Workshops and retreats are big investments of your time and money. They can also be one of the most rewarding activities you can do as a photographer. On this episode of Cowgirls with Cameras, the photographers dig into the inner workings of workshops and retreats and how you can get the most out of your experience.

Transcript
Jaz:

It's time to laugh, learn and take your photography to the

Jaz:

next level with your favorite Cowgirls with Cameras, Cara,

Jaz:

Kim, and Phyllis.

Kimberly Beer:

Hey everybody, welcome to Cowgirls with

Kimberly Beer:

Cameras. I'm Kim with Kim Beer photography.

Cara Taylor Swift:

I'm Cara with Fast Horse photography.

Phyllis Burchett:

And I'm Phyllis with Phyllis Burchette

Phyllis Burchett:

photo.

Kimberly Beer:

And welcome to another great episode of our fun

Kimberly Beer:

and definitely interesting podcast that we have created

Kimberly Beer:

today's topic after we have a little discussion and tell you

Kimberly Beer:

what we've been up to, which is very exciting stuff for all of

Kimberly Beer:

us. We're going to be talking about workshops, which is one of

Kimberly Beer:

our favorite topics to discuss, because to be honest with you,

Kimberly Beer:

it's something that all three of us share as a passion. And it's

Kimberly Beer:

one of the big catalysts behind why we even started this

Kimberly Beer:

endeavor in the first place. And it's something that we're

Kimberly Beer:

concentrating a lot on. So we're going to be talking today about

Kimberly Beer:

how as a photographer, you can get the most out of your

Kimberly Beer:

workshop experience because workshops are expensive, and

Kimberly Beer:

they definitely will push you out of your comfort zone. And so

Kimberly Beer:

we're gonna give you some tips on how to make that experience

Kimberly Beer:

even more beneficial. But first, let's get caught up on what's

Kimberly Beer:

been going on in all three of our crazy lives. So I have been

Kimberly Beer:

sick 22 has been me not feeling well. So coughing COVID I'm

Kimberly Beer:

definitely done with being sick.

Cara Taylor Swift:

You are due to be done with all of this. You

Cara Taylor Swift:

really are.

Phyllis Burchett:

We have missed you

Kimberly Beer:

I am I am I am definitely do. I am asking the

Kimberly Beer:

universe in my body. I've missed you guys, too. I've missed our

Kimberly Beer:

time together because there was a whole week I couldn't even

Kimberly Beer:

talk and can you imagine me not being able to talk for those

Kimberly Beer:

that know? Me in person, you know how it is struggle? That

Kimberly Beer:

must have been for me?

Cara Taylor Swift:

No, you had laryngitis, so called and we

Cara Taylor Swift:

were chatting and you were like a whisper and you thought we

Cara Taylor Swift:

were going to be able to record for The Business Animal podcast.

Cara Taylor Swift:

And I just couldn't help but laugh at you because that was

Cara Taylor Swift:

not happening. There was no way.

Kimberly Beer:

I was I was ready to squeak my way through it.

Kimberly Beer:

That's That's my commitment to podcasting. I was definitely.

Cara Taylor Swift:

and when I could finally hear you, you

Cara Taylor Swift:

sounded like it was the most painful voice I've ever heard.

Cara Taylor Swift:

So I was like, no one wants to hear that. No, I don't even want

Cara Taylor Swift:

to hear it. I'm hanging up.

Kimberly Beer:

So So I did, I had like five or six speaking

Kimberly Beer:

engagements that week that I had to do. And I kept the first one

Kimberly Beer:

which was prior to the podcast recording. And when I still was

Kimberly Beer:

delusional enough to think I was going to be able to squeak my

Kimberly Beer:

way through that. And it was a zoom session, thankfully, but it

Kimberly Beer:

was only an hour. But the poor people that had to listen to me,

Kimberly Beer:

every single one of them was like, you don't have to talk.

Kimberly Beer:

You don't have to talk. We can do this, we can do this. And I'm

Kimberly Beer:

like, Okay, now I see the valid reason why everybody tells me I

Kimberly Beer:

just need to cancel stuff. So I did something I have never done

Kimberly Beer:

in my entire career. And that is cancel and reschedule speaking

Kimberly Beer:

engagements. And you know what, I learned a valuable lesson that

Kimberly Beer:

people will wait.

Cara Taylor Swift:

and the world will go on and it'll be just

Cara Taylor Swift:

fine.

Kimberly Beer:

it'll be just fine. And I can take time for

Kimberly Beer:

me. Yeah, and I can take time for me. So that was a big lesson

Kimberly Beer:

for me. So that's a lot of what I've been up to, other than I

Kimberly Beer:

know the three of us have shared time with a fellow colleague

Kimberly Beer:

named Natalie McFarland, who is a videographer. But we did it in

Kimberly Beer:

very separate ways. So the way I worked with Natalie was I hired

Kimberly Beer:

her to help with a client of mine to film at her location in

Kimberly Beer:

Colorado. That's Melisa with a certification program. She's

Kimberly Beer:

launching a new program and needed videos done. And when she

Kimberly Beer:

asked, I recommended Natalie and I flew out to help with the

Kimberly Beer:

process of getting things set up out there, which was great. And

Kimberly Beer:

we had a couple of little snafoos in our filming. And I

Kimberly Beer:

have to say Natalie handled it beautifully. I truly enjoyed my

Kimberly Beer:

time with her and I loved watching her work and you guys

Kimberly Beer:

got to do something different. So what was your Natalie

Kimberly Beer:

McFarland experience?

Cara Taylor Swift:

Okay, so this is funny because we ended up

Cara Taylor Swift:

working with Natalie Phyllis and I within like a week of you

Cara Taylor Swift:

working with her, and that was totally random and unplanned. So

Cara Taylor Swift:

that was pretty funny. So Phyllis, and I decided that one

Cara Taylor Swift:

of our goals for 2022 was to learn video and to really

Cara Taylor Swift:

incorporate that more into the work that we do as photographers

Cara Taylor Swift:

so I had the opportunity to reach out to Natalie as in a

Cara Taylor Swift:

mentorship opportunity, and Phyllis and I decided to work

Cara Taylor Swift:

together on that and we had a good time. Didn't we Phyllis it

Cara Taylor Swift:

was like two super intense days but it was awesome. It was a

Cara Taylor Swift:

really full of a lot of intensive brain work.

