Video, photography, content-creation course puts focus on quality

It’s been more than a decade since Jeff Gordon made his living giving drum lessons, but he often thinks about that time in his life and how he connected with students.

Gordon operates JAG Videos and Photography, a Winnipeg production company specializing in commercial and corporate videos and professional headshots.

He’s long wanted to teach the subject to others, he said. He likes talking about the things he’s passionate about and sharing his knowledge.

“I did have it in the back of my mind — ‘I don’t know how or when exactly, but I would love to somehow teach this stuff,’” Gordon said.

In January, the 41-year-old launched a video, photography and content-creation course for youth and adults 16 and up. Three cohorts have taken the course, which Gordon teaches primarily in the professional studio behind his River Heights home.

Gordon wrote the 16-chapter curriculum based on his experience and on what is currently happening in the industry, so students learn the skills that matter now, he said.

Students learn how to use cameras properly, how to light people and scenes, and how to edit their work so they can create professional-quality photos and videos. They also receive instruction on how to create content for social media.

“It’s (the course) I would have loved to have taken when I was first starting,” Gordon said.

Gordon began experimenting with video production more than 20 years ago. At the time, he was playing drums in Driver, a radio-friendly rock band, and creating videos the band could use for online promotion.

Soon, friends began hiring Gordon to film and edit videos for their bands. When Driver’s career fizzled, he turned to teaching drum lessons full time. He started JAG in 2014, and stopped teaching the drums the following year.

Today, Gordon works with a range of clients creating branded content, corporate videos and TV-ready productions. Alongside video production, he does headshot photography for professions across industries such as real estate, law and the arts.

The entrepreneur quickly sold out his first video, photography and content-creation course after he started advertising it on social media in late 2024.

More than 40 people have completed the course this year, including employees from local businesses who are being trained to handle in-house content creation.

Sandeep Kumar, marketing lead at HUB Technology Solutions, said the IT company paid for two employees to take Gordon’s course.

“We always wanted our content to look better and we wanted to make sure we were taking quality pictures,” Kumar said. “Jeff has the right amount of knowledge and he’s straightforward and honest.”

For Pat Hirst, taking the course was an opportunity to improve video and photography skills she uses in her personal life and in her professional work as a leadership development consultant.

“A picture is worth 1,000 words and a video is worth a million. I really like how people are attracted to — and can relate to — photographs and video, and that’s what attracted me to Jeff’s course,” she said.

Digital media has become essential in almost every industry, Gordon said.

A TikTok report released in June found more than 600,000 Canadian small- and medium-sized businesses use the online video platform to promote their products.

“If you’re running a business, really any sort of video content is everything,” Gordon said.

He added he has plans to expand JAG’s educational offerings if the course continues to do well. He’s also working on a recorded, online version.

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca