Hey there creative friends! I am super super excited about today’s blog post!!! It’s probably one of my favorites that I’ve ever written – we’re talking allll about In-Person Education.

I have officially had my photography business for four and a half years now.  I started my business in college, where I was going to school for photography specifically!  During my junior year of college, I finally invested in my first photography workshop put on by a local wedding photographer, Casey Hendrickson! 

I was certainly the youngest person there. It was a little bit intimidating at first but I quickly became friends with several of the attendees that were so sweet! It was a great day full of learning and shooting a beautiful styled shoot.

A couple of years went by…  the only other in-person event that I invested in during that time was hosted by Justin and Mary Marantz.  If you don’t know them definitely check them out because they are so inspiring and so good at their craft!  Justin and Mary’s workshop, The Event, was held right outside of Washington DC! I actually flew up and back in the same day which is CRAZY. Why did I do that?!

It was lecture style rather than hands on learning. We sat in an auditorium full of eager to learn photographers… it was amazing! I met a few other college students, which was so fun not to be the only baby there! 😉 I made some great relationships that I still value so much!!!

Fast Forward to 2018.

In February, I attended Caroline Logan’s photography workshop in Pennsylvania.  Traveling to Pennsylvania with another photographer from the Charlotte area was so fun! We actually met each other in the airport right before we got on the plane together.  At Caroline’s workshop there really was such a wonderful sense of community among the attendees. We laughed together, cried together, learned so much from Caroline, and had the best time getting to know each other.  I was so sad to leave. Caroline is one of the most down-to-earth and genuine people I have ever met and she truly taught me what it means to honor and serve each of my clients. I can’t say enough wonderful things about her!

In March I attended AJ Dunlap’s photography workshop in Raleigh, North Carolina.  AJ and her team members all have hearts of gold and are so willing to share everything they know about running a successful photography business.  It was amazing to connect with other photographers that shoot weddings, newborns, maternity, families, engagements, and all other types of photography at that workshop.  AJ was so helpful in learning about organization in your business and providing your clients with a seamless experience. We also had a gorgeous styled shoot, which is always fun!

In August, I attended the Business Intensive hosted by Kat Schmoyer  and Megan Martin   in Jacksonville, Florida.  This is by far the most helpful in-person event I have attended – I felt like all of the content was completely tailored to exactly where I was in my business because it WAS! Kat and Megan did everything they could to learn what our needs were before the workshop.  Kat and Megan gave us encouragement but they also gave us tough love. They gave us pep talks but they also showed us how to be strategic!

In November, I’ll be attending the Creative at Heart conference  also hosted by Kat Schmoyer.   Creative at Heart is very different than any other workshop I have attended because I will be learning from SO many different educators!  Stay tuned to see what my experience is like!

It’s easy to say that I’ve become addicted in a sense to in-person education.  🙂 Now that I know how I learn best, it’s so much easier for me to determine what educational resources to invest in.  I am much more likely to invest in an in-person event rather than an online course, workbook, video, ebook, the list goes on…

That may be completely different for you. You might learn best working at your own pace in a video course and that’s totally fine. Once you figure out what works best for you it’s easy to determine what you should be investing in.

What I have found is that the more intimate the setting the better I learn  and the deeper the relationships and connections I form.  I have made friends quickly at every in person event I attend which is amazing because a lot of times people are from all over the country or all over the region. Sometimes you even meet international friends!  Sharing an Airbnb with several other girls is so much fun. At the business intensive we stayed up until about 3 a.m. every night because we were just so excited to connect with other people that were walking similar paths!

At smaller workshops, you get the one-on-one attention that you need to be able to move forward faster and in the right direction.  At the business intensive even got hot seat time which  was a great way for me to express the goals that I had and get one-on-one attention that also helps the entire group learn!

With in-person education you also receive a certain level of accountability.  By learning alongside others and keeping in touch following the workshop or conference, you make sure you are actually doing the work that you said you would.  Accountability really is key. when you have someone checking in on you you are so much more likely to get things done and do them well!!!

I don’t know about you but I get so much out of in-person education.  I would so much rather invest in an in-person workshop where I can talk to not only the host, but the other attendees face-to-face! And… learn hands-on rather than sitting in front of my computer and taking an online course.  Yes, online courses DO have their place in the world of education and they are wonderful, don’t get me wrong!!! However, I prefer to learn in person and feel like I get so much more out of the experience by being present physically!

So what about you? Have you invested in any in-person workshops or conferences?

Want to be the first to hear about in-person events that I host?  Join my free Facebook group for Photographers!!!

 

If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy reading about My Favorite Email Tools, Why You Need to Define Your Ideal Client, and How to Clone Your Favorite Clients!