I connected with Rob and Lauren Photographers a number of months ago on Twitter and had taken an interest in their portrait and wedding photography that was showcased on their blog. I loved their style of photography which had a fun and relaxed feeling, and was quite excited to find out that they were going to be doing a cross-Canada travelling Photography Concentrate workshop. One of their stops was scheduled for Saskatoon so I registered. Unfortunately due to logistics, all of the workshops were cancelled except for the one in their hometown of Edmonton. Due to its relative proximity to Saskatoon, I decided to make the trip out west and registered for the workshop.

The workshop was aimed at emerging professionals with a focus on wedding and portrait photography which fit exactly into my current situation. Reading about the ins and outs of the business is one thing, but I knew that learning first hand from those with a strong standing in the industry was where the real knowledge would come from. The workshop was scheduled for two full days with twelve students.

Rob and Lauren set up a meet and greet dinner at an awesome Neapolitan pizza place called Famoso (some of the best pizza I have ever had) the night before the workshop started. It was a great opportunity to just get to know everyone prior to the workshop officially starting. The meetup was casual, and the conversations included both photography and non-photography topics. It was an excellent lead into the next two days.

The workshop touched on some technical aspects of photography such as how to shoot in different lighting situations, scouting a location, etc., but I would say the majority of the workshop focused on how to run a successful photography business. Rob and Lauren had no inhibitions about revealing what they had done to become successful photographers. There philosophy was that the ideas don’t mean anything unless you act upon them. And if you have the drive to execute on the ideas they were sharing, you deserve the success. I found this to be a very refreshing approach considering the high level of competition in the market.

Fortunately the workshop attendees were very engaged throughout the entire two day stretch. The conversations were invaluable, and the amount of knowledge sharing was incredible. I don’t think anyone left the workshop without learning something new.

Since this was a photography workshop we did spend time shooting. We spent a few hours on day two at the University of Alberta shooting two models. In previous workshops, including this one, I always find it a bit awkward shooting with a dozen other photographers. So instead of trying to get some good shots I focused on watching Rob and Lauren as they interacted with the models, and how they shot. I found this to be much more valuable to me than actually taking any shots. The photographer’s interaction with the models can make or break the final images, and watching a couple of veterans do this provided an awesome insight.

After the two days I was exhausted. The days were full and we covered a lot of material. I am very happy that I made the trip to Edmonton, and loved that the workshop focused on the business side of photography. They say that a photography business consists of about 20% photography and 80% business management, and it’s usually the latter where we need the most help. And as an emerging photographer I welcome all of the guidance I possibly can.

For anyone who has the chance to attend a Photography Concentrate workshop with Rob and Lauren Photographers, I highly recommend it. You will not be disappointed. I know I wasn’t. They are incredible photographers, have a passion to share their knowledge, and are just good people.