Root to Rise Retreat | In Home Family Sessions
If there’s one piece of advice I would give any new photographer or business owner, it’s to not skimp out on continuing education. I’ve participated in the Root to Rise Mastermind on more than one occasion, and it’s been such an amazing investment for me both personally and professionally. This four month program allows me to connect with other women in my field to build community and scale my business so that it’s fulfilling in every way. We end each program with a retreat, and this go around I flew to Washington DC to meet the other participants in person! Each retreat has a different focus, and this go around it was geared towards in home family sessions. I had a blast & learned so much!
These getaways are great for so many reasons! Sabrina Gebhardt, the creator behind the program, pampers us during our stay and we have equal parts work and play. We were treated to a chef preparing Hors d’oeuvres and a private yoga session to relax and renew before we got started on our sessions.
Day One- In Home Session
Since we are, after all, a group of photographers, we have the opportunity to polish our skills with sessions and the style is always different. During the last retreat in California, we shot family sessions on the beach so it was fun to switch things up a bit with in-home sessions. During our first day, we took photos of two families, one family came to the Air BNB where we were staying for us to photograph & the second family we went to their home. The home had great lighting and several areas of interest for variety in the shots and I couldn’t wait to start editing!
We sat down together that evening and did portfolio reviews & it’s incredibly helpful! I’ve mentioned before that being a photographer or small business owner can be kind of isolating and having a sounding board with these ladies is one of my favorite parts of the program. We pick out a few of our favorite shots from our personal portfolios and discuss them as a group. Before coming, we were instructed to put together Pinterest boards of styles and inspiration that speak to us. During our stay, we compare our boards to our portfolios to see if our vision aligns with our work, and that was enlightening and fun! We wrapped up our night by ordering in food and visiting with each other.
Day Two
The next day, we shot our final in-home session and the sound of cameras snapping away filled the room. It’s such an enjoyable experience! In between our session and our evening plans, we had the opportunity to troubleshoot and bounce ideas off of each other in regards to our personal businesses. We even discussed some upcoming developments and changes in my business! I’m holding my cards to my chest on those for the time being, but I promise to fill you all in very soon!
When we wrapped up our shop talk, we went out as a group for dinner and got to enjoy each other’s company for our final night in DC. The time went by quickly and I’m already itching for the next round of mastermind! Sabrina has a waitlist for the program since she keeps the group on the smaller side to create a personal experience and spots open twice a year. I’ve already signed up for the spring session and cannot wait to see what she has in store for us! If you’re looking for tremendous growth, encouragement, and education on how to scale your business to suit your personal and business goals: this is for you! I highly recommend it!
