Founder Neil Buckland grew up with a Canon FTb in his hands, and as an adult, parlayed his affinity for striking images into a lucrative career in advertising design and branding. But something wasn’t right. As time passed, Buckland was spending more and more time finding excuses to ditch work and take some snapshots. Finally, in 2008, he gave in to his true calling, ditched the workaday world of office life, and founded REDred Photo.

Today, his accessible workshops and classes help students learn some of the trickier intricacies of modern photography—from understanding what exposure is and how to manipulate it to how to rejigger a DSLR’s auto-modes so that it actually takes decent pictures. Other classes cover more technical concepts such as studio lighting, while still others such as The Art of Photography focus on the aesthetic side. Buckland’s studio is available to rent for personal or commercial photo shoots of any kind, and, for additional fees, the staff can augment such shoots with make-up services, lighting assistance, models for hire, and old-fashioned pterodactyl-powered cameras.