Ready to feel confident & inspired
in your family sessions?

Ready to feel confident & inspired in your family sessions?

Go behind-the-scenes with 24 talented photographers to see exactly how they interact with and pose their clients

- all from the comfort of home, on your schedule!

Inside this video collection featuring 24 individual classes,  you'll discover...

  • Family posing + storytelling ideas
    (so you're never left wondering what to say)
  • Direction on capturing connections (to capture authentic moments)
  • Crafting family films (that your clients will love) 
  • Fine-art and sitter sessions (to elevate your work)
  • Step-by-step editing techniques (to make your images pop) 

    ...and so much more!

2023 {online}

Family Retreat

Video Collection

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Enjoy INSTANT (and lifetime!) access

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What are students saying?

"Fresh ideas"
Investing in the retreat this year was a great decision, and I’m thrilled with the fresh ideas it’s given me.

Stephanie

"Love all the prompts"
It's so awesome to get a peek behind the scenes. I love all the prompts and the way you set everyone up to capture real, in-the-moment emotions. 

Rebecca

"So much to absorb"
There is so much I need to absorb (and I haven’t even gotten through half the instructors yet!) 

Lisa

"Feel more confident"
I learned a ton and feel more confident now with my edits.  

Chelsea

Enjoy unlimited replays!
(Watch on your schedule)

Meet Your Teachers

(To see full class description, hover over the teacher)

To view class details, click on teacher.

Alex Eischeid-min

Unrealistic: An Honest Portrayal of Motherhood & The Power of Personal Projects

Alex Eischeid

In "Unrealistic", Alex guides you in exploring the various roles that mothers & women play in society and the invisible workload we carry. See the steps of planning a portrait from conceptualization to editing to gain an understanding of finding balance within the frame, color theory, and executing an image with meaning and expression.

Editing shown: Yes

Amber Walder-min

Sunset Sessions : Styling, Lighting & Shooting

Amber Walder

Amber will be taking you behind the scenes of a sunset family session. She will show you her typical workflow, how she interacts with her clients, and how she works with light, as well as her gorgeous editing.

Editing shown: Yes

Ariel Perry-min

Styled Senior Sessions to Attract Your Ideal Client

Ariel Perry

Think big and out of the box when it comes to styled shoots. Ariel will show you how she organizes, curates, and executes a styled shoot while going behind the scenes as well as in post-production.  Get ready to take your shoots to the next level!

Editing shown: Yes

Annie Nelson-min

Capturing Motherhood : Emotive Moments and Storytelling

Annie Nelson

A behind-the-scenes and editing video of a motherhood session with three littles, focusing on storytelling and emotive moments.

Editing shown: Yes

Colie James-min

Documenting Parenthood - How to Create the Modern Family Home Video

Colie James

Are you interested in adding video to your photography sessions and don't know where to start? In this class, you will learn how to create an amazing experience for your clients delivering both photos and videos in your gallery. She will discuss equipment, camera settings, choosing when to film, and how to edit your final film.

Editing shown: Yes in Premiere Pro

Evelina Eve-min

Painterly Editing in Fine Art Children's Portraits

Evelina Eve

Evelina will share her shooting techniques including when best to shoot to have the best control of the light, how she chooses locations and styles her clients. She will include her editing workflow to achieve her Painterly, Fine Art signature look.

Editing shown: Yes

Iris Hu

Location and Light Inspired: Creative Urban Family Stories

Iris Hu

Not every family resonates with beaches, parks, and fields for their family sessions, but urban sessions are their jam!  Iris brings you behind the scenes of a downtown shoot and shows you how experimenting with more unconventional locations like rooftops and parkades can set the scene for family portraits that are unique and original.

Editing shown: Yes

Jodi Lynn Buckles-min

Creating Living Poetry through Light and Emotion

Jodi Lynn Buckles

Watch Jodi behind the scenes as she guides a beautiful, golden Storytelling Family Session at the Northern California rolling hills. See how she utilizes light dynamically to strengthen her Storytelling and poses and prompts to create natural connection and true emotion. Includes a portfolio review of her favorite images from the session as she walks you through session flow and shooting with intent and purpose.

Editing shown: Yes

 

Karina Beck-min

Intentional Storytelling

Karina Beck

Confidently direct storytelling sessions in your vision, while preserving client authenticity. Learn to meet your clients where they are, rather than force a connection to what they’re not. Some of us love to run wild; sink our feet into the dirt, and twirl to our hearts desire. Others love intimate moments; finding stillness, being connected with slow movement, and structured prompts for intentional emotions. 

