Our first photography workshop is officially in the books! We dreamed, we planned, we accomplished, and it feels SO good! Seriously, this was THE biggest achievements we’ve done towards our goal of being not only photographers, but educators. If you read the blog yesterday, you saw we kicked off opening night with an elegant chef served welcome dinner in our home. That truly was one of my favorite times of the entire workshop! Welcoming these ladies into our home, who traveled from all over the country, and treated them to an amazing home cooked meal, family style.

Day one started at 9am, bright and early. Tummies were full from our breakfast bar, the house had a current flow of coffee (these girls knew my heart), and it was time to dive in full force. We covered  how to target your ideal client the client experience, wedding day tip and tricks (we saw so many people having light bulb moments during this one), lighting, and composition, all before we left for the styled shoot. Because it ended up being a rainy day, we used the gorgeous space in Move Studios to hold the styled portion of the shoot where we taught posing, both a couple and wedding party, reception table details, the cake table, invitation suites, bridal details, and let’s not forget the famous ring shots! I was so proud of our attendees, with a little guidance, their ring shots were amazing!  After dinner, we wrapped up with post processing, and Paul shared on the techie stuff, that’s not always the most fun, but super helpful once you have the know-how including how to optimize speed, external drives, and backup systems. Our attendees got SO much from Paul they said they had never received from any other photography workshop.

Day two was filled with building your brand, websites, blogging, social media, getting featured, workflow, and collaboration. This was a very information packed day! We were excited to see the rain had stopped and we were able to take the group to the beach! No, we’re not talking bathing suites and sun tans, for head shots! Most of these ladies lives no where near an ocean, and we couldn’t let them visit Monterey and not experience the coast. We wrapped up head, shots and of course the famous group photo, and headed back to the house where Paul was preparing his famous lasagna. D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S! The evening ended with Paul sharing on SEO, software, business, licenses/permits, domains, email, accounting, and Google Analytics.

So much information shared, two full 12 hours days of education, stomach muscles hurt groom laughing so much, and hardly a voice left. We would call this workshop a HUGE success! Want to be the first to know about upcoming photography workshops? Click HERE and sign up for our newsletter! Our new Spring dates and $300 off early bird registration is going out soon, but only our newsletter attendees have first dibs!

“I try to attend at least two workshops a year and to say this was one of my most favorite workshops ever is an understatement! Usually, my workshop are rather large but when Laura & Rachel told me that they was keeping it small, I was excited for more one on one help. First off, I have to say, having the workshop in their home was awesome. The intimacy and homey feeling that they welcomed us in, was way more than I ever expected or experienced. Oh and I can’t forget, we laughed A LOT! Laura and Rachel opened not only their home, but their hearts to each of us. The amount of attendees was the perfect number, and by the end of the two day workshop, I can honestly say, I feel like I have little sisters spread out over the country!” – Leanne, England, Arkansas  “These two days filled with so much useful information, wonderful conversations, a beautiful styled shoot, and breathtaking views for our head shot session. Not only were Laura and Rachel very knowledgeable, they are also so humble and down to earth, and you can see the genuinely love to serve. I am so glad I had the opportunity to attend this workshop! I went into it expecting to learn, and feel I got so much more! I cannot wait to apply what I’ve learned so that I can better serve my clients!” – Martine, Chicago, Illinois  “I learned things I didn’t even know I needed to learn! Above all, I learned to serve my brides with love, care, and the utmost quality by giving them a genuine and overall awesome wedding photography experience. So with what I’ve learned from this power duo, I’m excited to love on and serve my brides and to be a special part of capturing their big day this year!” – Aura, Los Angeles, California

“This workshop is so much more than learning a few techniques. You think you’re attending to learn some new things, but you leave the workshop with a completely new outlook, probably some sore abs from laughing, business cheerleaders, and the beginning to a business you weren’t sure you could have. I can say with confidence that this workshop is a vital and needed step in taking your business to the next level!” – Toni, La Port, Indiana 

A huge THANK YOU to Brenden of So Cute Photo, who captured all our behind the scenes images. Your friendship is is invaluable and we seriously can’t thank you enough! 

Want to be the first person to know about our next one and save hundreds of dollars on registration, sign up for our newsletter HERE, and have the info delivered right to your in box. This was our baby, our maiden voyage, our first photography workshop, and we couldn’t be more excited for the next one! If you have any questions, email us at hello@lauraandrachel.com!

Many thanks to this amazing creative team who brought this workshop together…

Styled Shoot Coordination :: A Sparking Event
Wedding Dress Designer :: Lillian West from Epiphany Boutique
Bridesmaids Dresses :: Watters from Epiphany Boutique
Grooms Apparel ::  Epiphany Boutique
Floral Bouquets ::  Twigs Floral Design
Rings ::  Fire & Brilliance
Hairstylist & Makeup Artist :: Blush Monterey
Cake Designer ::  Room for Dessert
Calligrapher :: The Crafting Casa
Catering ::  Coming Home Personal Chef
Videography :: Estrella Films
Behind the Scene Images: So Cute Photo
The Brains #CALLPAUL @_paulbench
Styled Shoot Venue :: Move Studios
Photographer :: Laura & Rachel