Phyllis Burchett:

But yes, Natalie was a joy to work with.

Phyllis Burchett:

She's very very knowledgeable and I just really enjoyed her

Phyllis Burchett:

personally and professionally. I really enjoyed the three of us

Phyllis Burchett:

had a great time together. Yes

Cara Taylor Swift:

We really did. So we I set up a little

Cara Taylor Swift:

mock shoot here in Florida at one of my friend's little farms

Cara Taylor Swift:

and brought in I brought in another gal that has modeled for

Cara Taylor Swift:

Phyllis and I before who owns a little shop downtown here in St.

Cara Taylor Swift:

Augustine in the closet and she came over just super cute

Cara Taylor Swift:

dressed and we got to video her with one of Ali's mare and foal

Cara Taylor Swift:

sets and we just had a really good time and Natalie really? I

Cara Taylor Swift:

don't know. I feel like I learned a ton in two days.

Cara Taylor Swift:

Right? I mean, do you feel like that?

Phyllis Burchett:

Oh gosh, yeah, even though I had a malfunction

Phyllis Burchett:

with my laptop and she graciously let me borrow hers so

Phyllis Burchett:

that I was able to work but it was a little bit more of a

Phyllis Burchett:

learning curve when I got home and then had to readjust

Phyllis Burchett:

everything on my my own PC and laptop but thankfully we all

Phyllis Burchett:

used PC. So that was nice. I'm really excited about getting to

Phyllis Burchett:

shoot more video and to edit more video I just haven't really

Phyllis Burchett:

had a lot of time since I've been home to do much of that but

Phyllis Burchett:

it's been great. I love it. You've really been using yours

Phyllis Burchett:

with your so many sessions you've had incorporating little

Phyllis Burchett:

video clips into the sessions. I think that's really awesome.

Cara Taylor Swift:

Well the biggest thing I wanted to do

Cara Taylor Swift:

with what I learned with Natalie was I wanted to figure out a

Cara Taylor Swift:

flow that worked for me at my portrait sessions so that I

Cara Taylor Swift:

could do some video while shooting and then incorporate

Cara Taylor Swift:

that into my viewing and ordering appointments but also

Cara Taylor Swift:

create some video content for reels and just for social

Cara Taylor Swift:

sharing and that sort of thing. And I definitely feel like that

Cara Taylor Swift:

piece of it. I walked away with 100% and then you and I got a

Cara Taylor Swift:

chance to use some video get some more video practice when we

Cara Taylor Swift:

met at the Rock Pointe Ranch for our Cowgirls with Cameras and

Cara Taylor Swift:

gypsy vanner workshop that we had this last weekend right?

Phyllis Burchett:

Yeah, that was fun, too. You skipped one we

Phyllis Burchett:

went to the Yarborough Ranch before that

Cara Taylor Swift:

oh my gosh or other Yes. How can I forget that

Cara Taylor Swift:

like right after

Phyllis Burchett:

the morning after Natalie left we went to

Phyllis Burchett:

the Yarborough ranch Big shout out to Lynn Hanshew for that for

Phyllis Burchett:

for getting us the opportunity to come photograph them doing a

Phyllis Burchett:

little cattle work and they had some I think first year heifers

Phyllis Burchett:

with their first calves and everything so that was a treat

Phyllis Burchett:

getting to see them when they have about 30/35 head or pairs

Phyllis Burchett:

that they worked with and of course they do a little

Phyllis Burchett:

differently there. They mostly use dogs and bull whips they

Phyllis Burchett:

rarely rope but they use shoes to do all their doctrine and

Phyllis Burchett:

they don't do any any Ropin so it was very cool. Seeing the

Phyllis Burchett:

different environment the cattle are living in lots more water

Phyllis Burchett:

down there obviously so it was neat it really

Cara Taylor Swift:

was cool. I mean we shoot out west all the

Cara Taylor Swift:

time. So for me to get the opportunity living in Florida to

Cara Taylor Swift:

finally get an opportunity to shoot on a Florida Ranch was I

Cara Taylor Swift:

mean it was I don't know definitely bucket list for me

Cara Taylor Swift:

and they were so kind to let us follow along with them for the

Cara Taylor Swift:

day we rode in the back of a pickup truck which we hadn't

Cara Taylor Swift:

done in a long time while shooting but we got our pickup

Cara Taylor Swift:

truck legs and us and got to follow along with the action and

Cara Taylor Swift:

it was really neat. I'm I've barely had a chance to dig into

Cara Taylor Swift:

those images but I'm really excited about what we got to do

Cara Taylor Swift:

out there.

Kimberly Beer:

wait wait wait wait, I have a question. You

Kimberly Beer:

were standing up in the pickup truck filming like while they

Kimberly Beer:

were moving

Cara Taylor Swift:

a ton it's not like what they do at

Cara Taylor Swift:

sombrero it was we were holding on for dear life Oh so you're

Cara Taylor Swift:

not like they would stop let us shoot and then we hold on for

Cara Taylor Swift:

dear life again as we went to the next place

Kimberly Beer:

I had visions of the two of you like braced in

Kimberly Beer:

the back of a pickup truck with your and I know Natalie teaches

Kimberly Beer:

like handheld videoraphy. I have this vision of YouTube trying to

Kimberly Beer:

do steady shots in the back of a pickup as it's bouncing over

Phyllis Burchett:

I think we did try once or twice it didn't come

Phyllis Burchett:

Florida.

Phyllis Burchett:

out very well. No. But you got to give us kudos for trying

Kimberly Beer:

I do but the visual there was just more than

Kimberly Beer:

I could like let go i i had to definitely know what that

Kimberly Beer:

picture looked and having experienced all of us having

Kimberly Beer:

some brutes forget sombrero ranch which you have you have it

Kimberly Beer:

they dunk you in this back of this pickup with like two bales

Kimberly Beer:

of hay wrapped in a tarp. And then they go they go I mean you

Kimberly Beer:

you are clutching and it's like, I don't know five photographers

Kimberly Beer:

jammed in the back of this pickup with fast I don't know

Kimberly Beer:

random 100 to $150,000 worth of camera gear bouncing around down

Kimberly Beer:

a highway and it's a lot of fun. I wouldn't trade that experience

Kimberly Beer:

for the world. But now I have this new vision of you and

Kimberly Beer:

Phyllis in a truck in a swamp and like I don't know were you

Kimberly Beer:

dodging alligators or anything.

