We can provide you with personal coaching. Topics can include improving your photography; starting, running or growing a photographic business or any of the subjects covered in our Membership Area courses.
Depending on your preference and the subject being covered the coaching is conducted by James Somerset, one of his assistants or one of several carefully chosen and trusted associates.
How it’s Done
We prearrange the session(s) and conduct them on-line using the free Skype program. Skype allows us to hold the sessions on a laptop or desktop computer, a tablet and even a mobile phone. More than one person can connect to the call (Skype currently allow up to 25 people to join in a Group Chat).
Calls can be voice only or utilize webcam and/or screen sharing (depending on your preference and the topic being discussed).
We will provide the Skype details that you need to take part in the call in your confirmation email.
Fees
Fees vary depending on staff availability, how much time is booked and the topic being covered. For a quotation, please see ‘Arranging Coaching Sessions’ below.
Fees must be prepaid. We offer money back guarantees under certain circumstances. Please ask for details.
We provide official receipts for all money paid; stating that the fee was received for coaching/training. If it’s allowed in your jurisdiction, this may mean that you can offset the fees against tax.
Arranging Coaching Sessions
We are working on an on-line booking system. Until it’s ready, the easiest way to arrange a personal coaching session is to use the Contact Us page. You’ll receive a reply by email and we can then make the arrangements by email and/or Skype.
Getting the Time Right!
Due to confusion with Time Zones and Daylight cialis online Saving Time, appointments have been missed because we have been on-line at a different time to the person we are coaching—with each of us wondering why the other hasn’t shown up yet!
To help remedy the issue, we now make all appointments in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This time zone that is not affected by Daylight Saving Time.
Use the World Time Server’s Meeting Planner page (details below) to translate your current time in to UTC.
Even if you are in the same time zone as us, please ensure that you use UTC (it saves a lot of potential confusion).
Meeting Planner
Please follow these instructions to convert the time at your location to Coordinated Universal Time.
- Follow this link to the World Time Server’s Meeting Planner page
- Enter the appropriate date
- Choose your location as Location 1
- Choose UTC (the very first option on the list) as Location 2
- Click the Submit button
You’ll then see a table that matches your time with UTC for that date.
Before the Session
- Please be absolutely confident that you are on-line at the correct time. One way to do this is to check the current time in UTC on the day of your appointment.
- Importantly, use Skype’s ‘Echo / Sound Test Service‘ in plenty of time before the call. If we can’t hear you, we can’t help!
- Please be on time. We’ll wait 10 or 15 minutes but will eventually conclude that something’s up and you won’t be joining us.
- If we are using Group Chat, please have everyone join the conversation with their microphone OFF. When you’re ready to speak, enable your microphone and then disabled it immediately after. This is so background noise is reduced which makes the call more pleasant for everyone involved. You can enable/disabled your microphone from within the Skype call window.
- Please have to hand any usernames and/or passwords you may need to log-on to various services (eg your WordPress backend, Facebook, Dropbox)
- Please have ready copies of any photographs you need us to look at. These would normally be JPEG files that you would transfer during the session using Skype or links to your website/on-line portfolio (eg flickr, 500px)
- If you need to use the screen sharing or webcam feature during the Skype session please ensure you have a suitably fast internet connection.