Be Seen. Be transformed.
When it comes to sight, there is before Foundation and after Foundation.
If you want to push yourself further as an artist, a photographer, a person, choose in to Foundation and change your life.
RAISE YOUR HAND IF THIS IS YOU…
→ Your clients love your work. Your friends and family sing your praises. Your mom RAVES about you to everyone she knows. But you toss and turn at night, wondering when you’ll start making work that lights YOU up.
→ You’re already busy living life, connecting with clients, and shooting hard. But in all of that chaos, growth isn’t coming. You feel stagnant and stuck.
→ You want to produce work with more punch, more impact, more “wow” but you’re shooting in service of others all of the time. You can’t remember the last time you created for you.
WHAT IF THERE is ANOTHER WAY?
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McKenzie Ring | FW11 | 2013
“FOUNDATION OPENED UP A PART OF MY BRAIN AND HEART I DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO CONNECT WITH My SHUTTER BUTTON.”
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GAIN
CONFIDENCE
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LEAN INTO
YOUR VISION
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CHANGE
Your life
FORGET OVERStuffed SHOOTING BAYS – This is not your average PHOTOGRAPHY workshop.
HOW DOES THIS SOUND?
→ DAYS of in-the-field, one-on-one shooting feedback from some of the best documentary photographers in the family, wedding, and photojournalism industries. They pour into you, get inside your head, and learn how YOU see.
→ Real, honest, authentic critiques of the work you’re producing with tangible, actionable advice on how you can create better images. You’re not here to learn a new gimmick and go home. You’re here to come face-to-face with yourself as an artist, a visionary, and a human.
→ No other workshop for documentary family and wedding photographers offers the in-depth, unfiltered access to experts in the field that Foundation does. And they’re centered on you. There’s no hiding here – they’ll see your good, bad, and just plain ugly.
→ Showing up and allowing yourself to be seen authentically can be terrifying, but it will REVOLUTIONIZE your life, your work, and your point of view. Are you ready to grow?
ALL IT TAKES IS 10 SECONDS OF COURAGE
Behind The Scenes
What will I find at Foundation?
Love
Connection
Growth
WE CAN’T MAKE THIS STUFF UP
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"So many said, 'They tear you down to lift you up' but that didn't turn out to be my experience. Maybe because I CAME hoping for someone to point out as many shortcomings as they could find – for someone to be hard on me, it didn't feel like being torn down. Just like someone was helping me fill in gaps I couldn't see myself. It was fantastic."
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"I wanted to be challenged to the point where I would unlearn a lot of my bad habits. I wanted an honest evaluation of my abilities. My preconceptions were exceeded as I never thought I'd be so inspired and encouraged as well as humbled."
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"I expected it to be hard work, exciting, and emotional. I was still skeptical that I could emerge feeling like I had any sort of transformation. What . . . Everything I heard was absolutely true. I am amazed at what I learned about myself as a photographer and a person."
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"I wanted a challenge. I am tired of BS workshops that don't really teach much . . . I didn't know if I was ready but I didn't care because I wanted to be stretched beyond my limits. I don't know if what I expected was what I got, but what I got was what I needed."
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"My most important learning will be the one of hard work and intensity. Making one more picture is not working hard. Working until you get the picture, in whatever circumstances, using your brain and knowledge, and regardless of how you feel and how tired you are. That is working."
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"Foundation is a workshop that can’t be described, it has to be felt. Memories from this week and the friendships I’ve formed with the Foundation family will stay with me for the rest of my life."
Upcoming Workshops
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Upcoming Workshops 〰️
FW2026
Our flagship documentary photography training ground. It is intense. It will test you. It will make you see better.
FOundation first
The lighter side of Foundation. Get a taste of the flagship course, have fun, and learn to start seeing with your heart. (Coming soon)
Photography Coaching
Want to work one-on-one with Foundation to deepen your storytelling skills? We offer virtual one-on-one coaching.
Find your passion
"Foundation taught me patience, calculated movements, clarity, and a new profound passion for documenting in any environment through my lens."
@photos_byannette
Failure is self care
"I learned to love taking shitty photos….it’s all part of the process. The joy of trying something different not knowing the result and allowing myself to ‘fail’."
@letmetellyourstorynl
Meet The Director
TYLer Wirken
Tyler Wirken is an award-winning documentary photographer in Kansas City, Chicago, and St. Louis. His reputation has been created from his unique unposed and real life approach to photography.
Running a wedding, portrait, and commercial photography business for more than 2 decades – during which he was voted among the Top 10 Wedding Photographers by American Photo Magazine – he has been teaching the pure documentary approach to wedding and family photography since 2005 when he started teaching Foundation Workshop. He has since taught at workshops and conferences worldwide including a series on Documentary Wedding Day Coverage on Creative Live.
Tyler was a student at the second Foundation Workshop in 2004. He now directs Foundation with his wife Pam after Fearless Photographers creator and FW founder Huy Nguyen retired from running the workshop in 2018.
QUESTIONS + ANSWERS
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You’ll only need the basic digital equipment : two digital bodies, a wide lens, a medium lens, a long lens, flash, and memory cards. You’ll be shooting JPGs to ease with the editing process. Additionally, students should bring a laptop.
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The workshop is very intense, full of challenges and interesting people. Fueled by their passion for photography, many participants find it difficult to rest when immersed in such an environment.
However, since the workshop was expanded to 5 days students are able to get additional rest.
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No. Photoshop is only a tool to process the images from your story. We will focus our time at the workshop exclusively on the processes of seeing and capturing those images, not on post-production methods.
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Outside of the closing ceremony and celebration dinner? Not really. Photography is fun!
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No. It is very important that all students be able to be present the entire time. This ensures students experience the proper learning process from start to finish.
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Yes. Students are required to stay at the host hotel in efforts to produce a strong workshop community as well as for safety reasons. We prefer students not be driving late at night after team critiques.
Stay Connected
Follow Along @foundationworkshops
