2024 {online}

Family Retreat

Our most popular online event for family photographers is back!

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 Don't miss the chance to learn from 26 instructors to take your family sessions (and confidence!) to the next level!

  • Family posing, storytelling and styling ideas
  • Direction on capturing connections
  • Fine-art, sitter sessions, editing and so much more!
$297 USD
3 payments of $99

Enjoy INSTANT access! 

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

Maybe not so easy.

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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 retreat can be the kickstart your need.

Not only will you learn from our 26 ah-mazing teachers, but there is magic in learning with a group.

(this will be our 8th annual family retreat and I'm constantly blown away by the transformations that take place!)

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!

Enjoy unlimited replays!
(Press play for a preview)

Meet your 26 instructors
(...and what you'll be learning)

Click the arrows for full class descriptions
Alex Eischeid-min

Setting the Scene: Crafting Environments for Mid-Century Inspired Portraits

Alex Eischeid Photography

Go behind the scenes with Alex for a conceptual portrait featuring her own family during a family game night. Alex goes in-depth with her use of color theory, mise en scene, and how she creates an environment utilizing off-camera flash for this mid-century-inspired portrait. Next, she will show you the full-hand edit in Lightroom and Photoshop.

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Amy Dangerfield-min

Documentary Family Sessions: 101

Amy Dangerfield Photography

In this entry-level course, Amy will guide you in getting started with documentary family photography --from start to finish. Learn her secrets for blending in so well, your clients will forget you are even there so you can capture unscripted moments. She’ll also walk you through her hand-editing process to complete the process.

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Aspen Rader-min

Outdoor Storyteller Family Sessions

Aspen Dawn Photo

Discover the secrets to creating a comfortable easygoing environment for family storyteller sessions. In this video, join Aspen and a family of 4 (with expectant mama) for a sunset session to see her work her magic.

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D'Ann Boal-min 2

Limitless Light: Off-Camera Flash

Smitten & Swoon Photography

Join D'Ann of Smitten & Swoon Photography on a golden hour shoot where she'll share how she implements off-camera flash to enhance her work. From shooting in backlight to creating her own backlight, D'Ann will share her tips and strategies. Walk away with an understanding on how, why and when to use off-camera flash, how easy it can be, and how to make that flash look natural. Discover her favorite modifiers and settings so that you can apply what you learn right away. From the setup of the shots to the final edit, you'll get to walk through a photo session with D'Ann from start to finish.

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Julia and Daniel-min

Capture the Joy: Child Sessions

Pastell Studio

This delightful class invites you into the enchanting world of child photography amidst a serene olive grove backdrop. The Pastell Studio team share their expertise as they navigate the nuances of photographing children, highlighting tips on lighting, choosing props and adding extra magic during post-processing. Discover creative poses and playful interactions to capture the innocence and spontaneity of childhood. Whether you're a seasoned photographer or a novice enthusiast, this class promises inspiration and practical insights for creating timeless portraits filled with warmth and charm.

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Liz DeVinny-min

Mastering Light: from Harsh Light to Blue Hour

DeVinny Photography

Liz’s goal with portrait sessions is that her clients absolutely love the way they look - not only so they walk away happy, but also because they’ll be more likely to share their images and refer future clients. Two of the best ways to ensure that are through mastering lighting for beautiful, even skin tones, and creating a fun, dynamic environment where the posing captures their personality. Enjoy a unique look behind the scenes of one of Liz’s sessions where she’ll share all of the ways she prompts and poses her clients and utilizes natural light from harsh light to blue hour to create dynamic, beautiful portraits.

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Shannon McTighe-min

Emotive Motherhood Sessions

Shannon McTighe Photography

Come behind-the-scenes to see how Shannon captures authentic moments in this gorgeous indoor lifestyle studio motherhood session with two little ones.  You’ll also have the chance to watch her editing process, which includes a combination of hand-edits with presets and actions to create the final stunning image.

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Robin Fox-min

Crafting Stories with Composition, Location + Light

Robin Fox Photography

Join Robin in an urban setting where she shows you how the location was used to support the story.  Learn her unique process of using the subjects, location and light in creating frames that create a storytelling portrait. Discover how she uses colour grading in post-processing to support the story and visual aesthetic, tying it all together to create a finish portrait clients love.

