The Secret Workshop

The September Dallas Workshop is SOLD OUT!!! But...

...I do have one attendee who needs to sell her seat.  Please email me if you are interested. 

September attendees:  Your workshop information emails went out today.  Please let me know if you did not receive it.

September workshop updates!!

I am BEYOND THRILLED to announce my guest speaker for September's Dallas workshop.  The beautiful, talented Molly Hilton is a gifted newborn photographer whose work inspires photographers across the nation.

Here are some samples of her beautiful newborn work.

 

 

 

 

  

Molly's Website
Molly's Blog

Also, we are looking for two expectant moms living in Dallas (due to give birth in the second week of September) who would like to have a free session and full resolution digital files in exchange for bringing their baby to the studio on September 19th from 9-11 am.  We would love to show the workshop attendees how Molly and I work with newborns.  If you know anyone who would be interested, please have them email me at thesecretworkshop@gmail.com. 

Workshop seat availability: 3 seats remain. 

I have a new friend...

...and it's this Orange County Photographer.  That's right folks.  It's Southern California family photographer extraordinaire, Tara Whitney, who guest spoke at The Secret Workshop this past weekend in Seattle.  :::faints:::  I am totally addicted to her blog....aren't you?  Doesn't get much better than that, does it??  No, I didn't think so.

When I asked her to guest speak at our Seattle workshop, I thought surely she would say no.  Little did I know that all of the planets aligned...or the groundhog saw his shadow...or I threw some salt over my shoulder...or whatever the heck means that TARA WHITNEY IS COMING TO SEATTLE!!!!  She said yes.  So, after I crapped my pants, I jumped up and down and shrieked loudly in my living room.  Once I calmed the baby, who had just been awakened from a deep sleep by her hysterical mother, I screamed "GUESS WHAT KENNEDY?!?!?  TARA WHITNEY IS GOING TO COME TO THE SECRET WORKSHOP IN SEATTLE AAAAAAND TAKE OUR FAMILY PICTURES!  HOW EXCITING IS THIS?!?!?!?"  Well, let me just tell you.  That Kennedy does not impress easily and even she proceeded to celebrate Tara's "yes" by giggling uncontrollably and shoving a corn chip in her mouth.  And the rest.....is history.  Tara came to Seattle.  Tara rocked Seattle.  Tara shot my family's pictures in the rain in Seattle.  Tara is my new friend.  Tara for president.

Oh, how I miss blogging.  I am going to start blogging again.  But this time, I am thinking of combining my work blog with my workshop blog.  Would that be okay with you guys?

Wanna see some pictures?  Here are a couple of mine from the workshop.  This sweet beauty.  Oh how I loved her.

 

And this glowing new mama brought her 11-day-old baby for us to shoot live in front of the group.  What a treat he was.  I almost accidentally tucked him in my pocket to bring him home with me.

And this little dude was 5 weeks old.  Amazingly enough, he slept for us...but check out his baby blues in this awake shot.

And here I am with Tara...she is as beautiful as she is kind.  And as humble as she is talented.      

A look back at the Natural, Clean & Honest Photography of Nicole Zumaeta

Your name: Nicole Zumaeta
City and State: Naples, FL
Website: www.nicolezphotography.com
Blog: www.nicolez.typepad.com

What was the most important thing you learned at the workshop? It is hard to narrow down one thing that is the most important thing that I learned from the Secret Workshop.  I certainly walked away with a refreshed attitude towards my business and a heightened drive to succeed in my photography business.  I guess if I had to pick one thing that was the most important...it would have to be that I must "preserve my joy".  That one statement that Cheryl uttered over and over again, really stuck with me.  I went into the workshop frustrated and unsure of exactly what direction I was going to take my business, but Cheryl's amazing motivation and her undeniable  love for her family first and photography second, gave me a newfound respect for 'family' and how important it is to always put my family first!

Did you make any changes in your business as a result of attending the workshop?  Yes.  Actually the Secret was at the very beginning stages of my business so I was able to mold my business and business philosophy around what I learned at the workshop.  For example, marketing, style, procedures, policies, etc.

 
If you could give one tip to a new photographer, what would it be?  Take it slow.  There is no need to rush things where your business is concerned.  Take your time, perfect your craft, and learn all you can about the business before rushing into it!!  Set your policies, goals and have a target market in mind before you start your business.

Do you have any new goals you would like to share?  Well, I have just started my Spring 2008 marketing campaign, so my goals are short term at the moment.  I hope to go full force with my business this spring and summer.  It will be a true test for me and my business!

