Mark is a professional landscape photographer and has been running residential and 1-2-1 workshops, as well as courses on post-production, since 2006. His teaching could be described as relaxed and methodical and every participant is made to feel at ease in order for them to learn as much from a workshop as possible. Mark also teaches workshops alongside other professional landscape photographers, too.

Please take a look at some of the testimonials provided by previous workshop participants - none of which have been solicited but sent post-workshop within thank you emails. Surnames have been shortened for privacy reasons.

All workshops currently available can be found on Mark's Workshop Page here.

Joe Cornish - professional landscape photographer.

“Mark Banks is quite simply one of the best teachers of photography I have ever met. His secret is an apparently endless supply of patience, and an acute analytical approach to developing systematic problem-solving tactics in photography, which he makes effortless and fun to learn, whether in the field or in the editing suite. Mark’s artistry, empathy, kindness and charm mean he is always a joy to work with or to be taught by.”

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Chris E - UK (Valencia Workshop)

Can I just say how much I enjoyed my recent trip to Valencia and that is down to all the work you both put in. I have never really been an abstract image photographer but I really enjoyed the session you did on the last day. I can’t wait to try your mobile phone technique next time I am in forests / woods. When I think back to where I was 3 years ago when we first met, I find it hard to believe how far I have progressed. My friends are even asking me if I am going to sell any of my photographs!

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Ken B - UK (Black & White Picture2Print Workshop)

Thank you again for a workshop that did exactly what it said on the tin. I devoured the contents eagerly and was most satisfied that it achieved for me what I was hoping to get from the workshop. I will show off my new, as yet, small but beautifully formed A3 portfolio and spread the word.

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Alison T - UK (Macro2Print workshop - copied from Mark's Facebook page post)

I can honestly say that this workshop has been one of the best I have ever attended, and it had a hard act to follow at least two of the previous five I’ve enjoyed led by Mark (Whitby & Harris & Lewis). His attention to detail with compiling and delivering such a uniquely creative week has been faultless. Mark’s patience is endless, his explanations are logical and his genuine love for creating beautiful images shines through in everything he shares. Ably supported by his wife Gillian who has gone the extra mile with preparing fabulous food both at home and on location following pre dawn shoots. What more can I say. If you are a creative photographer then this workshop is for you! Thank you Mark and Gillian. ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Phillipa C - UK (Macro2Print workshop - copied from Mark's Facebook page post)

As a participant on this week’s course, I’ve had an absolute blast - awesome locations, tuition, food (including v nice gin) and company - I had high expectations and they were exceeded and I’m so thrilled with the prints I’m taking home and all the other images I still need to process. Thank you Mark.

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Brian E - UK (Hidden Yorkshire workshop)

Hi Mark,
Thank you for a wonderful and interesting weekend on the Hidden Yorkshire workshop. The calm and patient way that you explained things that was being asked of you and the way you spent time with us individually helped to cement the knowledge that you were imparting. I thought that I knew North Yorkshire pretty well with the times that I have spent there hiking but you managed to find picturesque areas that in most cases I had never heard of. I learnt many new techniques that I will be using in the future including the apps on my phone. I think that it will take quite a while to process the many good images that I have and the couple that I have looked at didn't need much processing.

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Jane M - UK (Printing Masterclass with Mark Banks & Sylvia Slavin)

Hi Mark,
I always seem to return from a workshop with you on a high! What a rich learning experience we had last week thanks to you and Sylvia. I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity and absolutely loved every minute of it.

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Phil D - UK (Printing Masterclass with Mark Banks & Sylvia Slavin)

Many thanks for the workshop which I really enjoyed, it was a great balance between making composition, editing, printing them and taking home a lovely set of images. I do like your teaching style!

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Paul T - UK

Just a quick line to say thank you for your time on Holy Island on Thursday. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and found it very productive, and it went far too quickly. As I told the group in the morning, I didn’t have any experience in Abstract photography before Thursday but now I feel I’ve found a new genre to photograph.

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Kate S - UK

Thank you for all your hard work and effort you put into the Lake District trip. It was just fantastic with great locations, explorations and discovering new places, as well as being really good fun and highly educational. It is a long time since I have learned so much on location. Brilliantly organised and delivered, and the hotel was fantastic.

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Lyn F - UK

I just wanted to say a big "thank you” for the wonderful Lightroom fine art printing tutorials you’ve provided for us RPS members over the past three days. I have to say that it’s one of the best workshops I’ve ever attended and I’ve learned so much. Before the course started I printed 5 black and white landscape images which were, I thought, pretty ok. I’ve now been through them all again, soft proofed and reprinted and I have to say the difference in the results of each is amazing. So, many thanks for sharing all your knowledge and experience with us, and if you do decide to run a fine art processing workshop in the future I’d love to be considered for a place on it.

