The best camera is not simply the one you have with you, it is the one you know how to use.

This no-holds-barred intensive shows you how to get far more from your phone camera. Learn to control focus and exposure, work with different lenses, capture movement, find better light, compose with intention, and edit without turning every image into an over-processed filter experiment.

Along the way, we look at photographers who transformed ordinary streets, fleeting gestures, reflections, shadows, and everyday colour into unforgettable images. Then we take those ideas out into the world using the camera already in your pocket.

This workshop is about making stronger photographs, not buying more equipment. Expect practical demonstrations, fast creative challenges, a guided photo walk, editing exercises, and honest feedback.

About Your Instructor

Jason Machinski has spent more than 20 years helping people discover that the solution is often better type, more space and considerably less stuff.

Learn more about Jason

By the End of the Workshop, You Will:

• Understand what your phone camera does well—and where it struggles.
• Take control of focus, exposure, lenses, and key camera features.
• Improve composition, timing, light, and visual storytelling.
• Avoid digital zoom, over-processing, and other common quality problems.
• Use simple editing tools to strengthen an image.
• Leave with a collection of finished photographs and techniques you can use every day.

Event Details

• Location: Urban Art Collective Art Hub, 50 Bayswater Avenue, Ottawa
• Instructor: Jason Machinski
• Level: Introductory
• Maximum Capacity: 12 students
• Minimum Enrolment: 6 students required