Phyllis Burchett:

No alligators, but I cannot wait to go back to

Phyllis Burchett:

sombrero to the great American Horse drive in May. I am going

Phyllis Burchett:

I'm so excited. You

Kimberly Beer:

lucky dog. Oh, I'm jealous.

Phyllis Burchett:

I'll be I'll be in that pickup truck. hanging

Phyllis Burchett:

on for dear life

Kimberly Beer:

just don't bounce out.

Phyllis Burchett:

I didn't mean to get off track you were

Phyllis Burchett:

talking about rockpoint ranch Cara, but I just didn't want you

Phyllis Burchett:

to forget that we had been to Yarbrough ranch first before

Phyllis Burchett:

Rock Pointe Ranch.

Cara Taylor Swift:

Oh, I'm glad you did. And I'm glad you did

Cara Taylor Swift:

but then write it a week later you and I were back together

Cara Taylor Swift:

again heading to the Rock Pointe Ranch over in floral Springs,

Cara Taylor Swift:

Florida where we met up with how many photographers did we end up

Cara Taylor Swift:

having? There were five I think for that event, right? Well,

Phyllis Burchett:

we had 10 signed up and we had some pretty

Phyllis Burchett:

bad weather coming in. So we gave the whole group the chance

Phyllis Burchett:

to either get a credit and have their money back or still come

Phyllis Burchett:

so five of them decided to still come and we're so thankful and

Phyllis Burchett:

and blessed that they did because we had a great group and

Phyllis Burchett:

we had a fabulous weekend we we ended up making a one day shoot

Phyllis Burchett:

work into three days, Friday afternoon on Saturday morning

Phyllis Burchett:

and again Sunday morning, which we had beautiful, beautiful

Phyllis Burchett:

light Sunday morning, but we got it all done. And we're really

Phyllis Burchett:

thankful to Nancy at the ranch for adjusting her schedule and

Phyllis Burchett:

working with us to get all that done.

Cara Taylor Swift:

And she's got just some of the prettiest Gypsy

Cara Taylor Swift:

Vanner horses and her stallion Toffee is so gorgeous, and just

Cara Taylor Swift:

puts on such a nice show, we had a really good time. And I think

Cara Taylor Swift:

that one of the things I'm most grateful for about that event,

Cara Taylor Swift:

in addition to Nancy being so flexible and cleaning her horses

Cara Taylor Swift:

up and dodging the weather, but is that the photographer's that

Cara Taylor Swift:

we had there were just so good natured about the weather and

Cara Taylor Swift:

willing to be flexible and just kind of go with the flow, which

Cara Taylor Swift:

to me kind of feels like, you know, that's kind of part of

Cara Taylor Swift:

what we're talking about today in terms of workshops. I mean,

Cara Taylor Swift:

they were so willing and it paid off. I mean, they got great

Cara Taylor Swift:

images, the stuff I'm seeing coming out of it is just I'm

Cara Taylor Swift:

just super excited for them. And myself. I really can't wait to

Cara Taylor Swift:

look at my own pictures.

Phyllis Burchett:

Well, I have to admit it rained all day all

Phyllis Burchett:

day long here yesterday. So that's what I did is I worked on

Phyllis Burchett:

a few images so that I could get my newsletter done and a blog

Phyllis Burchett:

post about Rock Pointe. So that was my goal was to get that done

Phyllis Burchett:

yesterday, which thanks to the crappy weather here. I was able

Phyllis Burchett:

to stay inside all day.

Cara Taylor Swift:

So Phyllis, didn't you have something

Cara Taylor Swift:

special coming up with another podcast?

Phyllis Burchett:

Yes. I'm a guest on a podcast called

Phyllis Burchett:

Photographing the West with Kirby Flanagan. I'll be with

Phyllis Burchett:

him. Thursday, we'll be recording. So I'm looking

Phyllis Burchett:

forward to that. It's gonna be all about horse photography. And

Phyllis Burchett:

I'll probably talk some about wild horse photography since

Phyllis Burchett:

it's photographing the West and ranch photography wild horses.

Phyllis Burchett:

It'll be fun. I'm looking forward to having that chat with

Phyllis Burchett:

Kirby it got put off some because he he was pretty sick as

Phyllis Burchett:

well. And so it was delayed. This podcast recording was

Phyllis Burchett:

delayed. So I'm looking forward to spending some time with Kirby

Phyllis Burchett:

Thursday.

Kimberly Beer:

You're just getting to be the podcast queen

Kimberly Beer:

she

Cara Taylor Swift:

really is making her rounds.

Phyllis Burchett:

And when I get back from Minnesota, which we

Phyllis Burchett:

didn't talk about that we're all going to be joining up together

Phyllis Burchett:

in Minnesota next week. I'm going to be on Cheyennes

Phyllis Burchett:

podcast.

Cara Taylor Swift:

So that'll be fun to go ahead and give the

Cara Taylor Swift:

name of Cheyennes podcast too so folks can find it. Oh

Phyllis Burchett:

is Cheyenne Glade Wilson. It's the Native

Phyllis Burchett:

Cowgirl. So everybody be listening for photographing the

Phyllis Burchett:

West and the native cowgirl podcast. I

Cara Taylor Swift:

mean, after they get done listening to

Cara Taylor Swift:

cowgirls with cameras, right Rene,

Kimberly Beer:

The Business Animal, you gotta listen to the

Kimberly Beer:

Business Animal and The Business Animal and to give you a plug

Kimberly Beer:

for that so Cara, and Phyllis had that session with Natalie

Kimberly Beer:

one of the things that Cara and I did is we took a look at up

Kimberly Beer:

leveling your skills on The Business Animal podcast so if

Kimberly Beer:

that sort of thing interests you you could head over there and

Kimberly Beer:

listen to that so shameless plug for our other podcasts to talk

Kimberly Beer:

about.

Phyllis Burchett:

I love every episode of yours podcast.

Kimberly Beer:

Thank you Phyllis.