Now, let's look at some before & afters.

Here are the befores:

And now, the afters:

Thanks, Nicole!!! You ROCK!!

Entwined Exhibit.

My dear friend and past Secret attendee Laura Siebert, a St. Louis photographer and St. Louis commercial photographer, recently opened her first gallery exhibit, Entwined, at the Belas Artes Gallery and Multicultural Center in St. Louis, Missori.  She sent me just a few images to share (there are a TON in the exhibit) and I nearly fell to the floor with how breathtakingly stunning they are.  I can't remember the last time I was this proud of someone that I know and love.

If you are near St. Louis, I'd invite you to stop by and visit.  I'm sure these are even more beautiful in person....especially since they are printed on huge canvases by our wonderful friends at Pixel2Canvas.  Laura will be selling limited edition prints after the exhibit closes as well.  You can find more information about purchasing prints here at her website...Entwined Exhibit. 

An interview with Austin guest speaker Natasha Cuevas...

Meet Natasha Cuevas...an amazingly talented Florida photographer who is ALSO our guest speaker for the Austin workshop.  Natasha is best known for her fresh, contemporary style and her unique family portraits.  She travels across the country shooting commercial, editorial and portrait sessions.  I am so excited that she'll be joining us in Austin....and sharing some of HER secrets with us! 

Q:  How long have you been a photographer?  How long have you been in business?

A:  All my life.  And 4 years.

Q:  What is your favorite lens?

A:  50mm 1.4

Q:  What is your best tip for getting those amazing family images?

A:  I want them to feel comfortable so I tell them that they might feel awkward throughout this, but that EVERYONE feels like this so its normal...I stress on them that they must act like I am not even there and for them to "interact" with each other.

Q:  What business advice would you give to someone else starting their photography business?

A:  Not to sell yourself short.  If you are starting out, don't give everything for free.  Charge for something.  This will make you feel good and will put value on your work.  People will appreciate you more.

Q:  What is something you MUST have?

A:  LOTS OF sleep. I need lots of hours of sleep.

Q:  Something about you that nobody knows?

A:  I like eating late at night.  I am a night owl.  The night inspires me for some reason.

Q:  What is one thing you are addicted to? 

A:   I am addicted to my child. I cant get enough of that curly haired little girl!!  Oh, and I love PRODUCTS...love Sephora...I can spend hours in that store.

Q:  If not a photographer what would you have been?

A:  Hands down, a movie director!

Q:  What photographer inspires you?

A:  The one and only Mario Testino.

Q:  One guilty pleasure?

A:  Chips with lime!

No interview post would be complete without a few images.  Here are some recents from Natasha.  Am I the only one drooling over here??  No?  Okay, good. 

Taking a look at the elegant, powerful and compelling photography of MELANIE BATARSEH!!

Your name: Melanie Batarseh

City and State: Baltimore, Maryland (OK it's really Eldersburg, Maryland, but who knows where that is??)

Website: www.melaniebphotography.com

What was the most important thing you learned at the workshop?  Pricing and marketing.  Without really raising my prices, I restructured my price list to follow Cheryl's example, and my sales jumped way up!  Before the workshop, my goal was to get every customer to spend $200, but I wasn't really doing anything to achieve that goal, and it wasn't happening on it's own (big surprise).  Now my goal is to get every customer to spend at least $500, and most are spending $1000!  And this is without actually raising my prices at all!  Imagine what will happen when I decide I'm ready to raise them!  Before the workshop, I was HOPING that someday photography would be a career for me and would actually give me a real income (but I feared that it wouldn't).  After the workshop, I KNEW it could work!  What an incredible feeling!  I can do what I love and make enough money to support myself and my family!  Wow!

Did you make any changes in your business as a result of attending the workshop? Prices, like I said above, and I changed my editing a lot.  I learned about correct skin tone and how to give images pop and life...richness....that's what it feels like to me.  My images are rich now; and they were flat and lifeless before.  I've also added new products to my price list that I didn't know anything about before.

If you could give one tip to a new photographer, what would it be?  There's so much you can learn from the internet.  I had no idea all the resources out there before the workshop.  Now I'm constantly reading forums and articles and blogs and learning so much great information all the time!  Read Read Read!

Do you have any new goals you would like to share? So so many...wanna see my list?  There's so much more I want to learn about photography itself (different lighting, trying out different lenses, perfecting exposure,....), there are still new products I want to look at and maybe sell, I want to expand the type of work I do (right now I'm just newborns and babies)....I could go on and on.