Editing shown: Yes

Kirsty Brassington-min

Child Portraiture

Kirsty Brassington

Be a fly on the wall in as Kirsty photographs her model in studio and then watch as she edits an image from the session in Photoshop with hand edits from start to finish.

Editing shown: yes

Ksenia Belanger-min

Fine-Art Children's Portraiture

Ksenia Belanger

Watch as Ksenia photographs an enchanted forest session with a toddler.  She will walk you through her location choice, outfit selection, use of light, and angles to capture a beautiful portrait.  Watch as she edits 2 images from the session to achieve her Fine Art Portrait.

Editing shown: Yes

Laura Parkin-Warner-min

The Magic of Motherhood

Laura Parkin-Warner

Join Laura as she captures the beauty of motherhood during a golden hour beach session with a toddler. Learn her unique film like techniques for capturing emotive images and follow along to see exactly how Laura brings her images to life with her final edits.

Editing shown: Yes.

Leah O'Connell-min

In-Home Lifestyle Family Sessions with Confidence and Creativity

Leah O'Connell

Photographing families at home can be full of unique challenges like space, lighting, aesthetics, distractions... after all, not every family lives in a spacious, well lit, styled oasis! Come behind the scenes of a casual, in-home family session, set a simple townhouse with two small kids, tight rooms, and minimal natural light. Learn Leah's thought process when making decisions and how to troubleshoot, direct, and confidently create playful, natural family photos.

Editing shown: yes

Leslie Kerrigan-min

Working with Senior Boys : Planning, Posing and Editing

Leslie Kerrigan

Leslie walks you through how to prep a senior male photoshoot from prepping to posing, styling, and location choices, and how they differ from female seniors.  She wraps it up with her editing workflow.

Editing shown: Yes

LucyBaber-MultiPassionatePhotographer1_Art_Soul_Show-min.png

Prompt, Pose, Play : Infusing Sessions with Laughter & Joy

Lucy Baber

In this class, Lucy explains and then demonstrates BTS how she guides her clients using playful activities and prompts without any stiff poses or fake smiles.

Editing shown: Yes

Nicole Park-min

Capturing Family Connection Amid the Chaos

Nicole Park

Come behind the scenes during a toddler family session with 3 young children! Watch Nicole embrace the chaos while capturing family connection. See how she allows children to take the lead while working through unpredictable and wild moments. She prompts and directs the families when needed while creating space to allow moments to unfold naturally.

Editing shown: Yes

Meshea Shaffer-min

Family Connections in the Middle Childhood Years

Meshea Shaffer

Meshea will show you in this class how to capture the love and hugs and snuggles that parents treasure with their kids, working with kids in the middle years between 6-12.  You will see how she guides a family into a playful session while still making connections with each other.

Editing shown: Yes

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Easy Breezy Motherhood Sessions

Missie Lafrenz

Join Missie for a behind-the-scenes motherhood session as she creates emotive, beautiful, relationship-centered images. You will be equipped with a renewed confidence to document motherhood in a beautiful, dreamy, and emotive way!

Missie will also cover her editing techniques and show you how she achieves her signature ariel portraits!

Editing shown: Yes

Sarah Havens-min

Authentic Family and Couple Photography

Sarah Havens

In Sarah's class, she will cover how to create authentic and intimate connections between family members and couples through prompts, posing and composition. She will also walk you through her editing process using presets, actions and manual fine-tuning.

Editing shown: Yes

Shannon McTighe-min

Heart-full Family Sessions

Shannon McTighe

Go behind the scenes with Shannon as she shoots a family session with two little ones, and see how she incorporates her storyteller style into posing and directing her families. You will then get to see her edit the images to create a cohesive gallery that tells all parts of the family story.

Editing shown: Yes

Rebecca Lueck-min

Playful Family Adventure Sessions

Rebecca Lueck

Join Rebecca for a fun and carefree adventure family session. She will share how she preps her client, how she lets her sessions be child-led and truly a fun experience, as well as her editing workflow.   

Editing shown: Yes

Twyla Jones-min

The Art of Authentic Posing 

Twyla Jones

In this immersive, emotive family storytelling styled shoot, Twyla will share her secrets to crafting dynamic, authentic, and creative photos that resonate with viewers and introduce you to her unique approach to intuitive posing, which involves arriving without a predetermined list of poses or inspiration for the shoot. 

