The family photography retreat you truly can’t miss, taught by Kayla of Locke Photography & Sarah of My Four Hens Photography!

“Don’t shoot what it looks like. Shoot what it feels like.”

— David Alan Harvey

Photography is all consuming and all encompassing. It has the power to move us all, and the ability to help us remember. It transcends stories beyond words, and creates artful stories that pull us straight back to the feeling of it all. And , if we are fortunate, we get to create that for others. We always have room to grow and ways to enrich this entire process. Every one of us. The end goal is to touch lives and create keepsake memories that last generations. And we get to do this in our own voice.. because your voice matters. Your work matters. And we are going to help you rise up.

This Is about legacy, human connection, finding our passion’s voice, and being bold in our creative choices.

It’s about passing our insecurities, stepping into our unique qualities, and embracing our art and our legacy.

It starts here, with you and this and us.

+ Why This Workshop?

Whether you are in a season of exhaustion or burn out and seeking more, or if you are trying to remember why you began in the first place, or you are looking to grow, change, and do more for yourself and others, there is something here for you. This retreat is about so much more than educating you (though there will be a lot of that, trust us), it is about empowering you. It is about guiding you to a place where you can rise up to your full potential and figure out what it is you are really missing in your work. This workshop is about the power of connection and emotion and community. It is about defining your own “why” and digging deeper into your work by doing the hard heart work that is necessary. It is about both practical applications to build a business and foundation upon, but also knowing your worth and helping you reach the potential that already exists deep inside of you. We will give you all of us, all we know, but also celebrate all of you and help you embrace your “why.” It’s time you remembered why you started, and what really fuels your passion.

+ Why Us?

We are a unique duo for sure. There is a combination of all the silly and empathetic and open and authentic that we want to pour into you. We are both so similar and yet VASTLY different… We always say we are yin & yang. There is truly SO much to take away from this. While we are very similar in our love for moments and storytelling, some ways of how we run our businesses, our workflows, and how we run our sessions are entirely different. This is the perfect way to cherry pick the best of both and apply them to you, so you can really solidify your own brand and your own way of pouring into your business. There are so many ways to be successful! This will be a safe place for you to come and be vulnerable; and also a place where you leave with not only fresh inspiration, but practical ways to make changes so when you get back home you have a plan for change and growth.

+ What do we really want to instill in you?

This is about learning your value. Developing tools to create images that are deeper and more connected in an authentic way. Beginning to really see people so you can capture them in an honest way. The art of storytelling through light, styling, and honest connection. Creating an experience for your clients and yourself from the very first inquiry. Getting very intentional about what you're caputring, and how. Bridging the gap between posed and emotion. Embodying your own brand and reaching your full potential. Learning the power of saying no to the wrong things so you can say yes to the right ones. It is about the fundamentals of photography and knowing the rules so you can confidently break them. Creating a network and community of women behind you, that both love and inspire you. Being more intentional in your work and slowing down so you can really connect with the people you photograph. Learning to process your images creatively to compliment your vision. (Kayla will be using Lightroom and Sarah will be using Photoshop.) Troubleshooting and various ways to work around difficult sessions and situations to help maintain confidence and control. Our full workflows for all the things. And much more. SO much more.

Do we have your attention yet? We mean it when we say you can’t miss this!

Technical things and details to also expect:

Lodging and meals, plus snacks, included! You are in charge of airfare and a rental car, plus if you have any special needs for food. Lunch and dinner on hangout day are not provided (details on hangout day below). Alcoholic drinks are also not provided, but you are welcome to bring any you’d like! We will create a Facebook group for us and all the attendees so you can match up flights, share rental cars, and connect before we meet for real!
We will all be staying under one roof to really emphasize connection and heighten the experience. We are going to get cozy!! Be prepared to share a bed if needed!
Our husbands, Wes and Adam, will be tagging along to help with all the things!

So let’s talk about how these days are going to go!

The first night we’re going to hug for the first time! And we are both huggers so just mentally prepare yourself for that! After that we are going to have dinner, chill, have a drink if you’d like, and just hangout! This is about shaking off the nerves and realizing how rejuvenating it is going to be to be surrounded by other creatives!

The next two days we will start with caffeine, duh. Then we both will be sharing loads of information with you and going over all things workflow, connection, backend strategies, social media and marketing, and lots more! We are going to have open roundtable discussions where we’ll answer any and all questions, and help you learn what makes strong, emotional, galleries and how to achieve them! We will both be side-by-side the entire way so you can have a connected experience that answers every single question you may have, and you can see how we do things so differently, yet successfully.

1:1 sessions will be scheduled for about a month after the retreat. After teaching several of these together, we’ve learned this is really the most beneficial way for you! The benefits are: 1) During our time at the retreat you then have more “free time.” When we are home we get enough of the go-go-go. We all deserve to relax a bit in these amazing places we will be. Trust us, you NEED it. 2) This gives you time to digest and apply the things you learn at the retreat, and then have your 1:1 time! Your cute brain will be so full at the retreat, so you’ll appreciate the break that way you can really think about what you want to discuss/learn with us during your 1:1.

The last day is our hangout day! If you’d like to join us then don’t plan on leaving us until that night after the shoot because we want a day just to really hang out with all of you and explore the area! We can go visit some shops, see other sights, grab a local bite to eat, and then SURPRISE!!!… a beautiful shootout to finish us off!

How will the shoots work?

We will do two family sessions during this retreat, each of us leading/teaching one, and a third if you stay for the shootout on the last night.

The final shootout will be just that, a shootout where we can all be creative together. So we will be shooting alongside you, instead of teaching, but also co-leading the shoot. This is a time for you to try new things too if you’d like!

During the shoots you will have the opportunity to shoot, but also take advantage of watching and listening! We know it comes natural to want to shoot everything you see happening and to need that hands on experience, but we also want you to know how much valuable learning can be had just by watching and listening to how we operate at our sessions. So we will have you do both!

Now you get to choose….

When and Where?!

We love teaching together so much, which means you have two options!

April 10-13, 2022

Joshua tree, California

&

May 31-June 3, 2022

Manzanita, Oregon

How do I book?!

UPDATE

Both retreats are SOLD OUT! To be added to the wait list please email us at theembraceretreat@gmail.com and specify which retreat you’d like to be on the list for, or for both.

Total investment: $2,700

Retainer due to book: $800

No refunds. If the attendee is unable to make it they can sell their spot, however half of the retainer is forfeit.

Two more payments of $950 will be paid in January and March.

So be prepared for an amazing experience, lovelies. There will be late nights and new memories and amazing new connections and relationships forged in our time together. We hope so much to have you on this journey with us. This is SO much more than a retreat, this is the opportunity to create a new beginning for you or even the opportunity to remember why you fell in love with photography in the first place. You deserve this, and your clients deserve this.

Can’t wait to squeeze you!

Sarah + Kayla

Still Have Questions? We’re happy To Help!

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