Eeee! I’m so excited for this! After taking some time to mull over last year’s workshop, what worked, what fell on it’s face, and what *could* work if tweaked, I’m excited to announce the second Abby Grace Workshop on Monday, September 8, 2014!

When I first started shooting weddings, I didn’t have a game plan. And I desperately needed one. Instead of walking in calm and collected, I entered a bridal suite barely able to mask my desperation and panic. I’m sure I’m not the only one, but I literally lost sleep in the days and weeks leading up to weddings from nerves that I wouldn’t be prepared, that I’d be thrown into a situation I didn’t know how to handle and that as a result, I’d ruin someone’s wedding photographs.

I have to believe that I wasn’t alone in feeling like that, so this year’s workshop is quite a bit different than my last one. Rather than trying to give you a generic snapshot of what it looks like to own a business, we’re going to be concentrating on the day-of aspect of being a wedding photographer. What kind of light should you be looking for during the “getting ready” portion of the day? How do you handle yourself when it feels like you’re drowning? How can you take a seemingly hopeless portrait location and turn it into something that works FOR you?

But just as importantly, we’re going to talk about the little things that, when combined, can make for a huge difference. The way you interact with the grandmother of the bride, using specific language when posing the groomsmen vs. the bridesmaids, how to calm an anxious bride. Things that often slip under your conscious radar, but that can make all the difference in the world.

After several workshops with my favorite photographers and nearly five wedding seasons under my belt, I’ve got my game plan down pat. And it’s WITHIN that structure that I’m able to find creativity. When you’re running around with your hair on fire, it’s hard to stop and consider “how can I make these portraits even more artistic, and make my clients feel so loved at the same time?” But now that I have a process, now that I’m no longer struggling to tread water, I can actually make progress. There’s freedom within my formula, and I want you guys to be able to experience that same wedding day peace.

Thus, A Practical Wedding Workshop was born. We’ll talk through the wedding day extensively, going over the “how-to’s” of each aspect, addressing challenges that may surface and how to work around them. We’ll have a bride & groom available later in the afternoon so that I can explain in-depth how I pose my couples, and each attendee will leave with a new head shot. We’ll round out the evening with dinner and an extensive open Q&A where we can talk about anything I didn’t cover during the day, whether that’s editing, networking, websites, you name. Nothing’s off the table.

You can learn even more by checking out the workshop website! Registration for the September 8th workshop goes live next Thursday, July 17 at 10am. Seats are $550 and are limited to 10 attendees, but the earlybird code “SUNRISE” gets you $100 off your seat if you register within the first five days.

As always, feel free to email me with any questions! I’m SO stoked for this, and I can’t wait to see the growth that happens as a result!