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Tiffany Crenshaw-min

Honouring Cultural Elements in your Lifestyle Family Sessions  

Animal House Photography

Photography can tend to look one way with specific "rules for styling, posing and wardrobe. Learn how to adjust your session style for any family you serve. This class will inspire you and show you how you can weave together the foundations of family photography with the culture and diversity of your clients.

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Amber Connor -min

Golden Hour Into Magic Hour

Four Ponds Photography

Amber is known for infusing wonderment and delight in her portraits. In this class, come behind-the-scenes as she captures enchanting children portraits during golden hour into magic hour. You’ll also see how she uses brushes in Lightroom to create her magic.

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Andrea Martin-min

The Magic of Kids & Pets

Andrea Martin Photography

 

Discover how Andrea creates her signature magical pictures of kids with animals. Get an inside look at the chaos behind the creations and how she poses, shoots, and edits to capture the perfect picture. You’ll also get a look at her editing process, which uses presets, action as well as hand-edits.

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Bobbi Barbarich-min

Storytelling Techniques for Documentary Family Sessions

Bobbi Barbarich Photography

In this class, Bobbi will show you how documentary family photography gives you and your family clients the ultimate freedom -  how to celebrate and relish their real life without posing or directing. Discover how to depict real life with honesty and magic and go into your next session with increased confidence.

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Fiona Margo-min

Making Magic from Ordinary Locations

Fiona Margo Photography

In this immersive course, you'll delve into harnessing the beauty and potential of everyday locations to create truly magical sessions. Whether it's a local park, the side of a street, or a seemingly average urban corner, you'll discover how to see the extraordinary in the seemingly mundane.

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Kirsty Louise-min

Storybook-style Child Portraits

Sweet Soul Studios

With the use of colour and styling, go behind-the-scenes to see how Kirsty creates a fun and fabulous painterly-style image.  She’ll show you how to create perfect skin and gorgeous colours - both using hand-edits, and her own action to show you how to recreate the same look…but faster!

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Melissa Miller-min

Playdate Lovefest: Light & Heartfelt Family Sessions

Melissa Miller Photography

In this class, join Melissa on a playful, love-filled family session. She shows how she engages children of all ages, incorporates play into her sessions, and invites all family members to show love during sessions. You’ll also have a chance to watch her editing process that enhances the mood of her sessions.

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Renee Bowen-min

It's a Vibe: Editorial Movement & Lighting for Gen Z Senior Portraits

Renee Bowen Photography & Coaching 

Dive into this lively, hands-workshop where you'll learn how to bring out the best in your Gen Z subjects using movement and natural light. With Renee's expertise in editorial-style photography, you'll discover how to ditch the static poses and embrace a dynamic shooting style that keeps your subjects engaged and natural. Watch and learn as Renee films a live session, demonstrating her knack for using reflectors and continuous motion to craft vibrant, film-inspired images. You'll pick up practical tips on directing on the fly, ensuring your photoshoots are as energetic and fluid as the high school seniors you're capturing.Join us to elevate your photography game, making your images pop with the authenticity and flair that today's generation demands. 'It's a Vibe' is more than a workshop-it's your gateway to creating portraits that make you stand out in a saturated market.

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Shannon Smith-min

Drawing Emotion, Capturing the Chaos of Families + Unique Storytelling

Love Lake Photography

Learn how to interact with and draw natural emotion and storytelling in large family sessions that are unique and individualized based on the family’s interests and lifestyle. 

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Valerie Eidson-min

Children's Heirloom Studio Portraits

Valerie Eidson Photography

This class is all about creating heirloom, fine-art studio portraits for children. Valerie will guide you through tips on off-camera flash and lighting, styling and props, posing and camera settings, and considerations when creating images with compositing.  She'll also share her process for a full fine-art edit using Lightroom and Photoshop.

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Ambreia Turner-min

From Pixels to Priceless: In-Studio Family Photography

Ambreia Artistry Photography

Capturing dynamic family portraits in-studio may not be as hard as you think! Ambreia is a master of studio photography.  Get unstuck in the studio as she guides you through studio family posing, lighting and so much more including a walk through of her culling and sales process!!!

