How do you feel about workshops?

Rick Pearson

I'm talking about the higher end workshops that are traveling around out there. They usually focus on a niche within photography and include a presentation, in-depth demonstrations, some hands on interactivity, and a very small class size ranging between eight and thirteen, and are priced between $300 - $500.

Has anyone within this group attended any such seminar? I'm primarily interested in understanding what you hoped to gain from attending, what type of experience you expected to have, whether or not you felt it was worth your cash during and afterward, also curious to know whether you put what was taught to you to practice?

Scott_Quier

I attended the Shay Stephens Wedding Photography Boot Camp last fall. It was priced well above the $300 - $500 mark you are indicating. Was it worth the time and expense - no question in my mind. What Shay shared was/is worth gold - literally. Some of the practices he shared have made my photography so much better than it was.

dangin

it really depends on who's teaching it, what the subject matter is, what level of experience you already have, and most importantly, what do you plan on getting out of the experience.

case in point: last year, i went to a local wedding photography seminar with bob davis, founder of bella pictures, as the speaker. i went with the expectation that i wasn't going to learn any shooting or light techniques, but rather wanting to garner any possible insights as to his business practices. what i got out of it was a couple of tricks he uses in non-wedding shooting that he does that i've started to apply to my weddings; none of which have anything to do with a camera.

however, i've also been to a seminar hosted by ed pierce, another well-known wedding and portraiture photographer and was hoping to add to my knowledge of portrait lighting; suffice it to say, it seemed more like a demo for the westcott lighting modifiers and quantum q flashes that he uses.