2022 {online}
Family Retreat
Inside the 2022 {online} Retreat video collection, you'll learn from 21 instructors to take your family sessions (and confidence!) to the next level!
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.
Ang McCabe
Successful Family Sessions Every Time!
Ang brings you the rare opportunity to fast-track your experience in family photography by sharing the valuable lessons she has learned over more than a decade of photographing families. In this class, she will guide you in practical ways to prepare families for their sessions, and share tried-and-tested ways to engage kids so they show up filled with joy in their family photos. Come and see which prompts will have families connecting, laughing and making real memories together.
Editing shown: Yes
Anja Poehlmann
The Art of Documentary Family Photography
In this class, Anja will take you through her whole process of documenting family life as it is. The aim of these photos is to show an authentic and real impression of family life - warts and all. Anja will walk you through her preparation, how she finds moments and frames on the day without interfering in the scenes that unfold in front of her, followed by an editing session where she goes through all photos to create a collection of images that will tell the family's story and edit them to look their best and are ready for client presentation and print.
Editing shown: Yes
Ariel Perry
Mastering Effortless Posing for Senior Portraits
This class sees Ariel posing a variety of real seniors in real-time. She will show you how to achieve beautiful, glowy, well-lit images. Ariel is all about getting it right in camera, so editing is not something she spends a lot of time on at all. She will walk you through her exact steps in Lightroom to add her special editing touch quickly and efficiently. Ariel is all about creating fun, carefree, impactful senior sessions - come and see exactly how she achieves that!
Editing shown: Yes
Brittany Grubbs
Art of Motherhood - Capturing Motherhood Moments with Heart & Intention
Motherhood in itself is an art form. It is messy and monumental. It's an elemental force of nature. Through beauty and chaos, we are navigating fleeting and pivotal moments that stand the test of time. We are embracing the natural rhythm between mother and child.
Join Brittany as she guides true authentic connections in a fun-filled, blissfully messy, and naturally, motherhood geared session. Hearts are poured into this experience together caressing the art that is embodied in the truth. From stretch marks that evolved to telling a story, the tiny fingers reaching for a safe embrace, snuggles with tears, and all of the moments that fall in between. Brittany manages to find the art in this mother and awaken motherhood behind the lens.
Editing shown: Yes
Colie James
In-Home Session Magic - Everyday Chaos Documented
Colie walks you through her process of telling stories from inside her client's home. She discusses how she conducts her stress-free sessions that everyone enjoys and the importance of using a questionnaire to get to know her clients before she ever steps foot in their homes. She will finish by editing images from the session with Mastin Ektar to create true-toned, vibrant images.
Editing shown: Yes
Djeirana Sauliak
Creative Editing in Fine Art Childrens' Portraits
Djeirana brings you into the editing studio for a start to finish edit, turning a beautiful children's portrait into a fine art masterpiece. She demonstrates her step-by-step approach to creating portraits with a nostalgic, painterly feel.
Editing shown: Yes
Iris Hu
Urban Family Stories
Iris uses her masterful grasp of environmental photography and ambient light to create storytelling family images in an urban setting. When you're bored with the same old beaches, parks, and fields for your family sessions, it's time to freshen up your location offerings. Iris brings you behind the scenes of a shoot in downtown Nashville and shows you how experimenting with more unconventional locations like the city downtown and historical townships can set the scene for family portraits that are unique and original.
Editing shown: Yes
Jyotsna Bhamidipati
Documenting Motherhood In the Home
Our homes are where we spend much of our time every day. They are our sanctuary and provide us the comfort of being a familiar territory. In this class with Jyo, you will learn how to look for the best spots to photograph and document motherhood indoors. She will show you how to look for the best light, and then use that light to create various scenes in the same location. Jyo also touches on using artificial lights if needed, all the while incorporating emotion, movement, connection, and playfulness in your session! You will be equipped with a renewed confidence to document motherhood in a beautiful, dreamy, and emotive way!
Lastly, Jyo will also cover simple editing techniques and show you her go-to presets to bring out the colors as well as the drama!
Editing shown: Yes
Kathleen Vergara
Posing and Styling A Milk Bath Sitter Session
Bring the whimsical beauty of a milk bath to your sitter sessions in this class from Kath. You will learn all the tips and tricks to take your sitter session to the next level: choosing the best props to use, styling, posing, angles and editing.
Editing shown: Yes
Kayleigh Stefanko
Harnessing the Power of Mini Sessions
Kayleigh reveals in this class how mini-sessions are the way to grow your client list and create unlimited potential in sales. You will learn how to plan, market, execute, edit and deliver profitable mini sessions that can change your business forever.
Editing shown: yes
Kelly Goggin
Rocking Your Family Field Sessions
Have you ever shown up to a session and then just froze, or had your mind go blank? We've all been there! Kelly will dive into everything you need to shoot a full session with confidence in ONE location. In addition to managing client closets and styling tips before the session, she will cover how to check lighting, get variety out of one space, prompting and connecting, and controlling the chaos during the shoot itself, ultimately creating a beautiful gallery for your clients.
