Hope Taylor Photography Workshop

Even though the four and a half hours of driving alone was a little rough, my two days at theHope Taylor PhotographyWorkshop were above and beyond what I could’ve expected from my very first in-person workshop experience. This past Sunday I made the drive up to Fredericksburg, Virginia to Hope’s studio for the meet and greet where I was introduced to 16 incredible ladies who are all amazing photographers. We snacked on some delicious macarons from Olivia Macaron and homemade vanilla cupcakes made by Mama Taylor and got to know one another.

The first full day was focused on wedding photography (my favorite!). After we munched on sprinkled donuts and fruit, we learned everything from wedding day timelines, to posing, to giving your client a great experience. After lunch, we carpooled over to the beautiful Jepson Alumni Center at UMW for the most dreamy wedding styled shoot I have ever seen! There were garden roses for days and beautiful vintage furniture right out of a fairytale. We split into small groups and rotated between the different stations so that we could each pose the bride and groom and details as we pleased. The models were actually one of Hope’s wedding couples who are getting married this year, so they were super in love and precious.

After the shoot we headed back to the studio for a Q&A Chick-fil-a dinner and a few more hours of content. We talked about the importance of social media and blogging and then we all were more than ready to get to bed and prepare for day two.

The second day was mainly focused on Senior Portrait photography, which is something I don’t have much experience in, so I was super excited to learn #allthethings. We discussed the importance and logistics of creating a senior rep team, as well as posing and the different types of marketing for seniors and their parents. After lunch we returned to the Jepson Center for another incredible styled shoot filled with cotton candy, lemonade and cupcakes. We had five of Hope’s beautiful 2016/2017 senior girls who were seriously slaying the model game.

We broke into groups again and Hope took all of our headshots before we started the rotation. We were also able to take a few headshots for each other while we had free time before the shoot, and let me tell you, these ladies are not only super sweet, but they are such great photographers! When we got back to the studio we had pizza slices that were so big they needed two plates!! These pizza boxes wouldn’t even fit through the doorway unless you turned them sideways, which I personally feel is how all pizza should be. Here’s a few of the headshots Hope took for me! 😀

We finished up by talking about Hope’s entire workflow and editing process and then we had an hour and a half final Q&A where she answered ALL of the questions. I will say that I was super nervous about spending so much money on a two day experience, that could possibly have been repetition of the things I’ve learned in online courses.  Luckily though, I ended up feeling like this workshop was exactly what I needed. Not only did I learn a lot of new things, but Hope was also able to answer questions that I’ve had for a while and she reiterated things I knew I should be doing, but just needed a final nudge to actually do. Meeting all of these women who are in similar situations and have similar goals as me was super refreshing because it helped me to realize I am not alone in this, and it’s not some crazy far-fetched dream. Hope showed me that not only am I already super knowledgeable and capable of chasing this dream, but I am also on the right track to conquering it. I would definitely recommend investing in workshops and in-person education to anyone trying to break into photography, because not only was it super helpful, but it was such a fun time that allowed me to make photographer friends from all over the U.S.!

Styled Shoot Vendors:

Venue | Mary Washington Jepson Alumni Center

Planning |The Caroline Doll

Florals|Amanda Veronee

Wedding gown |Annalise Bridal

Hair & Makeup |Hello Darling beauty

Furniture |White Glove rentals

Jewelry |Diamonds direct

Invitation |English tea paperie

Desserts |Olivia macaron

Wardrobe |Vici dolls

Jewelery |Kendra Scott