Blair + Thurston: The Photography Retreat

Elena Blair and I are so excited to announce that we are hosting a 2 day photography retreat in Malibu, CA on February 4-6, 2016! We have created a website to share all of the details, blairandthurston.com Check it out!! For 2 days we will host a small group of photographers for a girls-weekend style retreat, complete with massages, yoga, and a chef prepared meal. On the photography front, we will be discussing and demonstrating how we each create photos that are emotive, joyful, and tell a story. This is not a time to photograph a beautiful model that is professionally styled, instead we will be shooting real people so that you can take home what you learn and use it for your own clients. We believe that the most beautiful photo is one where emotion and connection takes center stage. We will have two sessions lined up where we will show you what we do and then allow you to photograph the subjects. Once we are back to the house, we will upload our images, discuss them, and edit them. Both of us will go over our editing workflow and why we feel that simple edits are the best match for our style of photography. We will be offering full critiques for all attendees, we will share our business philosophies and why we have both opted for the flat-rate model, and mentor anyone who would like help with business practices.

Our goal for this retreat is for all attendees to leave inspired, rejuvenated, and excited about photography. This will be a place to create new friendships, bond over our mutual love for photography, and learn through hands-on experiences.

This is a full business write off where you get to hang out by the ocean in a beautiful house, drink wine around a couch at night with friends, and delve into photography. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm really freaking excited ;)

Registration opens on Monday, Sept 21st at 10am. Spaces are very limited. I hope you join us!

Photographing Weddings Workshop - Registration is Open!

200+ pages of PDFs, 4 weeks of learning, Q&A's, weekly shooting assignments, and weekly critiques. Come and join me in my first workshop for Clickin Moms and their very first wedding specific education! The course starts on July 20th :) http://www.clickinmoms.com/cmu/photographing-weddings/

The reviews are pouring in! | For the Love of Weddings on Amazon

When I wrote my book on starting a wedding photography business last year, I had no idea if anyone would actually buy it or read it. It was a bit of a passion project, where I felt the need to write down what I had learned in my early years of building my wedding photography business. I am frugal to a fault at times, so I haven't paid to promote my book at all, I simply rely on word of mouth and my existing social media. My purpose was never to make a huge profit from the book, in fact, I told my husband that I hoped to simply break even. Of course, turning a bit of a profit would be nice too ;) When I saw that people were starting to buy my book, and then leaving amazing 5 star reviews, I was giddy.

So, if you're interested in starting a wedding photography business or if you're an existing photographer who simply needs some tips or a kick in the butt to amp things up, check it out!

For the Love of Weddings: A Photographer's Guide to Starting a Wedding Photography Business

A few of my favorite review bits:

"This book literally answered every question I had in my head about getting started in wedding photography" - Elizabeth G.

"It lays out the process of booking and preparing for a wedding start to finish in an easy to comprehend manner." - Sarah S.

"It’s all here. Passion, experience, talent, business acumen. Nothing is missing." - Ann V.