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MASTERCLASS

Lesson 1: Finding Your Stories

The path to becoming a photographer begins with a love for photographs. In this lesson, Jo-Anne recounts her evolution as an animal rights photographer and offers some insight on getting started and finding your stories.

Lesson 2: Photographing Animals

Jo-Anne brings us into the pastures of Farm Sanctuary to demonstrate the basics of animal photography, focusing on topics of perspective, narrative, and how beautiful photos of happy animals can be used to create change.

Lesson 3: Gear

Jo-Anne addresses a commonly-asked question and breaks down her gear setup: the basics, the luxuries, and the investigation-specific equipment.

Lesson 4: Investigations

Join Jo-Anne in the field and learn what it takes to document animals in stressful, emotionally taxing situations. You’ll learn how to determine what shots you’re looking for, what settings you can be using, and how to tell a whole story through investigative photos – as well as how to know when the story is over. 

Lesson 5: Coping with Trauma

Jo-Anne discusses how she’s learned to cope with the impacts of witnessing animal abuse first hand, and why we owe it to the animals and to ourselves to have a strong self-care toolkit in place.

Lesson 6: Editing

Jo-Anne is joined by We Animals photo editor, Vanessa, for a discussion and hands-on demonstration of how to get the most out of our images.

Lesson 7: Photography Review

A photography community is one of the most powerful tools for improving your craft. In this lesson, Jo-Anne mentors a group of photographers at different stages in their careers, with portfolio reviews and lively discussions.

Lesson 8: Closing Advice

As our Masterclass comes to an end, Jo-Anne offers final words of insight and encouragement to those ready to go out into the world to tell the stories of animals.

The We Animals Masterclass series was developed to foster the next generation of animal photojournalists. This online and self paced video series will teach you the basic foundations of animal photojournalism by following We Animals Founder Jo-Anne McArthur as she covers the lessons she has learned from over two decades in the field.

Purchase Masterclass access for $45 CAD.