Reviews
“Ray is not only a wonderful photographer, he is an awesome teacher. He is inspiring, encouraging and innovative. Great lesson!”
Shauneen Hutchinson
“Your work is very inspiring! Your black and white images wrapped me up and drew me into each picture!”
Marshall Reichert - Berks County Photographic Society
“Thank you for all the insights you shared in the workshop! It was awesome and inspirational, and I love the nuanced ways you think about photography.”
Kelly Reene
“It is rare to find a teacher who is highly skilled at their craft, fluent with students, and unusually empathetic. Ray is all of these. He is as fluent with the theory and philosophy of photography as he is deep diving about technicalities. His style is approachable, inquisitive, and clear. I’m so grateful he is sharing his talents with students, and I recommend his classes highly.”
Rose Robinson
“I was inspired by your presentation, which encouraged me to make a connection with my subjects. It made me realize that I needed to engage my subjects , not just “drive-by” shots. I began to realize how much more emotionally satisfying it was to acquire and relate to personal stories. I was looking for photos that would bring out those unique qualities. I think it would be helpful if we had been asked to give a title to our photos. We would perhaps focus more on what was the purpose of the photo. I really appreciated your sensitive, caring responses and ideas you gave. You created a relaxed atmosphere in which everyone felt comfortable and enjoyed sharing their photos. We all felt this is the very best environment for learning. Thank you and come back.”
Rebecca Lepanto
“I really enjoyed your presentation! I loved the contrasting examples and the simple, straight forward principals that you shared.”
Linda Rondeau
“Ray gave us a fabulous 2 hours of insights on shooting people in your pictures. Some portraits, but many more casual, street photography or photos of people he met or just saw on his travels. Very inspiring. I’m paying much more attention to people when I’m out and about with my camera these days.”
Jeri Mearns - Kiawah Photo Club
“I really enjoyed Ray’s presentation because he has a knack for communicating his ideas clearly and concisely. The 3 hours went by quickly because everything he shared held my interest. Ray shared pertinent info to reinforce techniques I’ve learned in past photography classes, and added new insight/techniques making the class worthwhile. I especially liked learning the psychology behind taking a good photo and what draws the viewer in. Ray had us share our own photos and he gave us constructive feedback on how to capture the audience through both visual appeal (left brain) and emotion (right brain). There was enough time at the end of class to ask questions, and he provided good resources along the way. Take this class, it made for a relaxing and pleasurable Saturday afternoon!”
Jennifer Wermuth
“Great event photographer! Ray captures dynamic group action shots & posed group photos, all while making people feel comfortable and capturing the event's vibe. Book Ray for your next event!”
Amanda Lampel - Main Line Art Center
“Ray Schneider's workshop illustrates how key ideas from the psychology of perception, psychophysics and image cognition can help photographers strategize how to approach their compositional choices. The presentation is communicated in a non-technical manner and every photographer, regardless of his/her/their preferred photographic genre, will find it informative and helpful. Ideas are illustrated with a rich array of examples.”
Ralph Taylor – Professor Emeritus, Temple University
“Thank you for a thought provoking, inspiring presentation!!
Angel McNall - Base Camp Photo Club
“I have to say that, personally, your images and style really resonate with me as a look and feel I'd love to have more of in my photography! Really nice stuff!”
Kyle Durlam - Focus Camera Club
“I have been taking pics for 50 years but have no formal training whatsoever. Your session was my introduction and just what I wanted. I have no technical skills but as I drive about and walk around Historic Yellow Springs, I see what color and light can do. I have NO skill at human photos but your guidance was encouraging to try.”
Mark Ashton - Chester Springs Studio
“Ray, thanks for the inspiring presentation to our Delaware County Camera Club! Looking forward to having you back again.”
Judy Gallagher - Delaware County Camera Club
“I’m a mixed media collage artist with a photo-taking hobby and wanted to learn how to make my pictures better. I was transfixed and hung on every word that came out of Ray’s mind and tongue because he’s so damn delightfully interesting. And I learned a lot. Most interesting is that many of the tried-and-true rules in photography mirror those in art making. I would recommend to peeps interested in photography (amateur or pro) to take any workshop that Ray offers.”
Linnie Greenberg
“Ray led an informative talk on photographing people with our photo club. His material was well put together, his presentation style was easy going and informative. He managed his time well and responded nicely to questions at the end. I would definitely recommend him and would love to attend another one of his sessions.”
Karen McBride
“Ray, thank you for sharing your lifelong knowledge with us last night. I am very glad I went to that (camera club) meeting; it was more than I could have anticipated.”
Bill Lydon
“With my upcoming trip to Venice, Italy later this week, I found your ‘Create Compelling People Pictures’ presentation to the Kiawah Photo Club inspiring. I am a professional photographer and have been to Venice many times and have taught workshops there. Problem is, I don't photograph people often. While I listened and viewed your images today at the photo club event, I promised myself I will make a greater effort to photograph more people images. Thanks for the motivation!”
Pamela Cohen
“I took Ray’s workshop ‘black and white versus color’. I found it to be very insightful and got me to think about my photography again. Making the choice of black and white versus color can make a great impact on a photograph and what people’s emotional reaction would be. I enjoyed the review of the history of photography and the psychology of photography. Going through people’s color photographs and changing them to black and white photos really made me think about my choices when I go out and shoot. I am currently using film again and this workshop has re-energized me to go through my old work and has inspired me to continue to experiment both with color and black and white film.”
Rebecca Martin
“The class last night was very insightful and I look forward to employing the techniques discussed in my future photography projects.”
Jennifer Kenderdine
“I enjoyed your presentation. It solidified some of my approaches to photography. Certainly the information on processing digital photos was most helpful.”