Join senior photographers Jessica Edwards and Mario Masitti for a photography workshop dedicated to high school senior photography. Whether you're trying to break into the senior market or simply take your business to the next level, you'll gain a vast array of knowledge from two different, yet successful photographers to help you achieve your goal. Mario and Jessica's open-books teaching method will help you in building a sustainable high school senior business.
You'll walk away knowing how to:
- create both classic and editorial-inspired studio lighting
- create poses in the studio that sell
- overcome your fear of working with off-camera-flash (OCF)
- work with seniors to create a fun, playful experience
- create a pricing structure that keeps you profitable and sustainable
- create a brand that your seniors will absolutely love
- keep your workflow manageable by incorporating time-saving editing techniques
Tentative Schedule
10:00 - 10:30 Meet & Greet
10:30 - 12:00 Pricing & Sales with Jessica
12:00 - 1:00 lunch at the studio / Q&A
1:00 - 2:30 Studio Lighting & Posing
2:30 - 4:30 Outdoor Lighting & Posing
- natural lighting with Mario
- posing & client interaction with Mario
- simple off-camera flash lighting with Jessica
5:00 - 6:00 Editing & Retouching with Mario & Jessica
What To Bring
It’s going to be a packed day with the perfect balance of shooting, business, and computer time. We recommend bringing:
*Something for notes (paper/pen, iPad, computer, etc.)
*Favorite camera and lens
*Memory cards & batteries
*Laptop
*Tito's Vodka (Kidding! Maybe.)
We will be providing models, off-camera lighting equipment, reflectors/scrim, and any other larger and specialized gear to help you keep your travels light.
Experience Level
This workshop is perfect for the beginner-to-intermediate photographer and above. Basic understanding of camera functionality is expected. We’ll work with all levels of photographers to show you how to work with light and how to work with your clients.
Travel & Accommodations
The workshop will be hosted in Southwest Missouri at Jessica’s studio.
*Airports*
For out of town attendees, there are five airports within two hours:
Kansas City International (tends to be the cheapest)
Joplin Regional (closest)
NW Arkansas Regional
Springfield International
Tulsa International
We are unable to provide transportation to/from airport. However, we will be happy to connect attendees together if you'd like to carpool.
*Hotels*
Lamar, Missouri (host city)
Super 8
Pittsburg, Kansas (30-minute drive):
Lamplighter Inn & Suites
Holiday Inn Express
Joplin, Missouri (40-minute drive):
La Quinta Inn
Homewood Suites by Hilton
Hilton Garden Inn
Drury Inn & Suites
About Your Speakers
*Jessica*
Jessica has earned the Photographic Master and Photographic Craftsman degrees through the Professional Photographers of America. She is the past President of the Professional Photographers of the Ozarks (Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma) and has served on the board of the Missouri Professional Photographers Association.
She’s been in business, full-time, for 10 years as of Fall 2017 and went to a technical photography school in Ohio to learn the ins and outs of the trade.
*Mario*
Questions
Q: What if I am not a full-time senior photographer?
A. This workshop is STILL great for you. Whether you shoot zero seniors a year or 100 you will walk away with amazing new insight on how to leverage your senior business.
Q: I only shoot natural light. Will I still benefit?
A. Absolutely. Both Jessica and Mario will show you how and when to use strobes in a way that will inspire your next session. You'll also learn how to master natural lighting to achieve the look you want.
Q: I don’t have a studio. Will I still learn a lot?
A. Yes! Mario doesn’t operate out of a traditional studio either. What will be taught in the studio lighting portion of the workshop you can still apply to shooting senior outdoors, whether that's with off-camera flash or natural lighting. Plus, plenty of the day will be focused on pricing, sales, location shooting, editing, etc.
Q: I DO have a studio. Will *I* still learn a lot?
A: Yes! The studio portion with Jessica is pure magic and worth it alone.
Q: I don’t own off-camera flash gear. Will I need some?
A: For the workshop, no. However, we’ll show you both studio strobes and handheld flashes so you can work hands-on with different gear types to see what you like!
Q: Will you be running classes simultaneously?
A: No, we will not! We want to make sure you get to enjoy 100% of the information from each of us. You will not have to choose which module to attend because we know you’d all pick Jessica over Mario (or at least the smart ones would).
Q: I still have more questions!
A: That's not a question, but we get it! Click the contact form and one of us will be in touch as soon as possible.