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Martin S - UK

I know that your teaching skills are becoming somewhat legendary and quite rightly so - I fully endorse this. Your passion for your subject together with your patience and your very personal methods of explanation, have given me the confidence to ask questions which might appear to be naive on the face of it. This has provided me with answers which have proved a great benefit to me and for this I particularly thank you. Your advice on basic elements such as composition, exposure, depth of field etc., have produced a noticeable improvement in the images which I am now capturing, while some slightly more advanced issues which you have raised such as Bracketing, have quite simply been a revelation to me. Therefore, not only do I feel much more inspired photographically speaking, but I have the motivation and aspiration, to achieve further improvement going forward.

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Angus T - UK (Online Lightroom Fine Art processing)

This has been a fascinating and revelatory week in my continuing journey with Lightroom. I particularly appreciated your emphasis on subtlety and making edits that help and guide the viewer to understand what I am trying to say with a particular image – and not to overdo things. I thought your approach chimed closely with the photographic outcomes I am trying to achieve.

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James L - UK (Online Printing Sessions)

Hi Mark, Just a quick note to say a major thank you for the printing course last week. Really so helpful and already paying dividends. This pano printed out first time 😀. I’m sure there will be times when things don’t go quite so well (all part of the learning process) but on this basis I’ll save a small fortune in wasted paper and ink. It really has and will make a huge difference to my printing.

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Jane M - UK (Online Printing Sessions)

Hi Mark, Thanks so much for running such a detailed and informative printing workshop. I really enjoyed it and can’t emphasise enough how helpful that has been. I feel much more enthusiastic about printing and confident I’ll be able to rectify any mistakes I may be making.

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Trevor W - UK (Online Printing Sessions)

Hi Mark, Just a quick note to say how much I enjoyed your printing from Lightroom course these last few days. It was simply brilliant. To be able to talk without notes for long periods, fielding questions on the go, is a real art …and you have it. I used to think that soft proofing was one of those dark arts, the domain of geeks and nerds…. I now know differently and look forward to getting my prints to an acceptable standard straight off, and not wasting paper on tweaked reprints.

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Fiona M - UK

I just wanted to say thank you for a great workshop in Glencoe, despite the weather! You are an excellent workshop leader with a high degree of professionalism, a methodical approach to landscape photography and the ability to adapt your teaching to your clients and the weather.
I learnt so much on the week including how to use manual mode on my camera, the difference sympathetic post-processing makes to an image and that I can actually go out in appalling weather and enjoy it (and hopefully also get some good images)!
I hope to see you for another workshop or for Lightroom tuition in the not too distant future.

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Juliette S - UK

I just wanted to thank you so much for today. I thoroughly enjoyed having the chance to learn from you on a one to one basis, very spoiling but so worth it. I am so happy with my shots and thank you for being incredibly patient and for carrying and helping with my tripod.

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Geoff K - UK

Thank you so much for such an inspirational day yesterday and for all your patience! I love my prints, thank you! I felt as though I achieved what I had set out to do and learn the principles of printing and look forward to giving things a go myself.

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Anne W - UK

Hi Mark, Just a note to thank you again for such a wonderful week in so many respects. I so enjoyed the locations and the photography. Lots to process and think about again and some new exciting things to try. Your tuition and attention to detail is much appreciated and I always feel inspired again to get out with my camera. See you before too long in Yorkshire.

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Andrew J - UK

This is just a quick note to say thank you, once again, for the workshop in Gairloch.
Not only did I really enjoy myself in the company of Anne, Nigel and yourself but I have learnt so much, not just by being out in the field under your superb guidance but also what you have introduced me to in post-processing techniques. I can't wait to get back into Lightroom and try some of that blending and subsequent editing for myself!
Yes, I know I will be challenged but I am now emboldened, a direct result of your first class teaching. I will be doing my dam-nest to succeed in building on what you have taught me over this past week and this has encouraged me to move forward in my photography.

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David M - UK

...it was such an inspiring week - so much to learn and so many tools you provided to learn them. You are an excellent photographic educator - and thanks for all the notes too. You also kept us very safe, well fed and watered which is always a feat in itself. I do hope our paths cross in the future and thank you again for a great week.

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Jen F - Australia

...I had such a wonderful day with you. Learnt so many new things. I think the most profound was portrait landscapes. I used my learnings yesterday whilst out and about. I have some beautiful photos which can be printed. North Yorkshire is so beautiful!

