The Secret Workshop is a photographers’ workshop focused on child photography hosted by Cheryl Muhr. This is my review of the workshop I attended in June, 2008 in Flint Michigan.
Cheryl is a fun person to be around. She has managed to integrate her business into her family life, she treats life and her profession as a hobby, as something to live and strive for. Her motto is that if you don’t enjoy something — get rid of it and maximize the fun factors in life. Cheryl is a joy to listen to and she keeps your attention. Cheryl’s enthusiasm made the workshop inspiring and helped me to see things in a new light.
This is not just a motivational workshop, it also teaches you how to price yourself and your work; get clients in different target markets and how to break into new areas of the photography market (commercial, editorial and portraiture). She also covers portrait photography and processing techniques.
The Secret Workshop is a two-day workshop: One “secret” about the workshop is that you don’t know who the guest speaker will be before you arrive. We were treated to Brianna Graham, a Grand Rapids-based photographer.
The first day began with a lecture by Cheryl about how she broke into the business, what inspires her and her philosophy on photography. It was followed by a presentation by Brianna Graham where she explained her lighting and studio techniques. She did not discuss her post-processing techniques.
The first day ended with a two-to-three hour shoot-out. 15-25 child models were shared among 45, mostly women participants (there was one male). We were split into groups by table – so we ended up with about 5 groups with 7-8 women/men per group. This part of the workshop was also the weakest – it was chaotic - the jungle law ruled: eat or be eaten – you had to recruit the models on your own – if there was a free and un-tired one, pose her or him and then get your shot. Each group was on their own practicing their skills.
In retrospect, for this part, the most valuable way to spend your time here is to stalk Cheryl or linger at Brianna’s studio shot station and to forget about getting your shot. After all - I was there to get a good sense on how to create an image from their point of view, what to look for (in terms of light & setting & pose) and how to reach a final product.
The final day was about post-production, setting up a business, including pricing and selecting supporting products or companies (printing companies, accessories and more). Cheryl illustrates her technique with images she shot from the day before and accommodates her thought process in creating them.
As with any workshop - there were a few weaknesses: My chief complaint is that it was too crowded. 40+ photographers are too many for the price of the workshop and there is really no one-on-one time with Cheryl. The crowdedness is especially a problem at the shoot-out session. The workshop could probably improve if the models had certain tasks or stations – and a rotation scheme was implemented. I suspect that this is not unusual when you have a number of models and photographers. But despite the somewhat chaotic shootout and difficulties overall the workshop went smoothly. Second – I think it would have been nice if Cheryl attempted to spend some time per group – this could mitigate the need for one-on-one time per participant. Most of us left the workshop wishing for more one-on-one time. However, Cheryl had recruited a number of volunteers from previous workshop and they were at hand. I appreciate that forethought. Amanda – was especially helpful.
The workshop concluded with door prizes and awards – two of them were Blu Domain web sites (OH and I wish I had won one of those) – there were some actions sets awards (Nichole Van and MCP Actions –and Jodi of MCP actions was an attendee) and other awards. We got a goody bag with coupons, a workbook with the stuff we covered (slides) and a CD that includes pricing and Cheryl’s workflow actions.
My results – despite the period of chaos during the model shoot-out – were several nice images. I also came out of the workshop feeling more confident in my photography and that I could start a photography business if I wanted to. But for now I am a hobbyist – so that aspect of photography will probably not be for a while. The pricing and strategies in setting up a business was valuable, however. Cheryl’s greatest strength is that she inspired you and she creates a positive atmosphere just to be there – and that in it self is priceless.
Secret Workshop: Secret Guest Studio Portion
Secret Workshop: Model Shoot Out.
Secret Workshop
Secret Workshop
Secret Workshop: Day 1 - Model Shoot Out.