Now let's look at her (incredible!!) befores & afters:

Newborn before:

Newborn after:

Here is another before/after set showing the "curl" in a newborn image.

And just to show how much she learned in photoshop stuff, here is the same image processed both before and after the workshop.  Wow! Such a big difference!

Thanks for sharing with us, Melanie!

Let's check out the Pure, Spontaneous photography of Andrea Brogle!

Your name: Andrea Brogle

City and State: Chicago area, IL

Website: http://www.andreabroglephotography.com

Blog: http://www.andreabrogle.com (being re-designed right now)

What was the most important thing you learned at the workshop? To believe in myself.  Cheryl got me so motivated I could not wait to get back home and set-up shop.  I thought I would be in business in a bout a year, not in one month!

Did you make any changes in your business as a result of attending the workshop?  I started one!  Attending the workshop taught me everything I needed to know to start and run my photography business -  from how to get the "look" to using Photoshop to marketing/pricing.  I would not have a business right now if it weren't for Cheryl and the Secret Team.

If you could give one tip to a new photographer, what would it be?  Practice and practice and then practice some more! It will make you a better photographer, build your portfolio and give you confidence.

Do you have any new goals you would like to share?  I would love to have some displays up around the Chicago suburbs before summer!

Here are some of Andrea's "before" shots:

And now, her "After" shots:

 

 

A little reflection with the fun, simple, fresh photography of Bree Hester

City and State: Sacramento, CA
The Website: www.breehesterphotography.com
The Blog:  www.breehester.typepad.com
The secret workshop you attended: NC, July 2007
Before
Q.How did you hear about the workshop?  I heard about the workshop on ILP.
Q.When you attended the workshop, how long had you been taking photographs? I have been taking pictures for as long as I can remember, but about 6 months professionally.
Q.What was the most memorable part of the weekend?  I loved meeting all of the other photographers and sharing so much great information. The whole weekend was memorable, it is hard to pick one moment.
Q.What was the most important thing you learned at the workshop?The most important thing that I learned at the workshop was that I can do it.  I did not believe before that weekend that my work was good enough for other people to want to buy it.  I can home a new woman with a new attitude.  I also learned to LOVE working in the studio.
(below, one of Bree's before photos)


After:
Q.When you returned home,what was the first thing you did? I raised my prices and updated my policies.
Q. What is a lesson you learned along the way as you were getting your business started?  Don't undercut yourself.  You will work really, really hard, for very little.
Q.How do you feel the workshop impacted your photography/business? It gave me the confidence I needed to know that I could succeed and run a business. 
Q.What product/size print do you sell the most of? Lately, digital files.
Q.How do you keep your blog fun and fresh? I try to update it a lot (sometimes I am better at it than others) I include a lot of personal images and my clients like to see what I do for my own children.  I get a lot of requests for locations and ideas that way.
If you could give one tip to a new photographer what would it be? Shoot a lot and have fun!  I am taking 2 photography classes this semester at the local community college and I love getting new ideas and techniques.  It helps keep it fresh and creative.
(below some of Bree's recent favorites)

Where is She Now? A look at the bright, colorful, and fun photography of Shawna Allen

The Facts
City and State:  Charlotte, NC
Your Website:www.BellaTristanoPhotography.com
Your Blog: www.bellatristano.typepad.com
The secret workshop you attended: Greensboro, NC in July 2007
Before the workshop:
Q.When you attended the workshop, how long had you been taking photographs? 
Like most photographers I'd been taking pics for fun pretty much forever but getting paid to do it for about 2 years.
Q.What was the most memorable part of the weekend?
All of it!  I can't possibly pick one thing!  I didn't want it to end.
Q.What was the most important thing you learned at the workshop 
That I'm worth it!  I learned sooooo many things that I now use all the time, but most important was realizing that I don't have to settle.  I always used to second guess my skills and this workshop made me realize that I don't have to.
(Below are some of Shawna's favorite photos before the workshop)


After the workshop:
Q.When you returned home,  what was the first thing you did? 
Raised my prices!
Q. What is a lesson you learned along the way as you were getting your business started? 
That its better to work smart, not hard ;)
Q.How do you feel the workshop impacted your photography/business?
It made it so much better!  From editing to pricing to style, it has changed everything.
Q.What product/size print do you sell the most of? 
Storyboards.  People always ask about them.
Q.If you could give one tip to a new photographer what would it be?
Relax.  It makes everything so much easier.
Q.where do you see your business in five years?
Hopefully bigger and better so I can quit my day job!
(below, check out shawna's awesome recent favorites!)