Phyllis Burchett:

I do it's it's it's really cool because even

Phyllis Burchett:

though I know you both personally you're both so

Phyllis Burchett:

knowledgeable Or you sound that way on your podcast and

Kimberly Beer:

we try we try so I

Cara Taylor Swift:

have seen more than my fair share of

Cara Taylor Swift:

Phyllis I think in the last couple of weeks. And I'm getting

Cara Taylor Swift:

ready to see her again next week. But I'm jealous I know but

Cara Taylor Swift:

you'll see us next week. You'll see us next week. But I will say

Cara Taylor Swift:

that it seems like I've been running all over the place but

Cara Taylor Swift:

the other big thing that I've been working on is it is

Cara Taylor Swift:

officially senior portrait season and it is insane. And so

Cara Taylor Swift:

one of the things that I have done when I when I've not been

Cara Taylor Swift:

running around shooting with Phyllis and doing our events I

Cara Taylor Swift:

have been photographing equestrian seniors nonstop and I

Cara Taylor Swift:

really am looking forward to having a few days to do nothing

Cara Taylor Swift:

but edit because that's what's on the on the radar for the next

Cara Taylor Swift:

couple of days. So I don't know I'm assuming there's probably a

Cara Taylor Swift:

bunch of other photographers out there right now that are feeling

Cara Taylor Swift:

the heat of the senior portrait season as well. So that's

Cara Taylor Swift:

probably been the biggest the big thing that's been on my mind

Cara Taylor Swift:

When I've not been shooting

Kimberly Beer:

your senior portrait season either kicks off

Kimberly Beer:

early or kicks off late because ours here is usually like in the

Kimberly Beer:

summer time curse. We are in Missouri and it's a little bit

Kimberly Beer:

ugly to do senior portraits outside right now,

Cara Taylor Swift:

yeah, it's too hot here in the summer. So

Cara Taylor Swift:

we do spring and fall.

Kimberly Beer:

I just also wanted to mention one other

Kimberly Beer:

thing that I was up to was I went to an intensive training

Kimberly Beer:

for my Gestalt practice that is going to be hugely beneficial to

Kimberly Beer:

retreat participants at our upcoming retreats and workshops.

Kimberly Beer:

I'm learning a lot about how to help people get out of their own

Kimberly Beer:

way with their creativity and also with blocks that keep them

Kimberly Beer:

being from being successful in business as well as in life with

Kimberly Beer:

their photography. So I'm super pumped about the training that I

Kimberly Beer:

just had. It was a really intense, wonderful training and

Kimberly Beer:

I was actually healthy for that one week. So it was a boon to be

Kimberly Beer:

not feeling bad and getting good training. So that was one thing

Kimberly Beer:

that I did additional to being sick. Phyllis, I understand

Kimberly Beer:

you've done some bird photography.

Phyllis Burchett:

Oh, well, when I went down to meet with Natalie

Phyllis Burchett:

and Cara I actually spent a day with Nancy Elwood who is a big

Phyllis Burchett:

bird photographer because she's a big Nikon shooter as well. And

Phyllis Burchett:

I had my new Nikon Z9 that I wanted a little bit more in

Phyllis Burchett:

depth learning with so a shot for the day together and I had

Phyllis Burchett:

never met Nancy. See, I've known her for years through social

Phyllis Burchett:

media, but we clicked and had a great day and went out for

Phyllis Burchett:

margaritas afterward and just had a really nice day I didn't

Phyllis Burchett:

get anything or shatteringly great, but it was cool to spend

Phyllis Burchett:

that time and practice with my camera and learn a lot of the

Phyllis Burchett:

settings and learn more about the autofocus system on the

Phyllis Burchett:

Nikon Z9 because that's one thing that has so many bells and

Phyllis Burchett:

whistles It was between that and the videography that weekend I

Phyllis Burchett:

was my brain was definitely on overload. So you know, it's

Phyllis Burchett:

good. It's good for me to challenge this old brain as you

Phyllis Burchett:

girls and try to keep it thinking and going forward. So

Phyllis Burchett:

yeah, I enjoyed it. And also talking about the Gestalt you

Phyllis Burchett:

set me up with your friend, Evie. Evie Rose. Yeah, Evie

Phyllis Burchett:

Rose. And I'm excited every time I hear you guys have on a

Phyllis Burchett:

podcast episode are talking about the Gestalt. You know, I'm

Phyllis Burchett:

excited to have my session with her unfortunately got cancelled

Phyllis Burchett:

from June till now. It's pushed back till September. But I'm

Phyllis Burchett:

excited about doing that. So I think anybody that wants to look

Phyllis Burchett:

into the Gestalt, and as Kim keeps talking about it, I think

Phyllis Burchett:

it's might be a really beneficial thing to help your

Phyllis Burchett:

game.

Kimberly Beer:

Absolutely, absolutely. mindset and

Kimberly Beer:

mindfulness and all of those things really play into your

Kimberly Beer:

creativity especially. And speaking of Evie Rose, there was

Kimberly Beer:

another big thing in my life. Evie Rose came out here for a

Kimberly Beer:

couple of days and helped me welcome five new herd members to

Kimberly Beer:

my herd, one of our fellow Gestalt has passed away and

Kimberly Beer:

their horses came here to the ranch because they wanted the

Kimberly Beer:

one of their wishes was that the horses remain our herd, and I'm

Kimberly Beer:

one of the few places that had enough space to take all five at

Kimberly Beer:

one time. One of them is 18. Hands high. He is a big, big

Kimberly Beer:

boy. So I have new, interesting photographic subjects out in my

Kimberly Beer:

pasture, which I am looking forward to getting out there. As

Kimberly Beer:

soon as the rain in Missouri goes away and having some fun

Kimberly Beer:

photography sessions with them. Because it's new, it's new

Kimberly Beer:

fodder for my lens. Ladies, are we ready to move on to talking

Kimberly Beer:

about workshops?

