About Us

It has been said that those who can, do, and those who can’t, teach. This is hardly the case of Dean Collins, who instructed photographers worldwide for over 20 years. In that time, he not only was a working photographer, but also influenced the way an entire generation saw its profession. With a combination of wit and the ability to reduce complicated concepts to workable solutions, he was the Dean of photographic instruction.Collins was a brilliant educator who became one of the most celebrated teachers of photographic lighting and camera technique. He began lecturing in his early twenties after beginning his career at Dunlap-Tierney Studios in the Los Angeles area, subsequently spending several years in Europe working with advanced commercial photographic studios. His audiences were treated to sophisticated multimedia presentations that predated the revolution in digital imaging by more than two decades. His uncanny way with words and his precise analogies entertained many thousands of photographers and designers for almost three decades. He was very effective in his ability to simplify complex thoughts for anyone to understand.

In the early 1980s he founded Finelight Publishing with partner Gary Burns and refined the publishing of photo lighting materials over the years, while conducting seven world tours. He was in demand as a speaker on every continent, and was often called upon to photograph heads of state, many of the world’s best athletes as well as some of the most famous entertainers known. He developed several easily understood methods of controlling light and understanding its behavior, single handedly raising the level of competency and quality among a generation of professional photographers. The lighting in his photographs captured the attention of many. He produced many hundreds of virtual seminars and live “Training Camps”, as he called them, bringing together the brightest teachers, the biggest brand names in photography, and enthusiastic crowds of practitioners in the U.S., Europe and Asia. In 1990 Collins began experimenting with electronic imaging, culminating in a very close association with Adobe Systems for over ten years. Today, Software Cinema produces a comprehensive collection of Photoshop and Design training resources.

His longtime association with the Professional Photographers of America organization culminated recently in the bestowal of the prestigious ASP Award for Lifetime Achievement. Also, previously he was awarded an honorary degree from Brooks institute by Ernie Brooks.

Dean Collins battled cancer for 3 years and passed away at his home in San Diego on February 2, 2005. He was 51 years old. He will be greatly missed by our team.