Editing shown: No

Shan Fisher-min

Timeless Sitter Family Sessions

Shan Fisher

In this training Shan will show you how to maximize a simple setup with lighting, different shooting angles, posing, and communicating with your clients while capturing the connections to bring out the best of every baby and family.

Editing shown: yes

Teri Hofford-min

The Business of Body Image

Teri Hofford

Not seeing oneself represented in the media is a huge hurdle that many potential clients face - they want to book a photoshoot , but they don't think someone "like them" can do it and with a better understanding of how body impacts our clients, we can also understand how it impacts our bottom line. Challenge your biases and beliefs around bodies by learning a simple 4-step framework for shifting your business to not only SHOW different bodies, but enable you to be a safe space for different bodies. 

New to our Retreat Video Collections? 
Here's what to expect...

IT’S ALL
ONLINE

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Get every lesson
from every instructor—
ready with the click of a mouse any time you want to watch.

LEARN ON YOUR
SCHEDULE

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Prioritize what sounds interesting & exciting to you, move on to other lessons when you’re ready for more.

CONNECT IN
COMMNITY

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Our private FB is open all year ('til we kick off the 2024 retreat), providing a safe + drama-free place to grow! 

You love photographing families
- but keeping things fresh & inspired?

Maybe not so easy.

Quiz-Lisa-2

If that's you...I get it.  Trust me...I REALLY get it.

But here's the truth

- to avoid becoming a copycat of your favourite artist or having every session feel like the exact replica of your previous one, you need to seek out new sources of inspiration

and this collection can be the kickstart your need.

Not only will you learn from our 24 ah-mazing teachers, but there is magic in connecting with a group.

Get ready to immerse yourself in an experience that will inspire fresh ideas, light a creative fire in your heart, and take your family photos to a whole new level!

You could pay a similar price for just ONE in-depth lesson … 

Or, you could can enjoy classes from 24 amazing photographers that you can
revisit time & again as you need it in your business. 

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2023 {online}

Family Retreat

Lifetime Access: $297 USD

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"Small adjustments, big difference!"
Felt like there was a lot of small adjustments I learned to make a big difference. Was really helpful to watch her do a session and see her prompts/flow/etc. 

Samantha

"Just incredible"
This is my 4th retreat and this year's retreat is just incredible beyond words.

Natasha

Our past students have shared countless success stories … 

What will YOUR story be?

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PLUS—Enjoy our private community to make the most of your experience. 

Because of the digital nature of the {online} Family Retreat, there's no money-back guarantee. However, just like an in-person conference, you go in knowing some sessions will be more applicable to you than others.  But, with 24 instructors, it works out to less than $13/class -so even if you skip some, it's still tremendous value!

We suggest making the commitment to yourself to start with the lesson that feels most applicable to your business in the season you’re in.

Hey Lovely02

Created by a photographer

for other busy photographers.

If we haven't met yet, I'm Lisa!

When I first got started, I so badly wanted to learn from others. But I couldn't take time away from my family (and business) to travel to in-person events.

Plus...I found my brain could only absorb so much info before what I'm learning goes in one ear and out the other!

Can you relate?

That's exactly why I created the {online} retreat experiences.

So MORE people can enjoy the energy and inspiration that comes from an in-person event (without having to travel!)

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"..such a good investment!"

How to know if the {online} Family Retreat is right for you?

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You’re always watching what other photographers are doing to see if you can discover something new to try in your business - you’re curious if there’s a *right* way to be doing things, but more importantly, you just enjoy trying new approaches and learning new techniques

You’ve been doing this for a while, but if you’re honest, you feel a little stuck. Whether there are things you just wish you understood better, skills you need to develop, or if you’re just in a sort of creative rut, you need something to help you find your groove.

You’re just getting started, and while you’ve got a good understanding of your camera and a creative vision for your work, it’s the actual family posing, styling, directing, and editing you wish you felt a bit more confident about

Over 24,000 students have experienced our online retreats + classes...

will you be next?

With such a wide variety of talent joining us this year to teach, we don’t just get to witness how one person works; we get to see the process from a variety of different photographers.


Because there isn't just ONE way to do things
(and for that I'm grateful!)

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Ready to join us?

"Feel more confident"
I learned a ton and feel more confident now with my edits.  

Chelsea

Frequently Asked Questions

"I love being able to go back and reference so many different videos"

 

~ Marion

Have a question

unanswered?

Leave us a note. We’ll get back to you within 24hrs Mon – Fri 9AM – 4PM PST

(Having work hours makes us feel a little corporate – but we’re all about having work boundaries!) 🙂

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