This retreat had been in the works since January of 2017 and didn’t happen until the end of April 2017. It honestly started with really wanting to attend a retreat or even a workshop but not being able to afford it, so I decided to plan my own. There was a lot of research and emailing for days and days.
The Tausha Leann retreat is an experience I created for photographers and videographers that desire to build a successful photography and/or videography business and create amazing connections with other photographers, videographers and vendors.
The first day of this retreat focused on an engagement session as well as a senior stylized session while the second day focused on boudoir and wedding photography. We covered a wide range of topics including shooting, posing, client experience, organization, business, marketing, social media and more.
Our speakers were amazing! I mean can we just take a minute to talk about Tracy Layne, McKenzie Deakins and Kylee Ann Maughan?! So amazing!
Day one: We all met up and got to know each other at our rental house in Park City, UT. The makeup artist was there ready to make all these girls feel and look amazing for their head shots. While all of this was happening our couple that was modeling for us was getting ready. We had a makeup artist, hair stylist, a wardrobe from Rosie and Claire and some gorgeous wedding rings from Forge Jewelers. ALSO while they were getting ready we had 2 adorable high school students getting ready for our senior photo shoots. They got their hair and makeup done and got dressed in some clothes from Twice as Nice. Once everyone was ready we headed to down town Park City. Those little streets are full of so much character and you can get so many different shots all on one street. It was cold afternoon but everyone toughed it out while we rotated between getting shots of the couple, the seniors and getting head shots done. We headed back to the rental home, picked up some pizza on the way back and got cozy at the clubhouse and listened to Tracy Layne talk to us. She was so inspiring and delivered a presentation I believe we all needed to hear to just know that we CAN do this. We headed back to the rental house for some more fun before falling asleep in the wee hours of the morning.
Day two: We all got up and ready for the boudoir shoot. The makeup artist and Hairstylist were both amazing for being up and at the rental house at the hour in the morning. This is where the hiccups started. Our boudoir model never showed up. No notice what so ever. So our AMAZING makeup artist stepped in and that shoot went amazing! After that we had some breakfast and morning yoga. I know I really needed some food and yoga. We then got to listen to McKenzie Deakins speak. Once we got the television issue fixed she brought so much energy to our house and rocked it! After her presentation we all got cozy on one of the beds to boomarang the moment of all the girls beaming! We then had free time. Everyone chose what they wanted to do weather that was heading to downtown to shop, stay at the house and nap or edit or head out to get more shots. After that all the models started showing up for the big shoot everyone was looking forward to, the wedding stylized shoot. Again one of our bridesmaids models didn’t show up but even though we were one model short things and the photo turned out great. We had different area set up for rotations. The couch area, the cake table, the treat table, the stationary suites, the table and of course the models all all locations. One final last minute event thrown in to this shoot was a surprise engagement we set up for the boyfriend (now fiance!!!) of one of the bridesmaid models. It was so fun to set up and capture such a raw, pure, beautiful moment. That couple now has those photos to hold on to forever of that amazing moment. After that we grabbed food and headed back to the rental house for one last speaker. Kylee Ann wrapped up our retreat wonderfully! I loved how she showed her progression through her years of being a photographer. Seeing that it just takes time, hard work, continuous education and just a go get it attitude really inspired not only myself but every photographer/woman there.
This retreat really gave me so much joy to plan and then see it all come together and have life! I loved creating friendships & relationships with all the wonderful amazing women that believed in me and attended this retreat. I hope that I provided them with motivation, determination and the joy needed for being a photographer. We already have a retreat in the making for the fall of 2017 in Zion National Park and the surrounding areas. It’s going to be gorgeous and I hope even better than the very first one. Although I’m not sure how I can top this retreat?! But I am going to make it happen!
