparation: Before the first session, Brendan will send out a needs analysis to understand and address individual participant expectations and requirements.

• Assignments & Feedback: Mid-week tasks will be assigned, with personalised feedback provided by Brendan on all submitted work.

Community Sharing: A private Flickr group will be established to allow participants to share their photographs and offer constructive feedback to peers throughout the course and beyond.

Weekly Modules

Week 1: Taking Manual Control

While your smartphone’s automatic settings are excellent, understanding how to override them is crucial for capturing the precise shot you envision. This session establishes your existing camera strengths and then dives into gaining manual control using advanced camera apps like First Light and ProCamera. You will build confidence in understanding settings, achieving accurate exposure, and taking full control of your smartphone camera.

Week 2: Seeing the Extraordinary

Accelerate your creative vision by learning to compose more imaginatively. This session focuses on abstract photography—the art of seeing and presenting ordinary subjects in an extraordinary way. We will explore techniques for seeing creatively and composing engaging, visually dynamic photographs in various natural and man-made environments.

Week 3: The Human Element

Many photographers are drawn to capturing people, whether family portraits or travel encounters. Brendan will guide you on how to effectively engage with both familiar faces and strangers. You will learn techniques to put portrait subjects at ease, approach street and travel photography, anticipate decisive moments, overcome the fear of photographing strangers, and ultimately create powerful storytelling images.

Week 4: Presenting Your Portfolio

In this final session, you will present a curated series of images created throughout the course. This workshop serves as an opportunity for self-evaluation and providing constructive feedback to your peers, complementing the personalised feedback you received from Brendan each week.

About Brendan Ó Sé

Brendan Ó Sé is a distinguished, multi-award-winning fine-art and mobile phone photographer, educator, and speaker hailing from Cork, Ireland. He has been a long-standing collaborator with the Photo Museum of Ireland, offering photography workshops since 2015. His photographic practice is versatile, encompassing discreet iPhone street photography alongside work using more traditional DSLR and mirrorless cameras. Brendan is known for pushing the boundaries of street photography, incorporating elements of abstraction, expressive portraiture, and visual storytelling. His distinctive approach often transforms mundane scenes into captivating images through the masterful use of colour, reflection, shadow, and human presence. Brendan’s work has been exhibited internationally, including his recent showcase, From the Streets of Ireland, at Photo Hanoi 2025. This exhibition highlights how everyday urban life in Ireland serves as an intersection of tradition and modernity.

Testimonials

My awareness around composition has definitely improved, as has my editing skills. Also, I now have a more critical eye of images I have made. I would 100% recommend this course. Ann McCabe

The series of workshops energised me. The teaching style way that information was delivered and the experiential learning methods used were great. It captured my curiosity and allowed me to create moments of joy for me every day. I’ve begun to notice more, frame, line up and capture more vibrant images. I’ve become more proficient at editing images and I’ve become more confident taking pictures. I no longer let moments pass if possible. Sharon McCarthy

I feel that I look at the world differently now when taking photographs. Brendan is a very patient and enthusiastic teacher who puts the student at ease. He made all of us feel welcome, from beginners to more experienced students. Lessons were always very enjoyable. Olive De Burca

“The workshop opened my eyes to the true potential of using my phone as opposed to a camera to achieve professional level photographs. Brendan has immense professional skill and teaching ability, keeping everything fun and exciting, while giving us a huge amount of detail in one day — Blathnaid

“Only complaint would be that I didn’t want day to end! — Nadia P.

Listen to tutor Brendan O’Se talk to Irish Tech News about 2021 Mobile and street photography trends and insights on sound cloud.

Showcasing Creative Photography from our courses

To mark the creative success and share the enjoyment of the learning experience, a selection of photographic work from course participants will be displayed on Photo Museum Ireland’s recently launched Flickr platform.

By taking part in our workshops you are invited to participate with one image from your workshop experience. We will email you after the workshop with an image request. You can view the album at any time to see recent participants’ work.