I first took Nick's Landscape Photography Class at the Irvine Fine Arts Center. It was packed full of information and, at that point, I didn't how to operate my camera. I started taking private lessons and in a short period of time, with Nick's help, I went from using auto mode to full manual control. My snapshots became photographs that actually resembled the landscape that I was seeing.

The field lessons with Nick are what brought it all together for me. To have an expert, of Nick's caliber standing by you while you are out on location was really such a treat. Along the way, Nick has also given me suggestions for equipment purchases that I needed to make, such as a tripod and filters.

Nick taught me how to keyword my photos and set up a workflow in Adobe Lightroom. I can't say enough about how much time I have saved from having that workflow. And this past summer, Nick helped me set up my own website. That was a very proud day in my life. In only 2 short years I went from not knowing much more than where the on/off switch was on my camera to having my own website filled with photos that I am incredibly proud to share. Truly a dream come true. Nick helped me step by step achive that dream.

I really can't say enough about Nick. He is an incredible teacher. He's very laid back, he's not intimidating and he has an abundance of knowledge and experience which he is very gracious in sharing. I feel very fortunate to be a student of Nick's. And just take a took at his amazing body of work.

I don't think there is anything about photography that Nick doesn't know! Really.

Kim Murphy

I've been doing photography recreationally for over 12 years. Five years ago, with the birth of my twins, Sadie and James, also came the birth of my professional photography career. They were born extremely premature at 29 weeks and spent 10 weeks in the NICU. Out of necessity I had to take portraits of them as they were not able to go to a commercial studio. The doctors warned us that their weakened immune systems could not handle being around all of the potential germs. With each passing day, I found myself documenting their miraculous journey. I always had a baby in one arm and my camera in the other. As they grew and got stronger so did my passion for photography. A few months later, what used to be a hobby had grown into a part time job, I started doing portraits for family and friends on the weekends. It was at that time that I decided I wanted to hone my photography skills and bring my photography to the next level. I went in search of books, photography courses, and anything that I thought would help me expand my knowledge.

I was so very fortunate to find Nick at Nick Carver Photography. At the time, I don't think I realized just how fortunate I was. Looking back now, over 3 years later, I can honestly say I do not know where I'd be without Nick and all of his teachings. Sometimes when people are experts in the field they are just that...experts. They do not have the ability to teach what they know to others. That is not the case with Nick, he not only takes amazing shots but can also explain how he did them in a language that everyone can understand. In all my years of working with him there has never been a technical question that he was not able to answer. More recently, as my business has grown from a part time job to a full time one, Nick has been instrumental in helping me manage and streamline my workflow. He has helped me shorten the time I spend editing and helped me organization my images more efficiently, which cuts down the time it takes me to get sessions processed for my clients.

I cannot say enough great things about Nick and his work. He is friendly, easy to work with, and has a wealth of knowledge well beyond his years. I would highly recommend him for private tutoring sessions or any of his classroom/online courses. His courses are well thought out and he has spent an immense amount of time developing and fine tuning them for his students. Whether you just got your camera or you have been shooting for years, there is always room to grow your photography knowledge and skills. Having a resource like Nick to support that growth is priceless.

Cheryl McClusky-Chavez

I have always enjoyed photography and loved taking pictures of my kids and documenting their lives. For years I never knew how to do anything but auto on my camera. I was happy with my results at times, but there were many occasions when my pictures didn’t always turn out. About 3 years ago my daughter joined a dance team. This led to many performances on stage with low light situations. I was continually frustrated with the poor results that I was getting. I would achieve enough light in my photo, but would get a lot of motion blur. With this frustration I decided I wanted to find someone to help me learn how to use my camera and help me achieve the results I wanted.

I started to search on line for a class or teacher to help me with my quest. In my search, I came upon Nick Carver's website. I was amazed at what I saw and signed myself up for his 4 week course on landscape photography. I took his class and learned a lot. As I practiced what I learned I started to gain a better understanding on how my camera worked. It surprised me at how easy it was to shoot in full manual. It really wasn't that scary!! After the 4 week course, I took several private lessons from him. This took me to a whole new level. I was even more confident in what I was doing and loved what I was achieving. Nick makes it so easy to understand. He is an amazing, gifted teacher. He helps you understand in such a simple way. He is very knowledgeable and is so willing to share. He is very friendly and fun. I would recommend him to everyone. I love it now when someone says….WOW you took that picture! And I can say yes, I had an awesome teacher show me how. I am so grateful that I found Nick.

Sheila Dement

Nick,

You are an amazing teacher, photographer and person! I am so lucky to have found you, your teaching made it possible for me to live my dream as a glamour photographer. I am so grateful to know you.

Keesha Langdon

Less than a year ago I came to Nick with a vision and a question:

I want to become a youth sports photographer, how do I do it? 2 weeks ago I had my first big “sell day”. It was very successful and parents were delighted with my photographs of their children. Again this was accomplished in under one year. Prior to meeting Nick I had signed up for an eight-week workshop with a local pro photographer and for an intro class at my community college. Both classes had 2 things in common:

1. They were terribly boring.

2. Even though I (and everyone else in the class) had signed up for an intro class, the teacher did not start with the basics, practical definitions of aperture, shutter speed, iso, exposure, white balance, etc… Without knowing how these work in relation to each other first it’s pointless to talk about anything else in photography.

Nick took me from lucky shots taken with my camera dialed onto the little sports guy to using pro equipment with settings manipulated by me with a specific purpose in mind, and actually knowing what and how I’m doing it. It doesn’t matter what area of photography you have a question in, he’s got the answer and in the off chance he doesn’t, he’ll find out and let you know next time. It’s difficult to describe how much I’ve learned from our sessions, it may sound corny but what I’ve learned from Nick has actually changed my life. I can earn a living from what I absolutely love to do. Thanks Nick!

Shelley Schaffer