An ingenious idea to increase a city’s social media presence is making an educational impact in Peachtree Corners. The relatively new town, incorporated seven years ago, has been offering free photography classes to its residents and business owners as a way to bolster its online image.
The idea came from City Manager Brian Johnson, who called on a former advertising colleague, Jim Stone, to lead the effort. Stone, based in Madison, now heads a film production company and has a hefty resume of film and photo credits.
“We had worked with Brian before to successfully rebrand a city by focusing on long-form video and social media content,” said Stone. “But when he moved to Peachtree Corners, he was looking for something different.”
One thing was clear: The city was almost invisible online. “So we pitched the idea of making Peachtree Corners the most social media-savvy city,” said Stone.
With a limited budget to do so, the idea of getting residents to participate inspired the city to offer free photography and social media classes.
“Peachtree Corners has a very friendly, small town vibe we wanted to tap into it, so we created a YouTube channel and a couple of Instagram accounts,” said Stone. “Then we asked people who were proud of their photography to put it out there.”
To encourage residents to contribute that good photography, Stone has been leading free, hands-on classes for more than a year. On Thursdays and some Saturdays, attendees ranging in age from middle-schoolers to senior citizens have been learning how their cameras work, the complexities of videography, photoshop techniques, lighting, headshots and more.
Most of the three-hour sessions average about 25 participants, but a few months ago, a class just for women drew 108.
“We have a very passionate core group that attends regularly,” said Stone. “A lot of times we’re there for longer than the set time, just answering questions.”
Real estate agent Kim Sidey started attending the classes to help with her business, and she took her 16-year-old son, Weston, along.
“He’s also interested in photography, so we thought we’d check it out,” she said. “It was right here near home, and it was free and open to all ages. We had no expectations, but about halfway through the first class, we were amazed that they were offering so much great information for free.”
Among the take-aways for the two were how to adjust shutter speeds, maximize lighting and set up shoots. Sidey’s son turned his newly acquired skills into a full-time summer job with a summer camp where he’s photographing and filming weekly camp activities.
“It’s a great opportunity for him, and I don’t think he would have had the skills set or even the confidence if he hadn’t gone through these classes,” said Sidey. “It opened his mind up that he could start doing this now. I’ve been telling people in my office about this, and they can’t believe it’s being offered for free.”
For more info, visit peachtreecornersga.gov/residents/community-resources/photography-classes#ad-image-1.
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Each week we look at programs, projects and successful endeavors at area schools, from pre-K to grad school. To suggest a story, contact H.M. Cauley at hm_cauley@yahoo.com or 770-744-3042.
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