Editing shown: Yes
Lisa DiGeso
Baby Love - Milestone Sessions for Sitters
Lisa guides you through the entire process of creating a very special milestone session for a sitter-aged baby, to capture a fleeting time for families. She shows you how to set up and style the set, brings you behind the scenes for the actual shoot, and then concludes by demonstrating her editing process. After watching this class, you will know how Lisa connects with babies to make it a fun experience for them in order to get a wide range of expressions while staying focused on safety.
Editing shown: Yes
Lynne Williams
Crafting Stories with Fine-Art Editing
Discover how to elevate the story element in your children's portraits in this fine-art editing tutorial with Lynne Williams. Watch as she takes you through a full edit that enhances emotion.
Editing shown: yes
Mallory Jackson
Intimate Studio Lifestyle Family Sessions
You will be right there "in the room where it happens" in this insightful behind-the-scenes video from Mal. She brings a sweet family with slightly older kids into her cozy home studio, and you get to witness how she masterfully guides the family in posing and connecting, resulting in emotive, impactful lifestyle portraits that will be treasured forever.
Editing shown: Yes
Maria Arellano
Outdoor Editorial Family Sessions with Older Children and Teenagers
Editorial photography, with its edgy posing and neutral expressions, is going to be right up the alley of most teenagers. Maria takes this opportunity to create family sessions that are unique and fashionable, yet still capture the essence of love and connection. You will see her confidently pose teenagers and their parents in a seamless outdoor workflow, with a small family of 4 and a larger family of 7.
Editing shown: Yes
Marina Shipova
The Magic of Fantasy and Surrealism in Portrait Photography
This class will explain and demonstrate the "behind the scenes" process during a typical fantasy photo shoot. Marina will astound you with her ability to create surreal fantasy portraits by using everyday objects for styling, simple techniques when shooting, and some special effects while editing in Photoshop.
Editing shown: Yes
Meshea Shaffer
Making Family Connections in a Beach Session with Teenagers
Meshea will show you in this class how to capture the love and hugs and snuggles that parents treasure with their kids, even when those kids are now teenagers! You will see how she guides a family that starts off reserved and awkward into relaxing into the session and making connections with each other.
Editing shown: Yes
Missie Lafrenz
Start to Finish: Styling Your Clients for Family Sessions!
Learn how to communicate, add your style and take charge of your session by styling your clients! Missie goes over the benefits of outfit planning, how to start a client closet, and other options for how to style your sessions! As a bonus, you'll also see an editing video showing you how she edits her family sessions!
Editing shown: Yes
Sarah Havens
Capturing Natural and Loving Connection between Couples
In Sarah's class, she uses prompts, posing, styling, and composition to create natural, authentic, and loving connections between couples.
Editing shown: No
Shannon Smith
Let them be wild: Natural Family Photography
Shannon brings us behind the scenes of a family session where she focuses on allowing her families to be free and wild. You will see how she is able to capture the natural essence of the individuals in front of her lens.
Editing shown: Yes
Sujata Setia
Shooting From your Heart - An Inside Look into Personal Projects
Personal creative projects are so important to ignite your creative passion. Sujata teaches how to come up with ideas, make time for your projects, and set limits. She considers how to have a higher purpose, a sense of community, and work with intentionality. This class delves into the beautiful story of adoption, with Sujata planning the shoot, showing how she sets up the studio, and finally capturing this special bond for the family. Her editing enhances the mood and intensity of this moment.
Editing shown: yes
New to our Retreats?
Here's what to expect...
IT’S ALL
ONLINE
Get every lesson
from every instructor—
ready with the click of a mouse any time you want to watch.
LEARN ON YOUR
SCHEDULE
Prioritize what sounds interesting & exciting to you, move on to other lessons when you’re ready for more.
CONNECT IN
COMMNITY
Our private FB is open all year ('til we kick off the 2023 retreat), providing a safe + drama-free place to grow!
You could pay a similar price for just ONE in-depth lesson …
Or, you could can enjoy classes from 21 amazing photographers that you can
revisit time & again as you need it in your business.
2022 {online}
Family Retreat
What past students had to say...
The retreat has been life-changing for me!
~Janelle B.
The groups that come with these retreats are invaluable!
It’s like finding a new family.
~Monique W.
Our past students have shared countless success stories …
What will YOUR story be?
PLUS—Get three weeks of direct access to your instructors to make the most of your experience.
Because of the digital nature of the {online} Family Retreat, we don’t offer a money-back guarantee. Instead, our instructors will be inside the Facebook Community for three full weeks to make sure you get any questions answered—and give direct feedback as you apply what you learned in their lesson.
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, so you can get their helpful feedback in a timely fashion.
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!)
"..such a good investment!"
How to know if the {online} Family Retreat is right for you?
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!)
Ready to join us?
Frequently Asked Questions
"I love being able to go back and reference so many different videos"
~ Marion
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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!) 🙂