Cara Taylor Swift:

Yep, let's do it. Or

Kimberly Beer:

Cara is like, Yes, I'm ready, do it. So let's

Kimberly Beer:

talk about when you decide you want to take a workshop. So if

Kimberly Beer:

you're that your first time taking a workshop, I really want

Kimberly Beer:

you to examine the workshops that are out there. There's a

Kimberly Beer:

lot of great workshops with a lot of different photographers

Kimberly Beer:

with a lot of different subjects. And it really pays to

Kimberly Beer:

do your research before you choose the the workshop that you

Kimberly Beer:

want to go to. And my recommendation is that the very

Kimberly Beer:

first thing that you do is to know what you want to accomplish

Kimberly Beer:

with a workshop before you invest in one. So what is your

Kimberly Beer:

goal? Is it to expand your portfolio? Is it to expand your

Kimberly Beer:

knowledge? Is it to expand your skills? Is it just to meet up

Kimberly Beer:

with other photographers and be able to have that camaraderie I

Kimberly Beer:

know for me some of the workshops I go to are chosen

Kimberly Beer:

just for that because I know the people who are going to be there

Kimberly Beer:

and I want to have that time with other people who are

Kimberly Beer:

photographers and just be able to share about our lives and

Kimberly Beer:

about the things that we run into as photographers know what

Kimberly Beer:

your goal is. And

Cara Taylor Swift:

And sometimes it's just about getting access

Cara Taylor Swift:

to a location or a subject matter, you know, that you can't

Cara Taylor Swift:

necessarily access on your own but you can access in a workshop

Cara Taylor Swift:

setting so I think that can be a big motivator as well.

Kimberly Beer:

Absolutely, absolutely. And topic based

Kimberly Beer:

workshops like that. I know Phyllis goes to some bird

Kimberly Beer:

workshops and works with wildlife workshops and that kind

Kimberly Beer:

of thing. I know Phyllis is the workshop Queen Actually, she's

Kimberly Beer:

done a lot of them and a lot of different ones over a lot of

Kimberly Beer:

different spaces used to be. Now you're into the hosting part of

Kimberly Beer:

that. So just know what it is you want to do before you invest

Kimberly Beer:

in that workshop. And then when you do know your goal, make sure

Kimberly Beer:

you look over things to make sure that the fine print the

Kimberly Beer:

workshop is going to meet your goal does it offer model

Kimberly Beer:

releases, like if you're wanting to build your portfolio, or if

Kimberly Beer:

you're wanting to shoot, let's say, for fine art, and like Cara

Kimberly Beer:

said, you now have access to that location that you wouldn't

Kimberly Beer:

have access to otherwise. And then you get to the workshop and

Kimberly Beer:

you can't, you know, take the photos and sell them that

Kimberly Beer:

becomes a difficulty for you. So do read the fine print, look at

Kimberly Beer:

how many shoot locations there are going to be what's the

Kimberly Beer:

number of photographers,

Cara Taylor Swift:

I've definitely made that mistake

Cara Taylor Swift:

where I have just signed the contract and not looked at what

Cara Taylor Swift:

was included or not included in the workshop materials, I've

Cara Taylor Swift:

definitely made that mistake. And it really was disappointing

Cara Taylor Swift:

to find that the goals that I had for the workshop that I

Cara Taylor Swift:

couldn't use the images the way that I wanted to. And that was a

Cara Taylor Swift:

big lesson learned for me. So that is such a good point.

Cara Taylor Swift:

Always look at the paperwork that they're sending you read

Cara Taylor Swift:

the fine print those details, because you want to make sure

Cara Taylor Swift:

that the workshop the goals that you set that you can accomplish

Cara Taylor Swift:

the things that you hope to accomplish with those images,

Cara Taylor Swift:

and that there's not fine print telling you that you can't

Kimberly Beer:

Absolutely, and you know what if you have a

Kimberly Beer:

question, or you aren't sure, or if you have a very specific

Kimberly Beer:

goal, like you intend to sell the images after the workshop,

Kimberly Beer:

you know, there's nothing wrong with calling or emailing or

Kimberly Beer:

setting up an appointment with the people running the workshop

Kimberly Beer:

and talking with them for a couple of reasons. One, do you

Kimberly Beer:

jive? I mean, when you have a discussion with them, do you

Kimberly Beer:

find that there are a person that you want to work with. And

Kimberly Beer:

then also ask those questions and be very realistic about what

Kimberly Beer:

you intend to do with the images or what your expectations are of

Kimberly Beer:

the workshop because workshops are expensive. I mean, it's not

Kimberly Beer:

just the cost of the workshop, many times you want to rent

Kimberly Beer:

equipment that you're going to experiment with or that you

Kimberly Beer:

don't typically have in your bag, you're going to invest

Kimberly Beer:

money in that you're going to invest money and travel, you're

Kimberly Beer:

going to invest money and not being either at your business or

Kimberly Beer:

your job. So it's a big investment to come to a

Kimberly Beer:

workshop. And it's it's always a good idea to really cross the

Kimberly Beer:

t's and dot the I's and know that you're going to be able to

Kimberly Beer:

get and accomplish the goal that you set out to because if you do

Kimberly Beer:

accomplish that goal, it's worth every single penny. But if you

Kimberly Beer:

get a roadblock, it's frustration for you. And I've

Kimberly Beer:

talked to I'm sure you guys, as well talk to a lot of

Kimberly Beer:

photographers that have come to workshops with a certain goal in

Kimberly Beer:

mind and found that they couldn't accomplish that goal.

Kimberly Beer:

Anything else you guys can think of in choosing a workshop that

Kimberly Beer:

you would give advice around in just that piece of things.

Phyllis Burchett:

I love hosting workshops, because I think I'll

Phyllis Burchett:

learn a lot from the participants. And I think the

Phyllis Burchett:

participants should always go to a workshop with an open mind

Phyllis Burchett:

because everybody that's attending that workshop is going

Phyllis Burchett:

to bring something a little different to the table and

Phyllis Burchett:

you'll learn something from others and others will learn

Phyllis Burchett:

something from you. I think that's part of it. I think

Phyllis Burchett:

that's what makes the fellowship and camaraderie and you've all

Phyllis Burchett:

got a shared passion, not only photography, but whatever the

Phyllis Burchett:

subject matter is, in our case, it would be horses, of course.

Phyllis Burchett:

But I think that's that's what makes this so much fun is

Phyllis Burchett:

gaining knowledge from each other too, and keeping an open

Phyllis Burchett:

mind. And also I have to say too, that my experience is that

Phyllis Burchett:

it's hard to help people when you don't know what they want,

Phyllis Burchett:

they really need. So I think it's really important to let

Phyllis Burchett:

your leader know your questions or concerns or so that they can

Phyllis Burchett:

be sure to help you and address those and give guidance wherever

Phyllis Burchett:

it's needed. And if you do have something like you said, Kim, I

Phyllis Burchett:

think in particular, to get in touch with the leader or

Phyllis Burchett:

whoever's running the workshop and with your questions or

Phyllis Burchett:

concerns beforehand and let them know what you would like to work

Phyllis Burchett:

on. And so that they can adjust for that in the schedule maybe

Phyllis Burchett:

if possible. Sometimes it's not possible. But I think that's

Phyllis Burchett:

really helpful to have communication with you later and

Phyllis Burchett:

talk to them and let them know what you what you expect out of

Phyllis Burchett:

the workshop.

