Astrophotography Client Testimonials

Sometimes in life you meet people that influence the way you think about your hobby. Last week I met up with one such person namely Ollie Taylor. I had read about Ollie in a recent edition of Advanced Photographer. A couple of emails and phones calls I had booked myself on his one to one Moon and Stars Workshop. We were in Dorset for a week so we had a good chance of a clear night. Our chance came on Tuesday midway into our break. We met Ollie just after midnight and walked down to Durdle Door chatting about various photography related topics, both Ollie and I are Nikon men, so we were looking forward to pitting the Ollie’s D810 against my D3s.The sky was getting better and my Sky Meter read 21.34. The Milky Way would be in a good position and angle about an hour before the end of Astronomical twilight. Sure, enough we were rewarded with some great shots…. A couple of days later I turned up at Ollies Office for the processing tutorial. Several hours later we had produced a couple of pretty decent images, the quality of which I could have only dreamt of a

I was fascinated by Ollie Taylor’s beautiful photographs of the night sky and the Milky Way. I had never attempted night photography before and was unsure if I could produce anything close to what Ollie did. However, with his guidance and knowledge (and patience) I was really pleased with what I achieved. Ollie has an in-depth knowledge of the right camera settings to use and where and when the Milky way will appear. Ollie knew some beautiful locations in North Wales which looked even more stunning at night. I will be booking another workshop with Ollie very soon. I highly recommend Ollie to anyone that has an interest in night photography.

New to photography, I wasn’t sure if I was running before I could walk, when I booked my few days with Ollie.  His ability to adapt to weather conditions, camera systems, and different levels of students was amazing.  I came away with some fantastic memories, better knowledge of my cameras capabilities and of course, some amazing night time images. Don’t hesitate to book some 1-2-1 tuition, whatever level of photographer you are, it’s something you’ll never regret.  C Baker.

Just wanted to say a huge thanks for helping me learn the secrets of shooting the Milky Way last week.  I really appreciate your patience and encouragement. I’d love to do it again sometime soon and will definitely steer other stargazers in your direction.

Had a half day workshop with Ollie in July 2015 where he took me round the stunning Isle of Portland, from early evening into darkness. His local knowledge combined with his easy, approachable teaching style proved a perfect platform to get ‘the shot’ (in my case Portland Bill lighthouse in darkness). He takes a genuine interest in your current abilities and where you want to improve, and works with you to progress your knowledge in these areas, whilst imparting some of his other considerable experience and skillset along the way. Not only a really talented photographer and tutor, but a thoroughly decent guy; I would definitely use him again.

“Thoroughly enjoyed my 1-2-1-night photography workshop back in October last year. Ollie was happy to build the session around my aims and objectives which we chatted about beforehand. I learnt several new techniques for capturing and processing images which helped me take my recent Northern Lights photographs to the next level. It was also good to talk to Ollie about what it was like to be a professional photographer and the demands doing it as full-time job puts on you. Watching online tutorials have their place in learning photography but you can’t beat some 1-2-1 tuition from a professional, particularly ones as friendly and approachable as Ollie.”

“Had an excellent time on the group nightscape workshop, Ollie broke photographing the milky way, or indeed, any night sky down into 5 easy step which made the practical photography easy. The next day we were provided with simple post processing steps to help make the most of our images”

Had a couple of nights with Ollie in July , couldn’t have asked for a better tutor , very patient even though the lad was suffering with a bad back , learned so much with Ollie the bloke is a STAR , i wish him all the best with his endeavours , and can’t wait for the next workshop , he has really spurned me on. Thanks again Ollie

Thanks for the handouts and thank you for the workshop as well, great night.

Highly recommend anyone wanting to learn Astrophotography to go on one of Ollie’s workshops , from novices to pro’s Ollie caters for all. Thanks Ollie. Had a great time and learnt a lot, just need to put it in to practice now.

Thank you, Ollie, much appreciated

Many thanks for the workshops, I learned so much and really enjoyed your company.

Stunning, we all managed to get the milky way. However, the truth is that it was pretty much the same as Saturday night. We did do the lighthouse again and that was a bonus being able to put in to practice our learning from the day.

Hi Ollie. Thanks for a great course, I learned a huge amount. I would strongly recommend your course to anyone.

Just wanted to thank you for the weekend course. I really enjoyed it and am still blown away at the image I came away with. I have posted it in a few places and had a massive response to it. I’m really keen to do something again with you so feel free to spam me with anything you have coming up. In the meantime, I will see if I can save enough pennies for Iceland!

Many thanks for a great workshop. Really enjoyed it and learnt a lot. I spoke to Adobe yesterday and they confirmed that the older Lightroom 5.71 does not have the same functionality as the latest lightroom. So last night i upgraded my systems to the latest lightroom and photoshop. I am hoping to start my edits tonight 🙂 Definitely interested in other workshops and 1 to 1’s in the future 🙂

Taking one of Ollie’s night photography workshops, will fundamentally change how you do your night photography. It did for me. What he teaches you, doesn’t just serve night photography either. I’ve used some of the editing techniques on various other images as well. Excellent workshops run by an excellent teacher. So much so, I’ll be booking another workshop soon. Well no negatives from me Ollie mate. I walked away with something new to try. I’m well chuffed. Its wicked watching two pictures blend together, and what I’ve learnt doesn’t just apply for landscapes either. You’ll more than likely see me again in the future. I might be tapping you up for info on next year’s Skye trip. ?

