This February, I attended the first Inspire Boston conference thanks to Enna and Matt Grazier, the super-talented and generous Boston wedding photographers, who assembled and launched the first retreat-style conference designed to bring together, refresh and inspire photographers from all over New England.
Co-hosting was our beloved Lens Pro To Go
www.lensprotogo.com who opened their doors (as always) hosting seminars and a fabulous wrap party the final evening.
For two full days we toggled between the Colonial Inn and Lens Pro in seminars, live shoots, mentoring sessions with 90 other local photographers, now friends.
I signed up simply to learn a few things and meet some new friends not knowing how special those two days would be.
Eric Laurits presented on personal vision – not his own, but those of others. He could have talked about himself, but he dug deeper by interviewing people from all walks of life and treated us to their truths. He urged us to seek our personal vision by reinterpreting life, by simply embarking without worrying where we’d end up and to strive to reach ourselves instead striving to reach success. As I listened to him speak, I could only think of one word: PURE. That’s him. His message was beautiful and I so thank you Eric for everything that you gave of yourself that day. To see more on Eric, go to www.ericlaurits.com
Matt Grazier put together an adventurous live shoot recruiting a makeup artist, florist, designer and client to model for us. Our model, Holly, was stunning. We all gathered around Matt as he took us through his approach a shoot, seeking the details, angles and light (for him that also means keeping it light). What I love about Matt is that you can just take a deep breath around him. He has a way of putting you at ease while simultaneously making images that will bring you to your knees. And as if I needed to feel luckier, I sat down with Matt for a mentoring session hoping to reboot myself before my busy season started. Thank you Matt for all of your thoughts, ideas, care and pushing up the deadline:) I’m in full-throttle now. Go to Matt & Enna’s world here: http://www.grazierphotography.com
Richard Esposito was teaching and practicing fusion simultaneously. He’s the guy that you wish sat next to you in math or English or history or anything because if anyone knows the answer and is willing to help you find it, it’s him. He’s a guru on fusion and powered out a fun piece highlighting our two days together at Inspire Boston. You can see it and read more about the talented Richard Esposito here: http://www.photographer-re.info/announcements/inspire-boston/ Thank you Richard!
Lastly, I sat in on an album workflow presentation given by Lara & Kate from Studio Nouveau. The duo design uber-custom albums that truly reflect the style of their brides. Their designs are downright gorgeous. They revealed their approach along with interesting design elements that I plan to use this season. Thank you girls for your inspiration. To read more about Studio Nouveau, go to http://www.thestudionouveau.com/
And as if it wasn’t enough to have some of the most talented event photographers guiding us through those two days, Jim Collins, CEO of Pictage made a guest appearance connecting and celebrating with all of us. He not only sponsored the event, but he stayed up late with us swapping stories and encouraging us all to have fun. Yes, he’s a very cool guy – Pictage is lucky to have him as their leader. It was such a treat to meet you Jim!
I couldn’t make it to all of the seminars, but others included a live shoot with Carla Ten Eyke, Off-camera lighting with James Federico and Tony Yu, Color Management with Mark Higgins, Pricing with Anne Ruthmann, Digital Asset Management with Paul McNerney, Lightroom/PS Techniques with Tommy Colbert and Brian Malloy along with Connecting with Clients taught by Melissa Tirado. The learning is never ending. Take a deep breath now.
After those two days, I not only felt inspired, but connected to a very special family of photographers. Thank you Enna & Matt for getting us together, inspiring us and making us feel like we were home.
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