Welcome to Constant Exposure! Helping you become the photographer you want, faster.

What's the best way to learn photography? Constant Exposure! This is my passion project to educate you on the craft of photography and share my joy of it. (Matching domain name, etc. to follow ;-))

Twenty years after I started, I was still an amateur in photography — outsmarted, outspent and outgunned. I was rejected, dejected and felt like I was never "gifted" enough to break through.

Do you ever feel that way? Like your camera isn't good enough? Your lens sucks? You're lost in post processing? You're not lucky enough? You don't have the same time or money as pros? Ever feel like you'll just never understand exposure or how to make professional images?

As a veteran in the professional photography industry with over a decade of experience, from landscape to journalism to weddings to camera store salesperson and educator, the one thing I've seen consistently set most photographers behind is getting stuck on settings and equipment before having any inkling about light.

Secondly, creative spirits have a hard time admitting they need help. They feel like they should just get it like some sort of savant and if it doesn't just come to them, they're no good. They hate the idea of "learning the rules" (yet they keep ignoring them and struggling). Or, in some cases people aren't getting proper help in the way they need it.

But being a good photographer (or anything) by just winging it or having some sort of natural "gift" is rarely the case, and it's also rubbish thinking.

Most photographers you've heard of, few had formal backgrounds in photography, and many would say they felt they had no particular gift in the visual arts. Some had formal backgrounds in related fields like marketing or graphic design. Many had backgrounds completely unrelated to art. In any artistic field -- music, acting -- you can find people who started out with no intent on ending up in that field, only to discover it and develop their craft.

By and large, most professional photographers would say the one thing they did to set themselves apart was hard work. I've never seen a great photographer do magic -- not Jerry Ghionis, not Joe McNally, not Ansel Adams. They worked. Hard.

You can learn to make professional photographs, even if you have no artistic background or "gift." Even if you don't have the gear.

It‘s ok if you weren’t born a master with a camera in your crib. It's ok if you have a cheap used starter camera with one lens, or an iPhone. You'll get where you want faster when you develop the skills and the language rather than the gear and the settings.

If you want to get the most out of photography, you'll need to submit to some education, somewhere, from someone. For the vast majority of anyone who touches a camera, it's not something you can learn purely from trial and error.

So what should you do? How are you going to learn this?

Here's what I know:

No artist has ever figured it all out on his or her own. Yes all the greats had talent. But they also had teachers, mentors and a great work ethic.
The rules are simple, but millions of photographers keep thinking they don't apply.
You won't magically learn the secrets just by doing more photography. You must get intentional with your education and practice.
What you're doing isn't working and will keep not working until you do something different.

With my help, you'll be able to:

Come out with pro images regardless of conditions
"See" like a photographer, not a tourist
Master any conditions to your advantage
Break down every photo into a 5-step approach
Create images you want predictably
Save money on gear you don't need, while investing in the right gear
Develop your own language of what settings to use, when and why without help
Save years of struggling with basics
Direct your gear predictably with purpose
Build value in the marketplace, if you choose

I went from not understanding exposure or flash, getting rejected from all of my studio applications, to becoming a valuable assistant/second shooter, booking $4000+ weddings and working with fun and high end clients and taking more joy in my personal work.

So why do just teaching? Actually, teaching is what I want to do. I didn't like the daily grind of trying to force photography to be my business. I enjoy teaching photography more than the business of making pictures, and it's important.

Contact me today for a free planning session and to start your 1-on-1 training. There's no contract, no commitment. Just as much training as you want until you master exposure and the basics of light. We can meet in person or over video chat.

Experience

Three-time Wisconsin Newspaper Association award-winning photographer and writer, including 2nd place for general news photograph in his category in the 2008 WNA competition judged by other newspapers.
6+ years of newspaper photojournalism experience, photographing everything from accidents to meetings, state high school sports, and regular community and sporting events, as well as writing and designing for the paper.
6+ years as a solo wedding photographer.
Former photographer for American Wedding Group (The Pros, Wedding Bug) and Edward Fox Photography.
Trained with Jerry Ghionis, widely considered one of the top 5 wedding photographers in the world, as well as Doug Gordon and Moose Peterson, who along with Mr. Ghionis are Nikon Ambassadors.
Photographed in places such as Denali National Park as well as Badlands, Grand Teton, Yellowstone and Great Smoky Mountain National Parks. Clients have included Widmers Cheese Cellars, Mandel Group, American Family Insurance and the City of Horicon, among many wedding and portrait clients.

Me with one of the most highly regarded wedding photographers and photography educators in the world, Jerry Ghionis (on the right ;-D).

Photography background

I’m from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and hold a bachelor’s degree with honors in writing from Lakeland College. I’ve had poetry published in Phantasmagoria and Wisconsin Review as well as photography in numerous publications. In 2014, I was featured on the cover of Local Leben magazine, which covers local life in the Beaver Dam, Wisconsin area.

You might understand more about my penchant for glamour and classical photography when you consider what I did for my first six years as a professional photographer.

From 2004 to 2010, I worked as a photojournalist/reporter for the Dodge County Pionier in Wisconsin, where I was an innovative photographer, page designer and writer, winning Wisconsin Newspaper Association awards in those categories in 2007 and 2008 (click here; General News Photo, Group E).

I had photographed everything from meetings to sports, accidents, grip and grins, school events, community events, a funeral and photo essays. Some of it was fun, and the job afforded me some cool privileges.

But there were no fairy tales, no chance to make the world as I wished it would be. I had to be the guy who asked the uncomfortable questions and took pictures where no one wanted a photographer. That's OK for some people. But I just want to celebrate the beauty of the world.

I've spent hundreds of hours studying, training and honing my craft at all levels. I continue to study the latest business and photography techniques to improve my service and results and have trained with the best photographers in the world, including Jerry Ghionis and Doug Gordon.

With a vision for a better photography experience for classic Wisconsin couples, I began studying and practicing wedding photography in 2012. I briefly contracted with American Wedding Group and Edward Fox Photography before specializing as a wedding artist full-time on my own in 2014.

I live in Horicon, Wisconsin with my wife, Heather, and two daughters, Hailey and Ellie, who we adopted in 2021!