Cara Taylor Swift:

And if you can have that conversation in

Cara Taylor Swift:

advance in a way where you're talking about like kind of your

Cara Taylor Swift:

level of photography as well. Like if you're a brand new

Cara Taylor Swift:

photographer, attending a workshop where there's not a lot

Cara Taylor Swift:

of support from the leaders of the workshop, it might lessen

Cara Taylor Swift:

your chances of walking away with great images. So I think

Cara Taylor Swift:

spending some time having conversations with the workshop

Cara Taylor Swift:

leaders about kind of where you are in your photography, your

Cara Taylor Swift:

experience level can be really huge too, so that they can let

Cara Taylor Swift:

you know. Yep, absolutely. We can provide a supportive

Cara Taylor Swift:

environment to help move you forward or if this really isn't

Cara Taylor Swift:

a great workshop for you because there's not going to be a lot of

Cara Taylor Swift:

opportunity to you know, kind of handhold through that process.

Cara Taylor Swift:

So that can be huge.

Phyllis Burchett:

That's what I really love about the model for

Phyllis Burchett:

our Cottonwood ranch experiences is being able to have those

Phyllis Burchett:

onboarding calls with potential clients beforehand so that they

Phyllis Burchett:

can see if they think we're going to be a fit for them more

Phyllis Burchett:

than are, you know, are they going to be a fit for us, I

Phyllis Burchett:

think you know, just to see if we mesh together and if they

Phyllis Burchett:

want to spend more time with us and that kind of thing, I think

Phyllis Burchett:

it's really helpful on both sides on both ends to, for us to

Phyllis Burchett:

know what what the client wants, and for the client to know if

Phyllis Burchett:

they can, you know, are even going to be able to mesh with

Phyllis Burchett:

us. And if it's people that they want to spend more time with.

Kimberly Beer:

Absolutely. And you have to be careful. So some

Kimberly Beer:

of you, I didn't have this experience in photography, but I

Kimberly Beer:

did have it in writing, sometimes we watch or follow a

Kimberly Beer:

photographer for many, many years. And then they offer a

Kimberly Beer:

workshop or a mentor or somebody who's a leader, and then we get

Kimberly Beer:

there and it ends up being this huge letdown, you know, your

Kimberly Beer:

mentors are humans too. And for me, I did that with a writing

Kimberly Beer:

workshop. I'd followed a writer for many, many years, I

Kimberly Beer:

absolutely loved her work, I got to the workshop, and my

Kimberly Beer:

expectations were so super high over her that I didn't have a

Kimberly Beer:

good workshop, because she wasn't exactly who I you know, I

Kimberly Beer:

didn't allow her to be human in my brain. So I guess I'm what

Kimberly Beer:

I'm saying is, you know, have some grace, on your end in that

Kimberly Beer:

communication. I think it's a good pre communication, because

Kimberly Beer:

it does set you up for the realism, of meeting your mentors

Kimberly Beer:

of meeting the people that you follow, and being able to see

Kimberly Beer:

them as human because workshops will definitely sometimes bring

Kimberly Beer:

out the human in all of us.

Phyllis Burchett:

I think like Cara said earlier having on both

Phyllis Burchett:

hands is having a great amount of flexibility is really helpful

Phyllis Burchett:

on the participants and on the leaders in as being flexible. So

Kimberly Beer:

absolutely. So now let's say you've you've

Kimberly Beer:

chosen your workshop, you've communicated with the workshop

Kimberly Beer:

leader, you know, this is right for you, you're excited about

Kimberly Beer:

it, and workshop dates are approaching. So there are some

Kimberly Beer:

things that you need to do ahead of time before attending a

Kimberly Beer:

workshop. So for example, our workshops in particular are held

Kimberly Beer:

in places that don't tend to have the best internet on the

Kimberly Beer:

planet. So you can't depend on the fact that you will have

Kimberly Beer:

access to something that is fast enough to be able to do your

Kimberly Beer:

updates or you know, if you want to try a particular application

Kimberly Beer:

and you want to download it at the event, sometimes that's not

Kimberly Beer:

possible. So it's really important that you really do a

Kimberly Beer:

good checklist ahead of time, get your software updated it

Kimberly Beer:

whatever you use for editing or want to use for editing on this

Kimberly Beer:

particular trip. If you're trying something new, make sure

Kimberly Beer:

you have it downloaded, make sure your subscriptions are paid

Kimberly Beer:

for make sure that it's the latest version of that make sure

Kimberly Beer:

any other apps that you need are on your computer, make sure that

Kimberly Beer:

they're available for you and that you really do have the

Kimberly Beer:

latest greatest of everything and then also think about what's

Kimberly Beer:

in your gear bag, talk over or look over the places or

Kimberly Beer:

locations you're going to be shooting ask questions about

Kimberly Beer:

what camera gear the leader suggests you bring what lenses

Kimberly Beer:

what level of camera equipment they would recommend and then if

Kimberly Beer:

you need to rent something, you can rent it and then when you go

Kimberly Beer:

to pack you definitely want to quadruple check everything in

Kimberly Beer:

your bag. Make sure you have your cards make sure you have

Kimberly Beer:

your chargers make sure you have your batteries, a lot of things

Kimberly Beer:

that you need to have as a checklist Do either of you

Kimberly Beer:

ladies I fly by the seat of my pants, and I'm pretty sure

Kimberly Beer:

Phyllis does too but it would not surprise me at all if Cara

Kimberly Beer:

didn't have a written checklist of what goes in her bag.

Cara Taylor Swift:

No I absolutely do not have a

Cara Taylor Swift:

checklist I'm not that organized I'm pretty organized but I do

Cara Taylor Swift:

not have a checklist.

Phyllis Burchett:

There is one thing I would like to add about

Phyllis Burchett:

your gear bag is I know what this is tough for some people

Phyllis Burchett:

but bringing two cameras is a big thing if you have a

Phyllis Burchett:

malfunction on one of your cameras and you've paid all this

Phyllis Burchett:

money to go to a workshop and you don't have a backup camera

Phyllis Burchett:

then you're SOL I mean that's that's a big one to me is to

Phyllis Burchett:

have an have a backup camera bring two camera bodies with

Phyllis Burchett:

you. Absolutely.