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Nicky R - UK

Hi Mark,
Just to say thanks very much for the two days last weekend. I really appreciated your input & came away with some great suggestions which I can put into practice & hopefully improve my photography!

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David B - UK

Hi Mark,
I write to thank you for an exceptional day of tuition last Wednesday, both myself and Andrew learnt so much and we enthused about the day all the way home. Quite honestly, it felt like we had been given the keys to Pandora’s box or that you had helped us discover treasured secrets behind the photographic curtain, in other words we are privileged to have been taught by you.

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Leigh F - UK

Hi Mark,
I just wanted to drop you a quick note to thank you for the excellent workshop day, yesterday.
Despite the weather in the morning, I learned a great deal from you and enjoyed the day immensely.
You gave me a lot to think about, and your support during the day was most welcome and helpful - I will definitely try to slow down in the future.

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Juliette S - UK

A quick email to thank you so much for the most amazing day yesterday.  Obviously the location was stunning but more importantly, your tuition was wonderful.  From the classroom chat to your tuition at the arboretum to the after-course notes - I came away buzzing and so happy to have picked up so many new tips.

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Carol C - UK

Mark not only has an extensive knowledge of photography and Lightroom and a keen eye for making a good picture, but he also has the essential skill of all good trainers - the ability to match himself to his client and their way of working and learning. He has combed out the tangles of my (self-taught) Lightroom set-up, shown me how to use the tools properly and effectively, and got me excited about making the most of my pictures. I wish I had known about his tutorials when I first started out!

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Steve B - UK

“Mark was strongly recommended to me as someone who could help me in developing my post-processing skills, in particular, my knowledge and use of Lightroom in cataloguing, processing and printing my landscape images. I worked with Mark through a one-day one-to-one session and found him to be an excellent teacher and coach with a detailed and extensive knowledge of Lightroom and its potential capability. We worked through a tried and tested process flow from downloading an image all the way through to final printing. His practical advice and guidance, together with his patient and supportive approach, has been incredibly valuable to me and I would strongly recommend him if you are looking for some support in developing your photographic skills and knowledge”.

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Chris S - UK

Hi Mark, I Just thought I would drop you a note about a meeting I was at recently. It was a group of photographers just out for a days photo shoot. Over coffee afterwards, the subject of courses came up and what we all thought about them. About 80% of us had been on a course at some time and quite a few had been on courses which either you ran personally or in conjunction with somebody else. You were universally praised for your professionalism, humour and teaching ability. in particular that you modified your approach to the equipment your students had in order to get the best out of it and not criticise the tools they possessed. 
So many times people are quick to criticise and slow to praise so I thought I would let you know some extremely positive feedback. Keep it up and I hope to take another of your courses in the future.

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Phil D - UK

I have been on an excellent photography workshop in Torridon which was run by Mark Banks.  I was very impressed with his knowledge of the area and the locations that we photographed to reflect the climatic conditions, which ranged from woods, beeches, vistas and waterfalls.  I personally feel that Mark’s approach was spot on and I learnt a very effective standardised workflow for camera set-up, which allowed me to concentrate on the compositional elements of photography.  Mark proactively worked with me on the composition and showed me a number of approaches and practical examples.  What I feel was particularly impressive is that his approach is based on teaching techniques so you can further develop your photography skills after the workshop in a number of different environments from woods to big vistas.

I also learnt a great deal from Mark on developing my images in Lightroom, his approach is to sympathetically develop the images taken to reflect the mood and the conditions when they were taken, this has really improved my photo editing technique and skills.

I have no hesitation in recommending Mark’s workshops to anyone who has an interest in photography and I’m looking forward to attending my next workshop with him.

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Julie W - UK

I had an excellent day with Mark. I found the balance between theory and practice perfect for me. I feel that I have had my eyes opened to new approaches to help me to take my photography onto the next level. Mark has a great style combining wisdom and a pleasant friendly approach which also added to a really enjoyable day. I am looking forward to working with Mark again.

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Martin T - UK

Hi Mark, thanks for giving us an excellent filters workshop - I learned a lot.

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Richard F - Massachusetts, USA

He [Mark Banks] is one of the best educators I have ever worked with, regardless of discipline…I will come back in a heartbeat, to take other workshops at the gallery that Mr Banks is conducting.

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Nick F - UK

I just wanted to thank you once again for the Robin Hood’s Bay course last week. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but more than that I left with a far greater confidence in my compositional abilities, and a decent basic knowledge of Lightroom. The location, accommodation and organisation were first rate and your maxim of always considering the composition and only later considering whether you could pull it off resounded.