OTL Workshops

Virtual & On-Site

Register today for these exciting upcoming OTL programs, classes, and events!

Spooky Photography Workshop

Learn spooky photography techniques to creatively capture your October festivities! Participants will experiment with long exposure, zoom burst techniques, color, lighting, and editing to create unique compositions. DSLR cameras will be provided, or bring your own. Open to all experience levels & ages (children under 12 need to be accompanied by an adult).

Date(s):

October 13, 2022


Time:
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Location:

Outside the Lens 2750 Historic Decatur Rd, San Diego

Leadership through the Lens - Monday - High School Cohort

Leadership Through the Lens (Virtual + pre-college credit) Interested in photography, leadership and social change? Want to earn pre-college credit? Join Outside The Lens for our twelve week virtual program Leadership Through The Lens, in partnership with the University of San Diego California. This virtual course for students in grades 9-12 will provide students with an in-depth look at photography as a tool for social justice and how youth leadership can change the world. While gaining a solid foundation of leadership theories and social justice photography, students will create their own comprehensive action plan for a youth-led social change project. Students will meet weekly with Outside the Lens Media Educators and industry professionals, have access to small group mentorship, and participate in skill building activities. Students can earn pre-college credit, and can access the course from any location. All levels of photography are welcome. DATES: March 7th to May 16th, 2022 DAYS: Mondays TIME: 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. GRADES: 9th to 12th LOCATION: Virtual

Date(s):

March 7th to May 16th, 2022


Time:
5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Location:

Virtual

Leadership through the Lens - Tuesday - Middle School Cohort

Leadership Through the Lens (Virtual + pre-college credit) Interested in photography, leadership and social change? Want to earn pre-college credit? Join Outside The Lens for our twelve week virtual program Leadership Through The Lens, in partnership with the University of San Diego California. This virtual course for students in grades 6th to 8th will provide students with an in-depth look at photography as a tool for social justice and how youth leadership can change the world. While gaining a solid foundation of leadership theories and social justice photography, students will create their own comprehensive action plan for a youth-led social change project. Students will meet weekly with Outside the Lens Media Educators and industry professionals, have access to small group mentorship, and participate in skill building activities. Students can earn pre-college credit, and can access the course from any location. All levels of photography are welcome. DATES: March 8th to May 17th, 2022 DAYS: Tuesdays TIME: 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. GRADES: 6th to 8th LOCATION: Virtual

Date(s):

March 8th to May 17th, 2022


Time:
5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Location:

Virtual

Leadership through the Lens - Wednesday - High School Cohort

Leadership Through the Lens (Virtual + pre-college credit) Interested in photography, leadership and social change? Want to earn pre-college credit? Join Outside The Lens for our twelve week virtual program Leadership Through The Lens, in partnership with the University of San Diego California. This virtual course for students in grades 9-12 will provide students with an in-depth look at photography as a tool for social justice and how youth leadership can change the world. While gaining a solid foundation of leadership theories and social justice photography, students will create their own comprehensive action plan for a youth-led social change project. Students will meet weekly with Outside the Lens Media Educators and industry professionals, have access to small group mentorship, and participate in skill building activities. Students can earn pre-college credit, and can access the course from any location. All levels of photography are welcome. DATES: March 9th to May 18th, 2022 DAYS: Wednesdays TIME: 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. GRADES: 9th to 12th LOCATION: Virtual

Date(s):

March 9th to May 18th, 2022


Time:
5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Location:

Virtual

LEADERSHIP THROUGH THE LENS - THURSDAY - MIDDLE SCHOOL COHORT

Leadership Through the Lens (Virtual + pre-college credit) Interested in photography, leadership and social change? Want to earn pre-college credit? Join Outside The Lens for our twelve week virtual program Leadership Through The Lens, in partnership with the University of San Diego California. This virtual course for students in grades 6th to 8th will provide students with an in-depth look at photography as a tool for social justice and how youth leadership can change the world. While gaining a solid foundation of leadership theories and social justice photography, students will create their own comprehensive action plan for a youth-led social change project. Students will meet weekly with Outside the Lens Media Educators and industry professionals, have access to small group mentorship, and participate in skill building activities. Students can earn pre-college credit, and can access the course from any location. All levels of photography are welcome. DATES: March 8th to May 17th, 2022 DAYS: Tuesdays TIME: 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. GRADES: 6th to 8th LOCATION: Virtual

Date(s):

March 10th to May 19th, 2022


Time:
5:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Location:

Virtual

Photo 101 - Open to All

In this intensive one-day workshop, a professional photographer will teach you the ins and outs of your DSLR camera. Venture off of “Program” mode, into the wild and wonderful world of manual settings, to get the most out of your camera and start capturing frame-worthy shots!

Date(s):

February 26, 2022


Time:
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Location:

Outside the Lens Media Lab
2750 Historic Decatur Rd.
Barracks 15, Studio 103
San Diego, CA 92106

Next Level Digital Photography

Now that you've got a handle on your DSLR settings, it's time to take your photography to the next level! A professional Photographer will teach you pro tips and Photoshop tricks. Dive into unique and more complex shooting techniques and methods to get the most out of your DSLR camera. You'll learn about capturing more dynamic images, try out new concepts, and practice some post-production tricks to get the image you want. If you have a laptop with Photoshop installed, bring it along. If not, we can provide a laptop (limited quantity) along with with Photoshop so you can follow along with our instructor. This workshop is for adult and teens!

