The Be.Workshop……….The Photos, The Review and News on The Next One!

If you are a regular follower of the blog you will know all about the Be.Workshops. If your not then I shall explain in Brief. The Be.Workshop is a new photography workshop set up for photographers looking for creative inspiration, new photography skills, as well as full on, no nonsense business advice. It is the brain child of my Good friends Jaye from Tux & Tales Photography and Shelly from Toast of Leeds. The first one took place on the 2nd and 3rd March and today I am here to tell you all about it!

The  Be. Creative Wedding Photography Workshop is a two day practical and business led course. It offers a bit of everything to not only teach you to become better photographers but to also teach you to become better business owners! Both Shelly and Jaye have been in the industry for years, they have had their worked featured in blogs and magazines across the world (including my little old blog) and are both successful business women. Their technical knowledge both in shooting and in post processing is second to none, there isn’t anything these ladies can’t tell you.

Jaye and Shelly asked me to get involved with the workshop months ago, and to be honest they didn’t need to talk me into it. The whole idea of it sounded amazing and when they said they wanted me to run my own section on blogging, submitting to blogs and advertising with blogs I was delighted to say yes. I also have to say I was pretty excited when they asked me to come along to the practical day and shoot with them.

Photography has been a hobby of mine for about  a year now, I’m not every good but after getting my first DSLR for my birthday last year I have been gagging to get better, so I thought to myself why not throw myself in at the deep end and get stuck in with the professionals!…………and I’m so glad I did!

The weekend was amazing, I met so many lovely people and had THE best time. But what I was most impressed with was the extent of the information that was on offer to the students.
The weekend was split into 2 sections. The first day was practical  with two separate styled shoots. The first set up outside focusing on working with a couple and posing them, while the other one was set up indoors to focus on shooting in dark conditions. Both a lot hard than I thought! The good thing with these shoots is that every one got to shoot on their own for 5 minutes, so they got to run the shoot as they wanted, not with the other students around them, meaning that they all got their own individual shots.

The second day was all about Business and it didn’t hold back. It was A LOT of information to take in, but it covered EVERYTHING!  even my section on Blogging. It definitely seemed to give everyone a lot to go away and think about and Jaye and Shelly really didn’t hold back on giving real talk!

I had a blast at the workshop, and I’m, pretty sure that the rest of the students did as well. I would recommend it to any aspiring photographer, it gives a lot of valuable information both in practical and in theory. And it doesn’t;t stop at the weekend. Since the workshop all the students have stayed in contact, they are all part of a Be.Workshop Facebook group, where they can each ask questions and get good solid advice from each other as well as Jaye and Shelly, so the support is ongoing.

To give you a taster of the weekend some of the students have submitted their top few shots from the weekend, along with a few lines on their experience. I hope you like the work they have created, I have added a few of my own shots in as well, just for a laugh!

Thank you Jaye and Shelly, I can’t wait for the next weekend (13th and 14th October) and for more photography fun!

I loved the Be. Workshop,  day one the styled shoot was great fun, where we got  time & space to take it all in. However I particularly found day two,  the business day to be the highlight for me- it was superb.
I’m left feeling focused,  excited, & armed with information about how to take myself & my  business in the direction I want to go.

www.carlybevan.co.uk

Highlight of the weekend: Getting meet Jaye, Shelly and Kelly, individuals working in the industry whom i have admired since beginning my career, as well as making new friends and colleagues in attendance in the group as well.

What I learned: The whole 2 days were of great benefit to me, the shoot on day was wonderful styled and really paid attention to the details, making use of the environment as much as possible. The business element on day two was also excellent, it has reshaped the way i run my business and the plans i have for the future.

www.christopherian.co.uk

I particularly enjoyed the contrast between the two styled shoots and I felt that it has given me more confidence when shooting in the dark, it was also nice to meet to meet so many other talented photographers, vendors and Kelly from Boho.

One word sums this up, LOTS!  Including managing clients, workflow, pricing and the right kind of marketing. My business has already benefited from this and so have I, I have a much better work/life balance already, how I approach my clients and potential clients via marketing has also been impacted, and there’s still so many more changes I will be making to make my business efficient and successful.

www.upendoimages.com

I found the business advice invaluable.  There were so many tips, suggestions and light bulb moments that I can apply to my own business.  I loved how no-nonsense Jaye and Shelly were.  I have been to some workshops that focus solely on the art of being a photographer which is brilliant but the reality is that you also need to be a good business person in order to be successful.
I also thought the styled shoot worked really well because of the differences in Jaye and Shelly’s styles.  It’s always interesting to see other photographers at work but to experience the contrast of two very different shooting styles was really powerful because it reaffirmed the fact that we all have different ways of working and that’s ok.

I feel much more confident about operating my business within a defined structure and setting boundaries that mean all of my clients get the same, high standard of service.

www.babbphoto.com

My highlight of the weekend was getting away from the daily routines, work and having the opportunity for a creative space just for me for the weekend. It was great to meet others in the wedding industry share experiences and chat!
I got so much from the weekend. There were a lot of penny drop moments for me with both photography and business and it has already impacted greatly on how I approach things.

www.summerlovephotography.co.uk

Inspiring, motivating, and best of all NO NONSENSE!  The highlight of the weekend for me was definitely all the business knowledge I gained.  My head was bursting with information by the end of the second day, and I left feeling like I couldn’t wait to put into practice what I had learnt.

www.sarahazeldine.co.uk

What was the highlight of the weekend Even 2 weeks later i’ve not managed to fully get my head round all of the things i need to sort out in my business on the back of the wealth of info that was handed out. my resounding memory of the weekend was the great feeling of being part of a great group of people learning together. As for a specfic highlight… The styled shoots were ace and included way more than I have ever done before. Makes me want to get out there and get some arranged.

What you felt you learnt That I do know stuff and I can do this photography lark I just need some better systems in place to help myself out! Not saying I know everything by any stretch but its a great feeling to learn some things I didn’t realise I didn’t know! And there are many ways to skin a cat, the settings I would use for low light things were way different to shelly’s but i now see why!

www.gavinforsterphotography.co.uk

The next Be.Workshop is due to take Place on Sunday October 13th and Monday October 14th – Places are limited so get in quickly! 

For more information about booking go

www.bephotographyworkshop.com
bephotographyworkshop.co.uk
FACEBOOK
@BeWorkshops

behind the scenesshots :  www.babbphoto.com  www.sarahazeldine.co.uk   www.upendoimages.com   www.tuxandtalesphoto.co.uk

Workshop Credits

• Workshop – Be. Photography Workshops – www.bephotographyworkshop.co.uk
• Jo Bilham Makeup – www.jobilham.co.uk
• Kizzy from Charisma Hairdressing:  http://charismahairdressing.co.uk
• Event Styling – Rachel at www.simplyvintageevents.co.uk
• Jewelery  – HF Couture:  www.hfcouture.co.uk
• Floristry – Lynne at www.stemsdesign.co.uk
• Bow Top – www.holidaybyhorse.co.uk
• Hats – Chrissie www.hattherapy.co.uk
• Gowns – Jo at www.the-couture-company.co.uk
• Cake – www.thefrostery.co.uk
• Venue – East Riddlesdan Hall – www.nationaltrust.org.uk/east-riddlesden-hall
• Models – Matt and Dom from –  www.yorkplacestudios.co.uk