The most valuable investment photographers can make to help improve their craft often involves the intangibles. Education is at the top of this list and I am not talking about attending a university and getting a(nother) degree. I am talking about hands-on workshops taught by working professionals. It's not just about listening to how to light this and how to expose for that. To be near so many professionals in one location who have all invested a large portion of their lives into photography is priceless to me. I get to draw from their passion, learn from their past mistakes, and shoot along side them while being critiqued.
My first event will be coming up this April and I will be traveling to St. Louis, MO to experience what past attendees have described as a 72+ hour "lifestyle" event, meaning I will be eating and breathing photography for 3 full days supplemented with a few hours of sleep somewhere in between (hopefully). The mentors are known to teach and work with students into the wee hours of the morning. I am beyond excited and I plan to make a fool of myself.
I already have my eyes set on my next workshop: Gulf Photo Plus 2014! The best part about it? It is in Dubai! I would love to experience the madness there. Below is a video of the GPP 2013 Shoot-Out event that was recently posted. It is fun to see how these professional photographers are able to crank out an assignment on the spot (from conceiving the image to post-production). Oh, and they have only 20 minutes each to do it all in. Enjoy!
GPP2013 Shoot-Out from gulf photo plus on Vimeo.