Your smartphone is always with you—so why not make the most of its camera? In this fun, hands-on workshop, photographer and educator Andrea Rees will show you how to elevate your smartphone photography with practical techniques and creative insights.
Perfect for casual photographers and enthusiasts alike, this interactive session combines expert tips, visual examples, and guided practice. You’ll gain the confidence to create images that look as good on the wall as they do on your feed.
Work with your own smartphone camera and learn how to use natural light and composition techniques to get sharp, clear photos. Rees will share portrait photography tips, creative smartphone photography methods and strategies for how to work around your phone’s limitations.
Drawing inspiration from the photographs of exhibiting artist Jeff Wall, this hands-on workshop invites you to put new skills into practice before refining them with phone-based editing. You’ll leave with new skills—and three printed images to take home.
Registration is required for this programme. Bring your own smartphone.
About the Instructor
Andrea Rees is a Toronto-based portrait photographer known for her natural, artistic, and emotionally resonant imagery. Since launching her photography career in 2003, her work has been featured in media outlets such as CBC, W Network, Splice TV, Shutterbug, and Marie Claire Brazil.
In addition to her portrait work, Rees is a passionate smartphone photography educator. She champions the smartphone as a powerful and accessible tool for photographic expression and visual storytelling. Rees is the founder of The Heart of a Woman Project (THOAW), a mobile photography school. From 2013 to 2019, she led a collaboration with a nonprofit community-based arts and education centre in Khayelitsha, South Africa. There, she taught photography using donated iPhones to women artists, so they could promote their work and the community centre. Sales of postcards featuring their smartphone photography provided a valuable source of income for both the artists and the centre.
Recognized for her innovation and leadership, Rees was named one of Travel Massive’s Top 100 Women Founders in 2020. With over 20 years of experience in image curation and editing, she has served as a photography judge and curated the Strong Women of Cape Town exhibition in partnership with L’Oréal Germany for a group of international journalists.
March Community Weekend Schedule
Friday, March 6
5–9 pm: Free Friday Night
Saturday, March 7
12 pm and 2 pm: Drop-in Tour
1–4 pm: Smartphone Photography Workshop with Andrea Rees*
*There is a $60 fee per person. General Admission to the museum is included. MOCA Members at the Enthusiast level and above are eligible for workshop discounts.
Sunday, March 8
10 am–5 pm: Free Museum Admission
10 am–3 pm: TD Community Sunday Workshop