Date(s):

March 5, 2022


Time:
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Location:

Outside the Lens Media Lab
2750 Historic Decatur Rd.
Barracks 15, Studio 103
San Diego, CA 92106

Film Photography

Interested in film photography? Come and get retro with Outside The Lens! In this intensive one day workshop, we'll cover all the basics of shooting the old school way! Starting with the fundamentals of manual photography, we'll transition to learning all about how to load and shoot 35mm film before transitioning to 4x5 large format photography and much more! All supplies provided! $45 for workshop and $20 for supply fee.

Date(s):

April 23, 2022


Time:
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Location:

Outside the Lens Media Lab
2750 Historic Decatur Rd.
Barracks 15, Studio 103
San Diego, CA 92106

Natural Light Portrait Photography

Come learn how to take amazing portraits in various natural lighting situations! In this comprehensive one-day workshop, a professional photographer will teach you how to get the most out of the light you have available. You'll learn posing techniques, how to use reflectors, and more! Take this chance to practice what you learn!

Date(s):

November 20, 2021


Time:
1:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Location:

Outside the Lens Media Lab
2750 Historic Decatur Rd.
Barracks 15, Studio 103
San Diego, CA 92106

Virtual: Photo 101 for Teens and Adults

In this two-session workshop, a professional photographer will teach you the ins and outs of your DSLR camera. Venture off of “Auto” mode, into the wild and wonderful world of manual settings, to get the most out of your camera and start capturing frame-worthy shots! The workshop will be conducted virtually, online with the photographer. All sessions will be via Zoom, you will need access to a computer with a webcam, as well as your own DSLR camera. There will be two sessions, one-week apart, each being one and a half hours in duration.

Date(s):

September 25, 2021
October 2, 2021


Time:
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Location:

VIRTUAL ONLINE

Virtual: Next Level Digital Photography

Now that you've got a handle on your DSLR settings, it's time to take your photography to the next level! Over the course of two one and a half hour sessions, a professional Photographer will teach you pro tips and Photoshop/Lightroom basics. Dive into unique and more complex shooting techniques and methods to get the most out of your DSLR camera. You'll learn about capturing more dynamic images, try out new concepts, and practice some post-production tricks to get the image you want. If you have a computer with Photoshop and/or Lightroom installed, you can follow along with our instructor. The workshop will be conducted virtually, online with the photographer. All sessions will be via Zoom, you will need access to a computer with a webcam, as well as your own DSLR camera. There will be two sessions, one-week apart, each being one and a half hours in duration. This workshop is for adult and teens!

Date(s):

October 9, 2021
October 16, 2021


Time:
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Location:

VIRTUAL ONLINE

Virtual Workshop: Visual Resistance (Teens)

Do you want your photographs to stand for something? Do you want your creativity and imagery to spark social change and to move the hearts and minds of those who experience your work? Join us for a workshop dedicated to sharing untold stories of justice, resilience, equality and social movements. Learn how to document these stories with intention and without bias during this four-part workshop. All sessions will be via Zoom, you will need access to a computer with a webcam, as well as a phone or tablet. For Teens, Grades 9-12.

Date(s):

August 3, 2020
August 6, 2020
August 10, 2020
August 13, 2020


Time:
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Location:

VIRTUAL

Photo 101 for Teens & Youth

In this intensive one-day workshop, a professional photographer will teach you the ins and outs of your DSLR camera. Venture off of “Program” mode, into the wild and wonderful world of manual settings, to get the most out of your camera and start capturing frame-worthy shots! This is a workshop for teens and youth!

Date(s):

Time:
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Location:

Outside the Lens Media Lab
2750 Historic Decatur Road
Studio 103
San Diego, CA 92106

Virtual: Family Storytellers

What does a day in the life of your family look like? Join us and learn how to tell the story of your family in new and creative ways! We will teach you the foundations of photography to help you create a photo essay, and take you through a poetic journey to tell the story of your unique family. All sessions will be via Zoom, you will need access to a computer with a webcam, as well as a phone or tablet. There will be four sessions, one-week apart, each being one-hour in duration. Session dates will be held on the following 4 dates: 7/22, 7/29, 8/5 and 8/12

Date(s):

July 22, 2020
July 29, 2020
August 5, 2020
August 12, 2020


Time:
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Location:

VIRTUAL

Happy Customers!

I can’t really think of any way to improve upon the program, as it seems to have been very well planned and thought through. Each individual piece of the program was well organized and detailed, and each piece transitioned perfectly to the next component and also to the bigger picture ... We all enjoyed every aspect of the program and our family loved the final exhibitions!

– Alison

I knew nothing about photography before I began with OTL, but have also learned many things that I use when taking photos in my own life ... As photographers, the students become more observant of the world around them and see things from different perspectives. They also see that photography is a tool for communicating across the globe.

– Brooke

Thank you for giving our students such wonderful photography ... they had an opportunity to express themselves openly and honestly and they were respected for their work.

– Susan
 

Outreach


Since 2001, Outside the Lens (OTL) has delivered its curriculum to 13,000 children in weekly classes, after-school programs, summer sessions, workshops and teacher trainings. Students tell their unique personal stories through photography, video, and other digital media forms while under the guidance of writers, journalists, filmmakers, photographers, artists and teachers. Our outreach programs target under-served and at-risk youth grades K-12 throughout San Diego County and uses participatory photography and video, a method in which students are given cameras and videos to document the issues that concern them. As a 501(c)3 non-profit, our curriculum reached over 5,000 people in 2013.