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The One and ONLY Trade School of Landscape Lighting
captainmatt@directlol.com
HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT...
The Most Requested Landscape Lighting Training of the Year!
Live in person training with all 3 Lighting Amigos from the Lighting Trade School Podcast!
February 25th, 26th, & 27th 2026
Nate 'The Illuminator' Mullen | Captain Matt | Shane 'Glow Daddy' Duffy
The
LIGHTING TRADE SCHOOL
It's shameful that there is no core competent body that not only unifies, but trains in a high-level capacity. It all starts with the basic understanding of how a light reacts to what it is illuminating, because of this lack of understanding most lighting process are flawed from the start. This is where the Lighting Trade School comes in, our school adheres to all the standard regulations and codes put in place by L.I.T.E.
The 7 Deadly Sins
That Will Kill Any Landscape Lighting Job! FREE DOWNLOAD
You have heard our podcasts going over the 7 Deadly Sins of landscape lighting. Download your FREE PDF today to learn and include it on every one of your proposals or leave behinds for your clients.
The Illuminati Lounge Club
Unlock unparalleled access to top industry experts and invaluable resources with the Illuminati Lounge Club. Join a community dedicated to elevating your skills, growing your business, and mastering the art of outdoor lighting. For ONLY $47 a month.
LEARN FROM THE INDUSTRIES BEST
Current Courses & Offerings
Virtual Design Course
Online 5 Week Course
Learn the art of landscape lighting design virtually, right from your home or office. Perfect for business owners and staff looking to create stunning, next-level designs that will wow clients and set your services apart.
Virtual Installation Course
Online 4 Week Course
Gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence to tackle even the most challenging installations – all from the comfort of your home or office. Ideal for owners and staff ready to elevate their expertise and deliver top-tier results.
LIVE In Person Trainings
Live In person
Fully immersive training where you walk real jobs, demo with industry legends, and install actual fixtures. Perfect for owners and staff ready to move beyond theory and take their skills to the next level with real, practical application.
Hometown Visit Trainings
5 days at your location.
For the truly dedicated – bring your skills and team to the next level with hands-on training in your hometown, on your actual jobs. Work alongside industry legends as they demo and install directly with your crew for real-world mastery.
Lighting Trade School Reviews:
Meet Our Leadership Team:
NATE "THE ILLUMINATOR" MULLEN
With 34 years of full-time experience in the outdoor lighting industry, Nate Mullen isn’t just part of the game – he helped create it.
Tens of thousands of fixtures installed – his work lights up landscapes across the country. And received the Life Time Achievement Award from the AOLP.
Founder of:
- Unique Lighting Systems
- Lifetime Lighting Systems
- IAALL (International Association of Architectural Landscape Lighting)
- LITE (Lighting Innovation and Technical Education)
Nearly 50 patents – including innovations that revolutionized the industry:
Inventor of the Multi-Tap Lighting Transformer
Creator of the Hub Wiring Method
Author of the must-read books:
The Landscape Lighting Bible
The Landscape Lighting Resource Manual
When you join, you’re not just learning from the best – you’re learning from the legend who wrote the book on landscape lighting.
SHANE DUFFY
Shane’s entrepreneurial spirit has driven him to start, buy, and sell multiple businesses over the past two decades. At 31, he stepped into the home service industry, where he has been making waves for the last 10 years.
Founder of:
- Glass Geeks – Exterior Detailing (2015)
- Glo Geeks San Antonio (2019)
- Glo Geeks (Nationwide) (2023)
Accreditations:
- Level 11 Certified by IAALL (International Association of Landscape Lighting)
- Certified Visual Artist by IAALL
- IAALL Board Member
- Cofounder of The Lighting Trade School
- 7 Figure Real Estate Investor
- Voted Best in Outdoor Lighting – By his wife.
Shane’s drive and expertise make him not just a leader but a mentor for those ready to take their lighting skills and business to the next level.
