I was lucky enough to start my photography education seven years ago by spending a week with Jay Maisel in NYC. An amazing experience and helped me immensely in understanding not only how to shoot but also what makes a great photo: Light, Color and Gesture.
Pro tip: Here is light was poor so we moved around in the house until we found a spot under the ceiling sunlight. ISO needed to be 3200 so the colors were pretty washed out. But the gesture was super! Just a reminder that gesture trumps all in photography.