Amy and Jordan Photography Course Reviews—Is It Worth Paying For?
The Amy and Jordan photography course has wedding photography as its focus.
That’s interesting because weddings, as we know, are one of those events that stir much anticipation and then leave lasting memories after they are gone.
The latter part is where photography plays an indispensable role. If you capture those precious moments to preserve the feel of the occasion, you must consider investing in a dedicated photography course.
Does the Amy and Jordan photography course deserve your consideration in that case?
I thoroughly tested the course, and here are my thoughts about it.
What Is The Amy And Jordan Photography Course All About?
The Amy and Jordan Photography course is by professional wedding photographers for wedding and portrait photographers. You will learn all about wedding and portrait photography—a very niche form of photography.
People who enroll in the courses can expect to learn about how various lighting conditions affect their camera’s ability to capture good photos and how they can compensate for such situations.
The course doesn’t focus only on photography with professional camera equipment. It also addresses photography with smartphone cameras.
Some aspects of the Amy and Jordan course focus on the misconceptions most photographers have about the relationship between the quality of their camera gear and the quality of the photo output.
Other parts of the course explain the mistakes even advanced photographers make when shooting photos in simple and relatable terms.
The Amy and Jordan course is brought to you by Amy and Jordan. The next part of this review will share some insights about them.
Course Instructors – Amy and Jordan
So who are Amy and Jordan? You are correct if you are guessing from the names that they are a husband and wife team. That’s what they are. What is more, they are professional wedding and portrait photographers.
The couple were once elementary school teachers and had little or no former training in photography. However, they both had a passion for photography and after marriage, they decided to build a photography-based business.
In time, they transformed their passion into a six-figure business, offering their services as photographers for weddings and other kinds of parties and ceremonies.
The couple hit editorial stardom in 2013 when they created an inspirational editorial shoot featured on Grey Likes Baby, a top US publication. The editorial shoot was a big hit as it got to about 15 other US publications, including the Huffington Post.
And in 2015, Rangefinder Online featured Amy and Jordan in its list of top 10 Photography educators.
Amy and Jordan monetize their training by offering their skills to people through paid courses. I spent some time watching their free two-hour webinar on becoming an expert photographer, and I appreciated their very cheerful and interactive vibes. Their approach to the attendees was warm and pleasing throughout the webinar.
Who Is The Course For?
Undoubtedly, we all like to enroll in courses built with us in mind. Or else you will feel like being in the wrong place. And you know that awful feeling when you’ve spent money on the incorrect purchase.
To avoid any adverse outcome, let’s dive further into the course and see who Amy and Jordan had in mind when putting the course together.
Wedding + Portrait Photographers
Wedding and portrait photographers are the most welcome candidates for the Amy and Jordan course.
I have grouped weddings and portraits because they always go together. There is no wedding that doesn’t see the bride and the groom pairing up in some magical portrait.
Of course, the course does have sections that are dedicated to portraits. And that’s because taking close-up portrait photos often demands particular skills that come in handy due to the closer and narrower frames you will be dealing with.
In any case, wedding and portrait photography represents a niche that requires a diverse knowledge base and broad use cases.
Weddings, one of the once-in-a-lifetime events, have plenty of delicate moments that require photography with no mistakes.
Any tint of harsh light or splash of misplaced shadows can draw the viewer’s eyes away from the subjects and ruin the whole picture as the imperfections become the focus.
This quote I found on the Amy and Jordan course website beautifully summarizes the work involved in taking perfect wedding photos: “Your memories should look as good as the moment.”
If you are an aspiring wedding photographer or a portrait one, the Amy and Jordan course will be among your options. Whether or not it’s your best bet will be answered as we progress in this review.
Regular Photographers
You don’t need to be a wedding photographer or an aspiring one to benefit from the Amy and Jordan course.
The most important aspect of the course is that the lessons cover topics that every photographer should master, no matter the scenario.
Elements like lighting, composition, shadows, et cetera can be applied in any situation, even if it is taking pictures of food.
You also don’t need expensive camera gear. You don’t even need a dedicated camera to apply most of the points Amy and Jordan cover in their tutorials. Your smartphone will do.
Although, when it comes to smartphones, you might prefer using an iPhone as that is what the course instructors use if they need to pack a dedicated camera.
It’s optional that you follow up with an iPhone, but you might catch up better since the points covered might be more relatable if you use the device on the course instructors base their training on.
Amy and Jordan Photography Courses
It’s now time to talk about the course content itself. The Amy and Jordan course is not one package you pay for at once. Instead, it consists of three separate courses that are purchased separately.
Let’s explore the courses one at a time:
The Posing Course
Your pose—how you position your body while waiting for the camera to click—can make or ruin your picture even if you are otherwise photogenic. Conversely, how you orient your body in a photo can summon all the beauty in you and bake it into an appealing shot that exudes confidence.
But now, you are the one that is going to direct your client’s pose, which means you’ve got your work cut out for you.
You don’t need to cram all the poses on Pinterest; the posing course promises to give you great ideas on getting your clients in their best posture yet.
The course explains different posing techniques and how to pick the one that works for a particular person.
