I wanted to write a little about my experience with the Workshop on the Waterfront held in Maryland before it all starts to fade from memory.
The workshop started with an vendor expo on Sunday afternoon, then our full group dinner and first night speaker. We then had two more full days of speakers (including me!!!) and then an optional add-on day of portfolio building. The workshop was organized by
The Savvy Photographer and had an who's who of photographers for speakers (oh, and me, LOL).
Behind the Scenes
This was the first workshop I attended as a speaker instead of as an attendee so it was interesting to see more of the behind the scenes. I'm not sure that many people realize just how much has to go into planning a workshop like this….from coordinating speakers, to scheduling, marketing, accommodations, meal planning. The hotel was AMAZING and it was incredible to have this gorgeous place to ourselves. The rooms were all different, beautiful, and unique. I know I wanted to cry from happiness when I went into my room. Since the majority of us are moms, it was nice for us to have this opportunity to have a little luxury in our otherwise busy lives. But consider having to do the room assignments for 70+ people. Yikes. Meals were wonderful but consider that when you have that many people, there are going to be some challenges with coming up with meals that will work for everyone.
Wrinkles
But then you have to add in all the things that can put a wrinkle in your well laid plans and adjustments have to be made. One speaker couldn't make it at the last minute, newborn baby models canceled when the moms decided they didn't want to make the drive, it rained for most of the two days we were there so we were mostly stuck indoors. One of the speakers had the video of her laptop go out the night before her talk. So the scheduled was adjusted several times to account for these problems which I know can be frustrating as an attendee. With so many talks, we did sometimes run behind and need to adjust but everything was fit in. And I don't think we lost anyone along the way.
The Talk
(taken with my iPhone)
I have been so excited to go give this talk for SOOOOO long. I love talking to other photographers. And strangely, was not nervous about talking in front of such a large group. I think because I'm so passionate about my topic and I know it well. Originally I was going to talk about blogging…but as I worked on my presentation it grew into more of a social media talk because I needed to talk about facebook, newsletters, and twitter-and how all those things work together. The hour of my talk FLEW by (at least for me)!!!!
Being Social
One of the things that was really important to me was to make sure I added value to the workshop for the attendees. And making new friends is fun for me. I wanted to make sure I was available to as many of the attendees as possible during the days we were there. I tried to sit at a different table for every meal to talk to different groups. I hung around during the breaks in the schedule to answer questions. I gave advice when asked for it. And
I sympathized when photographers talked about some of the struggles they've had in their business or even their personal lives. During my talk and the days that followed I made a bunch of new friends on Facebook and new followers on Twitter. And it wasn't all work. After hanging around in our PJs one night (we had the hotel reserved for just our group), we decided to make a late night room tour because we wanted to see all the different rooms. Imagine 10-12 photographers going from room to room at midnight to ooh and aah over the rooms. So fun! And by the time I left my voice was hoarse from all the talking I did.
The Show Must Go On
So in spite of models canceling, technical problems, and schedule changes, the show went on. The swag bags were impressive and I know the attendees were excited about them. The prizes during the give aways were AWESOME (including
epiphanie bags,
frames, and
matilda jane clothes). And there were lots of little details that I thought were sweet (like little toy goody bags to bring home to our kids). The speakers got to do their thing.
Sisterhood
I wanted to finish up talking a little bit about
the Savvy Sisterhood. This is the part that is the hardest to explain to our husbands. And probably even our friends who have never been to an event like this. This is one of the most important parts to take away with you. And that is
the connection and bond that we made with each other during the event. When you have a group of women who spend time like this together, and have common interests, it is pretty easy to get to talk to each other. I cried a little in my car when I left (and am even getting a little weepy writing about it now) because I know that I won't have a new friend telling me funny stories about her husband, or another new friend who calls me "hot stuff" (thanks to the two Ambers).
I know so many people that think that when women get together like this they become catty but I found just the opposite….
they supported each other, boosted each other, and helped build up their confidence. There were people who noticed your cute hair or new boots - and those little things make us feel good about each other and ourselves. Too often in our day-to-day world we are too busy to talk to each other the way we can at a conference when we are away from our everyday lives. I loved that there was time built into the schedule for personal reflection (I sat in my room looking out the window for 30 minutes one day watching the water and it really invigorated me). I love that there were breaks after a full day of speakers before dinner to give the attendees a chance to get to know more about each other. My experience is that you can learn as much from each other during those breaks as you can from the speakers and they are just as important.
(*Thanks to Celia Lewis for my fab new portrait)
I know that I will wear my Savvy Sister charm necklace with pride and think about my 70 new friends every time I do.
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