Cara Taylor Swift:

I'm currently working with a rental system

Cara Taylor Swift:

because one of my cameras started malfunctioning before we

Cara Taylor Swift:

went to the Gypsy Vanner workshop this weekend and I

Cara Taylor Swift:

ended up renting a second camera so that just in case there were

Cara Taylor Swift:

issues I had something to shoot with at the workshop and you

Cara Taylor Swift:

know you come out of pocket with it, but it's definitely worth it

Cara Taylor Swift:

to make sure that your gear is is there and set up and ready to

Cara Taylor Swift:

go. And you know, a lot of us when we're home working, we

Cara Taylor Swift:

might be working on a desktop and then when we're traveling

Cara Taylor Swift:

we're working on a laptop and I have definitely been the one

Cara Taylor Swift:

that hasn't spent my time updating all my programs,

Cara Taylor Swift:

writing my passwords down or having them someplace where I

Cara Taylor Swift:

can find them if I need them importing brushes and presets if

Cara Taylor Swift:

you use those sort to things, I'm definitely guilty of that

Cara Taylor Swift:

sometimes. So the more that you can do to prep and have all that

Cara Taylor Swift:

ready to go, the more successful and less stressed and the

Cara Taylor Swift:

faster, you'll be able to get down to the business of enjoying

Cara Taylor Swift:

your images and creating instead of just playing catch up when

Cara Taylor Swift:

you get there to get to a place where you can get started. And

Cara Taylor Swift:

the people running the workshop will appreciate that too.

Cara Taylor Swift:

Because then they're able to kind of move everyone along and

Cara Taylor Swift:

bring the you know, the education piece to it, if that's

Cara Taylor Swift:

part of your event, yes,

Phyllis Burchett:

all good advice, don't get to the

Phyllis Burchett:

workshop, like I did with Natalie, and then figure out

Phyllis Burchett:

that my laptop is not going to work Premiere Pro.

Cara Taylor Swift:

We're all guilty of it at some point. We

Cara Taylor Swift:

are in there. And I think the biggest thing is to show up with

Cara Taylor Swift:

an open mind, you know, be ready to try something different. I

Cara Taylor Swift:

always try to go into a workshop with the idea that this is my

Cara Taylor Swift:

chance to create something different to try something that

Cara Taylor Swift:

I've always wanted to try pull out my inspiration list of

Cara Taylor Swift:

images that I like to try to create this is an opportunity a

Cara Taylor Swift:

lot of times to do that, because you can't always test out that

Cara Taylor Swift:

stuff, when you're in a situation where you're having to

Cara Taylor Swift:

create paid work for clients. But this is the chance sometimes

Cara Taylor Swift:

where we can play and we can do some of that stuff. And we can

Cara Taylor Swift:

brainstorm with the other photographers that are there to

Cara Taylor Swift:

get input on ideas. And that is definitely one of the coolest

Cara Taylor Swift:

parts of attending workshops. And if you can come with some of

Cara Taylor Swift:

that kind of ready in your mind in that place, I think you'll be

Cara Taylor Swift:

off to a better start. I know all three of us have been at

Cara Taylor Swift:

workshops where we have kind of like lol days where our brains

Cara Taylor Swift:

our creativity kind of is fills diminished. And we're having to

Cara Taylor Swift:

work really hard to be creative. So having that little like list

Cara Taylor Swift:

of ideas in your pocket a lot of times for me will jumpstart me

Cara Taylor Swift:

into a creative space so that I can get a lot more out of the

Cara Taylor Swift:

workshop. Do you guys feel that way? Sometimes? I feel like

Cara Taylor Swift:

we've had this conversation before.

Phyllis Burchett:

Definitely yes. I'm already thinking about

Phyllis Burchett:

different things we can do at Dryhead and Cottonwood and that

Phyllis Burchett:

kind of thing. And it's it's great. I think it's good also to

Phyllis Burchett:

even just look at Pinterest and look at look at the web's you

Phyllis Burchett:

know other people's feeds and just see different things that

Phyllis Burchett:

you might want to try or, you know, I think it's funny how

Phyllis Burchett:

I've always loved shooting wide and long, you know, and up close

Phyllis Burchett:

something. And I love the details. But I love a sense of

Phyllis Burchett:

the environment too. And I think it's funny how people will come

Phyllis Burchett:

in, they'll go oh, I never use a wide angle lens. And then they

Phyllis Burchett:

try it one time. And then they're hooked. You know? So

Phyllis Burchett:

it's, it's, it's a lot of fun.

Cara Taylor Swift:

Oh, for sure. I don't know, I feel like I've

Cara Taylor Swift:

learned I remember my very first workshop experience was with

Cara Taylor Swift:

Equine Photographers Network over at Powderhorn. That was one

Cara Taylor Swift:

of my first probably not my first first but one of my first

Cara Taylor Swift:

and I remember coming with like this kind of preconceived notion

Cara Taylor Swift:

about what I was going to try to capture while I was there. And

Cara Taylor Swift:

because I was willing to just kind of relax and look around me

Cara Taylor Swift:

and see what other people were doing and strike up

Cara Taylor Swift:

conversations with the other participants about what are you

Cara Taylor Swift:

shooting? And why are you shooting it that way? And tell

Cara Taylor Swift:

me your thoughts behind that, that I feel like I got so much

Cara Taylor Swift:

more out of that experience and was able to come back with stuff

Cara Taylor Swift:

that I probably would have never imagined I could create on my

Cara Taylor Swift:

own. And that to me, I mean, I know for Fast Horse attending

Cara Taylor Swift:

that first workshop with Equine Photographers Network at

Cara Taylor Swift:

Powderhorn propelled my business and the exposure to my local

Cara Taylor Swift:

community so much further, because I was now creating

Cara Taylor Swift:

something that I don't want to say it was worth looking at. But

Cara Taylor Swift:

it was something that got my community excited to because I

Cara Taylor Swift:

wasn't able to do that necessarily by myself, because

Cara Taylor Swift:

my skill level wasn't there yet. But after attending that it made

Cara Taylor Swift:

a big difference.

