Photography Workshops

In 2010 Maria teamed up with Prof Paul Hill MBE to provide Photography Workshops and mentoring in the UK and Europe. Paul is an internationally renowned photographer, author and tutor with a teaching style that is truly insightful. Maria, with over 15 years professional photographic experience, is a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and has been teaching photography for over a decade. Together, Maria & Paul run  workshops, retreats, short courses and mentoring programmes around the world. 

Cromford Mills, Derbyshire

November 29th & 30th, 2025

From the series How Do You Dance in a War Zone, 2023, Director- Maria Falconer

Designed for photographers who would love to take the first steps into the world video, this weekend workshop takes the mystery out of moving imagery and quickly gets you up and running. Whether you’d like to make a body of work (like the video above made in Ukraine), a promotional video (see the clip from the British Transplant Games below), or just explore the possibilities that video has to offer, this workshop will give you the confidence to expand your practice into this creative medium.

Workshop Content

The two day workshop will guide you through the entire process from planning your film shoot, to filming, editing and exporting the final product. The programme is designed to be super user friendly and suitable for those who definitely wouldn’t describe themselves as technically minded. Although technically minded people are very welcome too!

The Plan:

There will be a good balance of classroom learning alongside fun practical exercises to put everything into practice.

• Planning a Video Shoot
• Story Boarding
• Filming Techniques
• Importing Footage into  Davinci Resolve (a free editing programme)
• Creating Timelines
• Mixing Still and Moving Imagery
• Sound options
• Adding Text
• Exporting Completed Videos.

UK Transplant Games, 2025, Maria Falconer

What Will I Need?

For this introductory workshop an iphone is ideal. In fact much of my video work is filmed on this amazing device.

If you prefer to shoot with a camera or an android smartphone, that is absolutely fine too. But as there are hundreds of different makes and models it is important that you are familiar with your own device, in particular how to access movie mode and the movie settings menu.

You will need to bring a laptop with Davinci Resolve installed. This is an excellent FREE software programme (available on mac and PC)  that you can download from the Black Magic website here

You don’t need to know how to use Davinci Resolve before the workshop, (although if you want to get started that’s great), we will guide you through the process.

Dance Video, Maria Falconer

Location

Cromford Mills, Mill Lane, Cromford, Derbyshire, DE4 3RQ

Cromford Mills, in the beautiful Derwent Valley, was a crucible of the Industral Revolution and where manufacturing first started. No wonder then that it is one of the 1,000 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. With the invention of his remarkable cotton spinning machine, its owner Richard Arkwright (1732 – 1792) became the richest man in Europe. His global legacy is kept alive by our workshop partners, The Arkwright Society.

There is a host of information about Cromford Mills on their website here 

Ashley Franklin ARPS, APAGB, BPE2

Access

Please be aware that acess to the venue is via one flight of steps and unfortunately there is no lift.

Cromford Mills is accessible by car, bus and train.

By car: Cromford stands on the A6, 17 miles north of Derby. It is within easy reach of the M1 – about 20 mins. Satnav – please use postcode DE4 3RQ. There are four car parks on site and a very limited amount of free on-street parking.

By Train: There is a regular service between Derby and Matlock which stops at Cromford. The station is a 10 minute walk from the mills. Trains are operated by East Midlands Trains.

By bus: There are two services from Derby, the TransPeak and the 61, both operated by Trent Barton.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the workshop suitable for?

There are no prerequisites or requirements for joining the programme, it’s suitable for anyone interested in learning about video in a fun and friendly way. 

How many participants will be attending?

There will be a maximum of 10 participants

Fees & Booking

Fee: £295

Includes 2 days tuition, tea, coffee and biscuits.

Payment Options:

• Pay in full today
• Pay a deposit today and receive an invoice for the balance due by Fri 14th November, 2025.

Terms & Conditions

Please note that all payments including deposits are non refundable

If you need to cancel due to exceptional circumstances, we will do our best to find a replacement participant, but we cannot guarantee this.

If it becomes necessary for us to cancel the workshop due to unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances, all fees will be refunded in full.

THIS WORKSHOP IS NOW FULL.

From time to time we do receive cancellations, if you would like to be informed if a place becomes available please let us know HERE

Any Questions?

If you have questions or would just like to have a chat about whether the workshop is suitable for you, please don’t hesitate to call 0774-0985-887 or email Maria.

Check out our Video from Past Photography Workshops