Thanks for a great weekend. Well organised and really enjoyed it:-) with the PDFs you’ve sent I’ve got enough to go away and practice with. I probably didn’t get as much out of the weekend as the others, but that was my fault, not yours. Turning up with a new camera that I hadn’t tried out put me at a disadvantage and caused us both unnecessary hassle. I’ve been snowed under with work the past six months, so was a bit ill prepared. Hadn’t realised how stressed out I am at the moment either, but that’s another story:-) think I need to make a few work/life decisions of my own?

The best photography course I have been on to date, be prepared for information overload but in a good way. On my evening course the group was a mix of experience, but Ollie really looked after the group and each individual had plenty of one on one time (even gave out hand warmers).  The time on the night shoot flew by so fast then in the evening session yet more new things and pro tips. I am already making the most of my new Photoshop skill. I think the next photography related purchase anymore should make is a course with Ollie because better to have the skills then be all gear and no idea, 100% recommended. Many thanks and have a great time in Iceland:-)

Thank you for a great day, the weather made it, all part of the experience! I really feel armed to go forward with the camera, so thank you, feel I learnt a lot in a short space of time. I am sorry I’m only just emailing – I was exhausted when I got back Tuesday and have had a cold ever since, over the worst now I think and really hope you don’t get it too with your busy schedule starting tonight. Hope all goes well with the nightscapes tonight. I’ll forward that recipe to you tomorrow! It would be great to follow up with you once I’ve consolidated what I’ve already learnt. You mentioned you may have some dates in the UK in April? If you still have availability it would be good to schedule another day then.

Fully recommend doing a night photography workshop with Ollie Taylor Photography. He goes through everything step by step and most importantly you get a pdf at the end so no need to take notes.

Thanks Ollie! Really enjoyed your workshop and really felt I learnt a lot from it 🙂 Now I need to go and put it all into a bit more practice with the new camera

Thanks,Ollie, really enjoyed the course, even with the weather not being with us you swapped around the agenda and we shot other things. Your dedication to ensure that we photographed quality landscapes day or night kept you busy having to re-plan with no notice due to fog, for example at Lands’ End! This really showed the whole group how much you care about your clients and wanting to make our experience the best it can be even when faced with freaky weather conditions.

I had the pleasure of working with Ollie in the workshop in Cornwall.  It was a really small group where it was like taking photos with friends.  He gave instructions and let people take photos at their own pace.  The best part was learning to blend photos in Photoshop and Lightroom.  His knowledge of astrophotography is exceptional and he provided tons of insight into taking photos at night.  I want to take more night photos after working with Ollie.  I highly recommend you take a workshop with him and hope to work with him again.  Don’t think about it, just sign up and do it!

Thanks again for a great couple of days. You’ve really helped me understand what I’m looking for when I venture out in the future. Your guidance has shown me that Good planning and the right conditions can produce out of this world pictures (see what I did there :)) Again your expert advice in lightroom and photoshop has made me think about taking my time to get the image right as every step/technique you showed me how a photograph which already looked amazing can become a true work of art good enough for any wall.

“I did the night time photography workshop with Ollie Taylor in Portland Bill a couple of years ago and it was fantastic, I learnt so much! It instilled in me a love of astrophotography and with Ollie’s great teaching I now have the know how to go out on my own and capture the stars. I would recommend his courses to anyone and intend on doing another one in the future.”

As a very keen photographer, I’d always been inspired by the night sky but had never been able to capture images of it to the quality I had seen across the internet.  Ollie’s workshop was a very enjoyable and useful experience and taught me how to achieve the same standard as the pictures I had been admiring.  I was very concerned about how I was going to achieve my project for my final year at university, but with Ollie’s guidance and suggestions on not only finding and shooting the Milky Way, but also editing the images post production, I am now feeling more confident about it.  If you get the opportunity, I’d really recommend joining one of his workshops.

I have worked with Ollie on two astrophotography workshops now – the first one being a group one with a couple of friends and more recently a 1-2-1.  I thoroughly enjoyed both – Ollie is so knowledgeable and easy to work with. A great quality of his is that there is no such thing as a silly question and Ollie is always happy to explain things further, giving benefit of his wealth of experience.   I’m now looking forward to booking a 2018 session with Ollie to further expand my knowledge and experience.

My review… Ollie, what a fantastic week I had in Iceland with you. It was a tough challenge, but the team battled through and we saw some amazing things and captured a number of them on film. Lots and lots of memories and experiences. Your enthusiasm and expertise in where to go and what to try and photograph helped immensely. The best thing I can say is, I’d love to go back there again with you… Additional – Having come home and had chance to download my pictures, I am inspired to keep going with astrophotography. Very happy with the results I got

Having just returned from Ollies Iceland workshop I can say that just like The Commitments were the hardest working band in Dublin, Ollie is the hardest working photographer in the business.  He will push himself to the limit in order to make the best of whatever conditions Iceland will throw at you.  His knowledge of locations and the where the tourists will be is excellent and he uses this to try to steer you away from the hordes of tour buses that overwhelm the popular locations.  If you are lucky enough to see the Northern Lights, Ollie will be ready to advise you on how to capture high quality shots.  This trip will push you physically and photographically, but like my Mother always says nothing good comes easy!