The insights you will receive will help you dispel awkwardness when posing your clients and take photos that your clients will love.
To elaborate further, the posing course explains the posing techniques for a wide range of people, such as:
- Individuals
- Couples
- Families
- Maternities
- Bride and groom
- Bridal parties
- Little kids
- Teen/senior girl
- Teen /senior boy
The Shooting & Editing Course
Shooting and editing are two sides of the same coin—making a great photo. The shooting and editing course contains expert insights on taking and editing the shot afterward.
Many photographers think that any bad photo can be salvaged with editing, while others place too much emphasis on getting all the elements of the initial shot perfect.
The shooting and editing course will help students balance shooting and editing and not cheat on either side.
The course contains valuable information on the conditions to get right, such as avoiding the wrong type of light, avoiding sun flare on the camera lens, et cetera.
Other aspects of the course will help students learn how to edit their photos fast and avoid spending countless, tedious hours in front of their computer screens.
Inside the shooting and editing course, you will get over 20 hours of video lessons covering the following:
- Lighting
- Manual mode
- Composition
- Depth of field
- Nailing focus
- White balance
- Camera settings
- Culling and,
- Editing
The extras include a 120-page digital student workbook and access to an active Facebook community.
The AJ Business Course
The business course is the module that specializes in helping you to learn how to monetize your skills.
It discusses everything about setting up your photography business, from optimizing your social pages (e.g., Instagram) to building your portfolio website, writing blogs, et cetera.
The course also discusses setting up your rates and honing your skills to attract more charges and still get happily paying clients.
Below is a summary of everything that is packed into the AJ business course:
- Branding and Website
- Social media strategy
- Blogging
- How to win with people
- Getting business legit
- Pricing
- Client experience
- Productivity and Profitability
In short, the course aims to answer all the questions and ease beginner photographers’ anxieties about setting up their businesses.
What We Like About The AJ Photography Course (Pros)
While going through the Amy and Jordan photography course, I immediately noticed that the delivery style emphasizes relationship-building with your customers.
You can see it from the warmth in the couple’s manner of teaching. They are full of smiles and laughter and make you feel like you are more than just a customer.
As such, the business course is beneficial if you want to build your business centered around your customer’s needs and show that you care about the money and them. If you make your clients feel at home, they will want to return and refer others.
That aside, here are other positive things that stood out to me in the course:
Free Content Provided
While it’s great for a course platform to have top-notch content for the price, it wouldn’t benefit you if you can’t pay for the course immediately.
At the same time, being treated to some free content allows you to get a sample of what the paid training will look like.
Thankfully, the AJ course platform meets that criterion. The instructors give a generous amount of content for free in the form of a free 2-hour webinar. You can always request a replay after the main webinar is finished.
Another free provision is their daily email which you can sign up for to get tips on wedding and portrait photography straight to your inbox.
Community
This provision is available only to paid subscribers. Nevertheless, only some paid courses have that provision.
The Facebook-based community allows you to connect with thousands of other students worldwide.
Through the community, you can submit your photo samples and get feedback on it from others.
Comprehensive Training
All of the AJ photography courses pack a lot of field-tested insights. The course videos are fluff-free and will change how you approach photography, regardless of type.
Each course will open your eyes to photography flaws you may have seen before without noticing. Amy and Jordan also take their time to talk about the mistakes they made along the line in their photography journey and how they learned from them.
And, I should mention in passing, beyond the courses, Amy and Jordan also share details about some of the things they use in their business and personal lives, from favorite camera gear to website templates to…wait for it, even children’s books!
Lifetime Access
The best part of the Amy and Jordan photography courses is no recurring billing. Instead, you pay once and forget about it. This is an excellent option for when you need something you can always refer to occasionally.
What We Dislike About The AJ Photography Course (Cons)
The Amy and Jordan photography course deserves a lot of praise for being well crafted and excellently delivered, but if there’s one thing to complain about, it’s the pricing.
At nearly $600, you could spend a reasonable portion of your monthly income paying for the course. At this price point and given the fact that there is no guarantee of future updates to the course, I recommend looking at a cheaper alternative.
How Much Do The Photography Courses Cost (Price)?
Now, let’s get down to the pricing scheme. By the way, all courses have a 30-day money-back guarantee which means you can quickly back out if unsatisfied with the content.
Except for the AJ business course—which I guess is a custom pricing plan as you have to join a waitlist first—each course carries a price tag of $597.
That means the posing course costs $597, and the shooting and editing course also costs the same price.
Reviews from Students
The AJ photography course has attracted positive student reviews on its website and third-party sites. For instance, here’s a comment by one Redditor:
The same person also commented positively about the shooting, editing, and business courses.
Reviews from others who enjoyed Amy and Jordan in person at their weddings also commented favorably about the enthusiastic and caring nature of the couple.
Is It Worth Paying For?
If the high pricing won’t hurt you and you are serious about portrait or wedding photography, go ahead.
You won’t regret your experience with any of the courses, but the most important ones are the shooting and editing combo and the AJ business course.
You can only do with the posing course if you have difficulty getting your subjects into the right pose.
The shooting and editing course will help you fine-tune your shots, while the business course will show you how to monetize your skills.