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Anna Kruse-min

Using Ordinary Places to Create Family Stories

Anna Kruse Photography

Sometimes we can believe that without a beautiful location, we can’t capture beautiful emotive photos for our clients. Although a stunning location is a bonus, that isn’t always an option or what our clients want. Follow along as Anna takes you to her little town - showing you that sometimes you just need to see the diamond in the rocks. While she normally wouldn’t choose a downtown location, it allowed her to see beyond a pretty field or ocean. You’ll see her working with a family of 5 she has never met - watching her embrace the unknown and trusting her knowledge as an artist.  See how she focuses on the beauty of composition behind her lens and captures the season of life for her clients (the chaos or raising littles).  Walk away knowing you can create just about anywhere!

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Carol Ann Neil-min

Exploring Fine-Art Composite

C A Neil Photography


Delve into the art of digital compositing with me as we blend photography with imagination. Step behind the scenes in my studio, where Carol will guide you through capturing the perfect shots for composite photographs. She’ll then show her step-by-step editing process, bringing all elements together seamlessly to create something magical.

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Genevieve Celeste-min

The Art of the Cake-Smash

G Celeste Photography

Learn to craft and capture the perfect cake smash session. Genevieve will provide step-by-step instruction and guidance on designing captivating sets and skillfully photographing cake smash sessions. Master the art of creating visually appealing setups and capturing irresistible moments that will entice customers to choose you for capturing their little one.

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Kristen Coberly-min

Capturing the Beauty of Large Families

Kristen Coberly Photography

In this class, Kristen equips you with the tools you will need to document the unique dynamic of individual families with multiple children. As photographers, it is easy to feel overwhelmed with chaos when four or more (especially young) children are in front of the camera. This lesson will focus on styling multiple young children, how to organize the session, and making sure the experience for the client is as stress free as possible. Be ready to allow the chaos to take you to a beautifully authentic place.

 

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Nicole Begley-min

Where's Fido? Tips for Including the Family Dog in Your Session

Hair of the Dog Academy - Nicole Begley Photography

Photographing dogs is quite literally a different animal than photographing kids. Even though they may have chaos in common, this class will give you newfound confidence for working with the four-legged subjects at your sessions. Whether your goal is to market yourself as a pet-friendly family photographer, start offering pet-focused sessions, or simply be more prepared for the families that request to include their dog - Nicole has you covered. This class will uncover tips and tricks in order to get the best expression out of a dog every time, how to speak dog by learning their body language, as well as some common digital trickery available for when you need it. 

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Ruth Young-min

Mastering Fine-Art Portraits at Home

Ruth Young Photography

 

In this class, Ruth will show you how to use window light in your home to create beautiful portraits. Join her as she works with two children to create an artistic image about childhood and sisterhood. Ruth will discuss lighting, posing, gear, wardrobe, shooting and editing, giving you the knowledge and confidence to shoot beautiful photos in your own home.

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Stacey Feasel-min

Working with High-Energy and Neurodivergent Kids at Family Sessions

Feasible Photography

Learn how to make family photo sessions fun and engaging for all types of kids. Stacey will show you how to choose a location and use it to your advantage when working with ADHD and Autistic kids, keeping them interested and preventing them from acting out due to boredom. Discover how to plan photo sessions around honoring neurodivergent quirks and create a great session experience. When a family leaves a session feeling honored and respected, it will increase your referral and repeat family business.

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New to our Retreats? 
Here's what to expect...

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#1. IT’S ALL
ONLINE

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You'll enjoy unlimited access to every lesson
from every instructor.
(no need to pick & choose!)

#2. LEARN ON YOUR
SCHEDULE

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Dive in to what sounds most interesting to you, move on to other lessons when you’re ready for more.

#3. CONNECT IN
COMMNITY

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While instructor threads are closed for new questions, you can review all past questions and you can still connect with other retreaters in the group (which stays open until our 2025 retreat kicks off!)

What are past retreaters 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

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

Or, you could can enjoy classes from 26 amazing photographers that you can
revisit time & again as you need it in your business. 

2024FR-Polaroid_single-min

2024 {online}

Family Retreat

 $297 USD
3 payments of $99

Enjoy INSTANT access!

2024FR_Showcase_Min
34.loveeaseandflexibility

Our past students have shared countless success stories … 

What will YOUR story be?

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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.

Because of the digital nature of the {online} Family Retreat, we don’t offer a money-back guarantee.

Just like an in-person conference, there will be some that are more applicable than others. But the artist you are today is different than the one you'll be a year from now, so your learning needs will also shift. 

Stories - Podcast (1)

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!)

Liz Devinny-min

"..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 28,000 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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$297
3 payments of $99

Enjoy INSTANT access!

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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