What to expect from… Adventurous Elopements & Engagements: The Workshop

Hi Everyone! Emma here from Desert Daisy Jewelry. As many of you may know, I have recently partnered with Heather to form Adventurous Elopements and Engagements the Workshop. I am doing a blog takeover today to give you all an idea of what you can expect from one of our workshops, specifically our next styled shoot retreat at Under Canvas Zion.

This is just a sneak peak, for a detailed schedule & full shoot info, please check out the Workshop page here.

Heather & I met through our affinity for jumping in the car and driving to the most beautiful locations to do photoshoots. We have traveled together on half a dozen shoots, and thought “how much more fun would this be with a group of photographers from all over the country?” So from there, the Workshop was born. Three days, two nights, 8 photographers & a whole lot of adventure. Heather is an accomplished wedding photographer specializing in destination elopements and intimate ceremonies. I have years of propping & styling background having worked for Anthropologie, which has translated into styling over 30 shoots for various photographers. We want to share all of this with you!

There are a few spots left, but as you can see, we limited this workshop to 8 tickets. It is important that everyone who attends gets the full experience. Your ticket price includes a bed within the Under Canvas glamping tents, as well as meals. We will have 3 very unique styled shoots over the course of the three days, and you can choose to attend all 3, or just the ones you feel will be beneficial to creating marketing content for your business.

In between the shoots, there will be various education classes, followed by Q&A. There will also be plenty of downtime for you to explore, take all the lovely Zion landscape photos, etc. Please keep in mind our permits for professional photography only apply to the Under Canvas campsite area, so taking models out and into Zion National Park is not part of the workshop.

So what will your adventure look like? That is really up to you, but it could easily be something like this:

You did it! You booked your spot, plane ticket is bought and you are all set to explore one of the most beautiful natural landscapes the US has to offer with a group of talented and like-minded creatives. Zion, here we come!

Nervous and excited, you make your way up to the campsite. The reception area is just so cool, they have thought of everything. It is midday on Friday the 13th, other photographers are arriving and you are meeting your tent mates, settling in for the weekend and checking your camera gear.

Grabbing a dinner and swapping stories with other photogs, you prepare for the first styled shoot, campfire and smores. It has been years since you have melted those gooey marshmallows and you know after you capture the images you need, you are digging in.

Full of laughter and sugar, you settle in for the night. Tomorrow morning you are determined to catch the sunrise and those beautiful mountainscapes, so you will most likely skip out on a class or two in order to do so, but you can’t resist the call of the wild. Catching back up with the classes after lunch will do, plus you know the handouts from the classes will be available to you at the end of the workshop anyway.

Here it is, the main event. As the afternoon sun dips lower, you enjoy learning about how to stage that perfect tablescape, how to prop for photos and you are loving seeing the elopement set come together. When the sun sets just low enough, you are broken into groups with your tentmates. Different stations are set up so you can spend time on the details, and also work with the gorgeous, real couple models who are the perfect blend of bohemian and romance. You get a chance to work on your posing direction, one of the photogs in your group is an expert at it and you are so excited to take some of these practices home with you for your real-life couples.

Sun has gone, every last picture has been taken and the set has been cleared away. Dinner is a little on the late side, but it was worth it to get all those stunning golden hour pics. Good thing there were snacks at the propping workshop. After dinner, you sit and share RAW images with all your new friends and chat about how you will edit them to make them your own.

You go to bed exhausted, what a day. You are sad to think it will all be over tomorrow and you will be heading back to the hustle of the real world, but you are also excited about the shoot in the morning before you pack up. Early morning light will be the star of the intimate engagement session in the Stargazer tent. Crisp white sheets, dark-haired models and a whole bunch of anticipation at a life together just about to start. An engagement session with a hint of boudoir may be outside your comfort zone now, but imagine how many new clients you can attract just by posting about this styled shoot.

After the final shoot is over and your bags are packed, you say a fond farewell to Zion and the new friends you met there. Everyone has exchanged Instagram handles, and plans are already in motion for future styled shoots together, so you know this isn’t the last you will see of everyone. You head back home with a full heart and a ton of photos to edit. Maybe skipping the workflow tutorial wasn’t the best idea after all 😉

All that sounds amazing, right? So what are you waiting for?