Arent’ we just so beeeeautiful? Photo courtesy of Wish Photography
It has taken me some time to sit down and write this blog. I first started writing it in August of last year, about a month after Retreat … But then the “crazy season” for me hit in the fall and I wanted to make sure that I included quite a few images from Retreat with the blog so people could see what Retreat was really all about. And since I took more images during Retreat than I would shooting a couple weddings, it’s taken me some time to sit down and shift through them and edit the ones I love. Eek!
I have been a fan of Wish Photography pretty much since I opened my own photography business three years ago. I didn’t know the person behind the camera, but I did know that I enjoyed seeing the posts on Facebook news feed, I loved the unique posing and editing style … And most importantly, I loved the confidence that exuded from the images and the story they conveyed. On pretty much a whim, I decided to join the fun of Wish Retreat 2012 after seeing the wonderful images and opportunities from Wish Retreat 2011. And I tell you what, it was one of the smartest things I have ever done.
So what all did we do? We did some shoots with models and couples, at sunrise, sunset and even high noon. We shot in the fields, in the water, in the mountains. We talked about branding and figuring out our identity. We swapped stories and we laughed, cried, snorted and ate copious amounts of junk food. We slept as little as possible just so we could soak in each others’ company. We instagrammed a lot (seriously. A lot! Search for the hashtags #loudroom and #wishretreat to see some of our shenanigans).
Retreat is a photographers dream. It was four days of shooting and learning, laughter and education. Even though I am not a newbie photographer and had been in business for a couple of years, Kandis – the gal behind the lens at Wish Photography – taught me so much about photography. It is not just about the posing, the technical mumbo-jumbo of camera settings, or even the business aspect of it … Photography is about art expression. It’s about figuring out the story you want to tell, using the camera as a tool to paint the scene, and having the ability execute the camera to capture the story.
I have hundreds of images that I just swoon over, but I have narrowed it down to my top 10 favorite images taken at Retreat to share here on this blog post. I will be posting individual blogs featuring sessions done, which you can check out at the following links (which will update as I finish the sessions up and blog) :: Clint & Kamille.
It’s been about six months since I went to Retreat and I am excited to say that I will be attending Wish Retreat 2013 again this June in Salt Lake City. I grew so close with the girls who attended Wish Retreat 2012, that I consider them to not only be colleagues, but to be my friends – the type of friends I can text silly videos to just because or call them and ask for advice. If I learned absolutely nothing, just befriending these wonderful women was worth the trip… but lucky me – I learned so much and that is why Wish Retreat is the best investment I made in 2012 (ok, maybe it’s tied with investing in my Nikon D800 camera upgrade, haha). I’m so proud to be part of the Wish Alumni, and I can only hope that one day I will be as amazing as some of these ladies!
The world of photography can be such a competitive and downright ugly place – sometimes people forget that despite the overwhelming number of photographers, there is still an abundance of clients out there for us and we don’t have to be mean, we don’t have to be catty – we can be genuine and real and helpful and it won’t hurt our business; in fact, I would go so far as to say it helps us as world citizens, friends, mothers and businesswomen. Something very important I learned from Kandis was that when we give, we receive so much more – she is actually who really inspired me to start teaching my own Workshops for Momtographers, for the everyday moms and dads to learn how better take pictures, to tell their stories.
I can’t even begin to get into some of the shenanigans we got into, or tell all the stories. There were just so many amazing memories from Wish Retreat that I’ll always carry with me, and I will probably attend Retreat every year that Kandis throws one … So long as Natalie brings her homemade Oreos and Jess-Buns does her creeper eyes and Amy wears that awesome tie-dyed pajama top (which I have awesome pictures of, but they’re in the private Wish Alumni vault, bahaha). Or Harmony can call me Jessica (and she is 85 to me) … Bahaha! Now … is it June 2013 yet??????????
