B Family - Brooklyn Retreat | Maine Family Photographer | Stepheney Collins Photography

Last September I hopped a plane to NYC to attend a photo retreat hosted by photographers Elena S. Blair and Bre Thurston. To say I was excited to learn from those two was an understatement! I had taken Elena’s “The Art of Lifestyle Family Photography” class back in January of 2018, and it transformed my photography. Before taking her class, I had this image in my mind of how I wanted to capture families but I didn’t really know how to translate that into my actual photos. I learned so much from that class, and looking back, I realize that was a major turning point for me. When I learned that she offered in person retreats, I knew I had to sign up for one and make it happen even though doing something like that seemed so crazy to me at the time. When their Brooklyn Retreat 2019 was announced, I knew in my gut that I had to apply.

I learned so much at the retreat, and to be honest, even though it was almost 6 months ago, I am still processing everything. It was a jam packed three days, full of so much information and wisdom. I loved learning from Elena and Bre, but also from my fellow retreat attendees. It was great to talk shop with others who knew exactly what I was talking about and were at similar places in their businesses.

One of the highlights of the retreat was the chance to photograph a family alongside Elena and Bre. I’m always curious about other photographers’ approaches to shooting, and the cool thing about this was that not only were Elena and Bre shooting, but all the other retreat attendees were too. As you can imagine, this was a little chaotic. Well, maybe a lot chaotic since we were out in the streets of Brooklyn, dodging cars, people, and the two little boys whizzing back and forth on their scooters! But it was fun to just embrace the chaos and go with the flow, which I’ve found through my own experiences as a family photographer is a great skill to have. As you can see, we had the most adorable, down to earth family to photograph and I feel so lucky to have been able to capture these moments for them. The four of them exuded so much light and love throughout the whole session—it was a beautiful thing to witness. Now if only I could figure out how to be as relaxed and easygoing while being photographed by one camera, let alone eleven!