Phyllis Burchett:

Your skill level jumped up by a ton just

Phyllis Burchett:

from going to that one event. And I think what's great too is

Phyllis Burchett:

thanks to Erin our motto is one more time so what's great is

Phyllis Burchett:

that you know even though you may shoot something and think

Phyllis Burchett:

oh, I didn't get it the way I wanted well, we'll just have him

Phyllis Burchett:

do it one more time, you know, so that's that's really great

Phyllis Burchett:

that we can a good thing about a workshop versus having a client

Phyllis Burchett:

shoot is that you can shoot it over again it may not be exactly

Phyllis Burchett:

the same great action as it was the first time or this the same

Phyllis Burchett:

great moment. Or it might be better Yeah, but But you get you

Phyllis Burchett:

get the opportunity to shoot it one more time. And you can try

Phyllis Burchett:

one time with a long lens you can try one time with a with a

Phyllis Burchett:

wide angle lens. So that's what's great too. Or you could

Phyllis Burchett:

video one of the runs you know that kind of thing so that you

Phyllis Burchett:

got different options which

Cara Taylor Swift:

you and I are going to be doing Yeah, so much

Cara Taylor Swift:

more excited about video. I haven't even had a chance to

Cara Taylor Swift:

look at my gypsy Vanner videos yet and I can't wait. Okay, so

Cara Taylor Swift:

the last thing I would say to consider is be prepared for the

Cara Taylor Swift:

weather. I'm a big one. I can't stand being cold. So be sure

Cara Taylor Swift:

that you bring your weather you know anything that's appropriate

Cara Taylor Swift:

for the conditions if it's going to be rain, bring your rain

Cara Taylor Swift:

gear, just really be thinking about that weather. Now Phyllis

Cara Taylor Swift:

one of the things that you have done recently is you've written

Cara Taylor Swift:

some stuff around the different types of events that people

Cara Taylor Swift:

might attend. Can you briefly mention that but Before we wrap

Cara Taylor Swift:

this up today,

Phyllis Burchett:

yes, I do have this description to clarify for

Phyllis Burchett:

people when on my website but it's basically the difference

Phyllis Burchett:

between workshops, retreats and tours because I host all three

Phyllis Burchett:

but the the workshops are going to have a little bit more

Phyllis Burchett:

structured atmosphere, it's going to be more learning more

Phyllis Burchett:

of the technical and the creative side for you to develop

Phyllis Burchett:

help to develop your your style the retreats for some people is

Phyllis Burchett:

going to vary a little bit. But I think what both a workshop and

Phyllis Burchett:

retreat do have in common is or even the tour is that they get

Phyllis Burchett:

you away from your daily routine so that you can bring a whole

Phyllis Burchett:

new perspective to an energy back in your everyday life to

Phyllis Burchett:

your photography, when you get back home and is going to really

Phyllis Burchett:

help you think about things in a different way. The only tour

Phyllis Burchett:

that I host is my Iceland tour and as basically it is all about

Phyllis Burchett:

getting the clients to a place that they would not otherwise be

Phyllis Burchett:

able to experience without the organised event it's it's a lot

Phyllis Burchett:

more casual. And while I say casual, although our we were

Phyllis Burchett:

pretty much on the go and Iceland but we do stay at a

Phyllis Burchett:

horse farm so it is more focused on a destination with a great

Phyllis Burchett:

amount of photography included and getting to see someplace

Phyllis Burchett:

that you would not normally or getting to see things like

Phyllis Burchett:

horses running in front of waterfalls and just different

Phyllis Burchett:

things that you would not be able to see otherwise when we do

Phyllis Burchett:

the tour in Iceland we also get to do day trips where we explore

Phyllis Burchett:

more of the island is just a chance to connect with a when

Phyllis Burchett:

you do tours. I think it's a chance to connect with another

Phyllis Burchett:

world and use photography as a means to explore that word.

Cara Taylor Swift:

Yeah, I think you're dead on with that. I

Cara Taylor Swift:

think the only thing I would add to that is workshops tends to be

Cara Taylor Swift:

a word that is kind of thrown around a lot so it's kind of

Cara Taylor Swift:

used as a catch all for photography events. So I would

Cara Taylor Swift:

definitely you know when when someone creates an event and

Cara Taylor Swift:

they put it out as a workshop, I would definitely be very clear

Cara Taylor Swift:

about how they define what a workshop is. So it could be more

Cara Taylor Swift:

like a meet up or photography tour. So that would be the only

Cara Taylor Swift:

thing I would add to that. So I think that's a really good kind

Cara Taylor Swift:

of takeaway for people and can you tell them Phyllis real quick

Cara Taylor Swift:

where they can find your write up on that for more details,

Phyllis Burchett:

it's on my website. If you just click on

Phyllis Burchett:

workshops and tours it will be at the very top and it will take

Phyllis Burchett:

you to another link where where it will go to that page and give

Phyllis Burchett:

you the descriptions of all three Oh

Phyllis Burchett:

PhyllisBurchettephoto.net

Kimberly Beer:

So now is the time for our CW see photo

Kimberly Beer:

challenge of this particular episode. And what I want to do

Kimberly Beer:

is ask you to get outside your comfort zone. So all workshops

Kimberly Beer:

in my opinion and retreats, those things are an opportunity

Kimberly Beer:

like Cara mentioned for us to get outside our comfort zone to

Kimberly Beer:

try something different. Try something new. So what I want to

Kimberly Beer:

challenge you to do is to create your own little mini workshop

Kimberly Beer:

experience all by yourself. You try something different a new

Kimberly Beer:

camera, a new shooting technique, a new editing

Kimberly Beer:

technique, but pick something up that is maybe pushing your

Kimberly Beer:

boundaries a little bit or where you feel like maybe that's a

Kimberly Beer:

little bit outside of what you would normally do and give it a

Kimberly Beer:

try and you know, share your results with us on Instagram.

Kimberly Beer:

Use the hashtag #CWCPhotoChallenge and we will

Kimberly Beer:

see you next time on The cowgirls with cameras podcast.

Jaz:

Thanks for listening to this episode of cowgirls with

Jaz:

cameras. Don't let the laughter and learning stop here. Join our

Jaz:

community on social media. And be sure to visit our website for

Jaz:

more opportunities to fulfill your photography goals head to

Jaz:

cowgirlswithcameras.com That's cowgirlswithcameras.com See you