As I write this, I am still over the moon about the first Blogtographie Workshop that I co-hosted with my friend and photographer, Beryl Young. While she’s a pro at teaching, this was my first time teaching a workshop. I won’t say the pressure was as intense as it is before shooting a wedding day, but I still had a flurry of nerves starting the day before. In hindsight, it’s easy to say that it was wasted energy because the day went off without a hitch.

Rust Manor House in Leesburg is tucked away in a spot I never would have found if I hadn’t attended Rebekah Murray’s One Swell Day workshop there a few months ago. The house was built in the early 1900’s with additions added in the 1920’s, though the inspiration for the architecture added came from the 18th century. The property is maintained by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority and the Audubon Naturalist Society and is home to many trails, animal habitats, and of course, weddings and events.

The high ceilings, white walls, and numerous windows made the parlor room absolutely perfect for our workshop, in which we taught our attendees the ins and outs of using their dSLR cameras, and how to shoot in natural light.

The workshop began at 9, with everyone arriving a bit early to check out their goodies baskets, get situated, and fuel up on coffee, tea, and croissants (thanks, Melinda!).  We started by going around the room and giving introductions as well as discussing what everyone’s biggest photography hurdle is. For some women, it’s the lack of good light and not knowing how to find it. For others, it was not understanding the technical aspects of using the camera. For all, they knew they needed guidance because it’s much more difficult to learn this on your own. So off we went.

I started by going over light. This was especially fun for me as I was able to let my nerdy side shine by digging into my meteorology background and bringing out some facts about atmospheric optics to explain why light differs at different times of the day. Don’t worry – I didn’t dig too deep (Rayleigh scattering, anyone?), but the additional information seemed to make sense to the group. I concluded the light segment with a hands-on exercise where we had the chance to explore different lighting areas around the house.

Beryl took over from here and began the journey into exposure. Her approach to teaching exposure takes the process step by step, allowing the students to really grasp each piece before putting them together. Just a few hours prior, these girls were worried they wouldn’t get it. By lunchtime, they were already making sense of what they’d learned. It was thrilling to see the difference in a short time.

Lunch was ordered out from Fireworks Pizza, enjoyed around a beautifully styled table (thanks, Rebecca!) featuring a floral centerpiece donated by Morgan of Petals and Hedges.

Once the girls had a lunch break and the chance to absorb the information from the morning, Beryl dove back in with the remainder of the technical talk. After more hands-on practice time, Rebecca of A Daily Something (who was a student and sponsor) taught about styling and the use of props. I finished up with a short lesson on composition, framing, and photographing with intention. Finally, the girls had a bit more practice time while I took headshots before the end of the workshop.

We had a small group for this workshop, which we loved because each attendee was able to receive loads of personal attention and have their questions answered along the way. Everyone was engaged, interested, and most importantly, willing to learn. They wanted to learn how to use their camera in manual mode and be able to have better photographs on their website, blog, and social media sites.

Venue: Rust Manor House, Leesburg, Virginia
Lunch: Fireworks Pizza
Wooden Bins: Target
Notebooks: Target
Pens: Papermate Flair

I want to give a HUGE shout out to the sponsors of Blogtographie. Being my first workshop to co-host, I was absolutely blown away by the generosity of the following folks. The time and product they donated to us to be able to give away to our students is not to be overlooked. Please show them lots of love because every single one of them deserves it!

Sponsors:
Styling by A Daily Something/Rebecca Gallop
Florals by Petals and Hedges
Croissants by Knead and Know
Fabric/zippers for pen pouches by Finch Sewing Studio / sewn by Alicia
Bracelets by ODE Studio
Upcycled Hangers by Bomisch
Macarons, Madeleines, and Cookies by Mostly Macarons
Cupcakes, Cake Bites/Pops, and Camera Cookies by Snickety Snacks
Gift Certificates donated by Lens Rentals
Discount Code by Blog Stomp

Signed book (Elevate the Everyday) donated by Tracey Clark
Signed book (Understanding Exposure) donated by Bryan F. Peterson

And finally, to our students: Thank you doesn’t even begin to express our gratitude to you for being a part of the very first Blogtographie Workshop. We obviously couldn’t have done it without you and your willingness to learn, as well as your trust in the two of us. We are both so proud of what you accomplished yesterday, and can’t wait to see the improvement you make with practice. Much love!