CAPTAIN MATT
For over a decade, Captain Matt has been illuminating homes across New York’s Capital Region – and now, he's lighting the way for others in the outdoor lighting industry through The Lighting Trade School.
Founder of:
- The Christmas Guys (2009)
- Barefoot Lighting (2020)
- Captain Matt Outdoors (2023)
Accolades and Certifications:
- Level 11 Certified by IAALL (International Association of Landscape Lighting)
- Certified Visual Artist by IAALL
- IAALL Board Member
- Lighting Millionaire Club Member
- Cofounder of The Lighting Trade School
- Voted Best in Outdoor Lighting (2022 & 2023) – Capital Region, NY
Captain Matt doesn’t just teach lighting – he lives it. Whether you're new to the industry or looking to level up, his expertise and passion for outdoor lighting will guide you to success.
Allow our 30+ years of experience help you…
Demo
Real lights, in real locations is what we say! Learn to effectively demonstrate the impact of lighting on a home without requiring a commitment from the homeowner. There are numerous compelling reasons why we prioritize teaching the demo as its the quickest way to transform your sales. We will equip you with the skills to leverage the demo as your primary sales tool.
Design Strategies
An introduction to design concepts that are guaranteed to set you apart from any competitors. Understanding the lighting objectives simplifies the visualization of design concepts. An educated and informed client is empowered to make wise decisions. Without a fundamental grasp of the concept of a living lighting portrait, one may inadvertently restrict the clients options.
Install
Gain insights into various aspects of lighting installation. Topics covered include on-site demonstrations, optimizing your ordering process for efficiency, selecting appropriate wiring methods, understanding the impact of connections on system reliability, troubleshooting techniques to minimize downtime and expenses, and installing systems with scalability to accommodate future expansions. These are just a few examples of the critical tips and tricks you will acquire throughout the program.
More Lighting Trade School Reviews
Design Strategies
Strategically placed light fixtures will guide people through your property safely. Without light people run the risk of bodily harm such as...
Advanced Seminar Topics
NEC Codes Understand The AMP Probe Activities Critical 4: Primary Amps, Secondary Amps, Primary Voltage, and Secondary Voltage…
What Is a VisionScape?
Challenges in business are a given, but it’s our response to them that defines our trajectory. Looking beyond…
Get To Know Lighting Trade School Better
We're industry leaders in person and online.
You love the lighting game
But have no clue how to grow?
Does This Sound Like You?
It can feel like everyone and their cousins are starting lighting businesses. You feel late to the game, you feel like there is so much competition. The people telling you what to do don't really have your back when it comes down to it, and you're all alone.
- Do you feel like... you're not the designer you pretend to be?
- Does it seem... you have no REAL help from industry experts?
- Are you frustrated that... it seems like everyone is starting a lighting company?
- And when it comes down to it, do you... just want to dominate your competition?
Even More Lighting Trade School Reviews
Work from our students and instructors:
OUR PODCAST
The Illuminati Lounge
Episodes
Real talk, real stories, real pictures, real mistakes made, real big wins shared. Don't miss out on our landscape lighting podcast.
The Seven Deadly Sins of Outdoor Lighting (Glare) | 1
Find the #1 sin of landscape lighting and tips on how to avoid it and be sure this doesn't happen on your jobs. Listen To More
The Seven Deadly Sins of Outdoor Lighting Placement (Design)
Add short punchy copy here that gets them excited to listen to this episode, and how they'll benefit from it. Listen To More
The 7 Deadly Sins of Outdoor Lighting Wicking and Corrosion
We’re diving into one of the most overlooked yet devastating killers of outdoor lighting: wicking and corrosion. Listen To More
Virtual Courses Available Now
Ready to launch into becoming a legend in the outdoor lighting world? Let us help guide the way and teach you what you need to know. What you do with the knowledge is up to you, whether you become a legend or just another failure, the choice is yours!