I have been a little swamped the last few days and I haven’t been able to give this post the kind of attention it deserves so I’m finally getting a moment to reflect on an incredible experience I had last week at a photography workshop called “Hoffshop.”
Now, I know a lot of professionals go to workshops and conferences and post about them talking about the educational experience that they have but you won’t find that kind of fluff talk coming from me. I’m about to give you the whole truth and nothing but about how this workshop was one of the biggest professional ass kicking’s of my life (and this isn’t a bad thing). Let me start off by saying I’m extremely picky when it comes to photography “workshops” or “conferences.” They typically are cookie cutter style seminars where the professional sets up three shots, lets you shoot one and claim it was your own artistic vision that created it, try to high pressure sell you some of their favorite products (for their own kickback) and then send you off with this false sense of accomplishment despite the fact you neither expanded on your creativity nor actually learned anything valuable about who YOU are as a photographer. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to leave something feeling all warm and fuzzy about your business but I’ll pass on that. I wanted something real and with Hoffshop, I got it.
I’ve been following Tony and Amy Hoffer now for about 5 years or so. I first fell in love with their work when I found out about them through the amazing Keith Lee Studios out of St. Louis (who has graciously shot photos for my husband and I in the past). What I didn’t realize at the time but do now after spending several days with them and their crew (Farid, Jim, and Lindsay) is that it wasn’t their composition or lighting I was in love with, it was their passion for literally everything that they do (more on that shortly). I knew the minute I saw Tony and Amy offered a small, personalized workshop that I wanted to be a part of it. As fate would have it and a little bit of luck I managed to secure a limited spot and I was soon on my way to Philly.
I knew to expect that Tony and Amy would be welcoming and friendly because their previous communication had been nothing but. What I wasn’t prepared for was literally becoming a part of their work family for the entire duration of our stay and beyond. We were instantly treated as friends and peers, fed constantly, provided truthful and real answers to everything we inquired about, and most of all treated as individuals. I just absolutely cannot express how grateful I was for these passionate instructors and the group we were learning with. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that most photographers who have attended past workshops didn’t even come CLOSE to the individual attention that our group of 12 was given over the course of three days. I walked into this workshop feeling really confident about my work, my brand, and my workflow process. I left with a solid reality check. I left with the profound realization that I don’t work hard enough to constantly ignite my passion for story telling and that I had some significant weaknesses in not only my composition but also in my marketing.
Without going into significant boring detail I’ll summarize some of the things that really struck me about this experience. First and foremost, the feedback and critique was real and honest. There was no hand holding which I actually appreciate from a personality perspective. Tony and Amy are very gracious individuals but they also know their stuff. I took a serious and hard look at some of my old work versus some of my newer work and although my execution and lighting has improved, my creativity had become stale and predictable. I’m totally not afraid to post this realization here because I’m hoping it is seen by all so that I constantly have to maintain ownership of this reality. Secondly, they employ the most amazing associate photographers. Jim and Farid are two breaths of honest fresh air and were constantly challenging myself and the other students to push harder emphasizing the importance of working your butt off for the client regardless of excuses you make up for yourself in your mind. Thirdly, they absolutely nailed my weaknesses even the ones I didn’t know that I had. I walked into the first day of shooting completely confident I could nail my assignments and challenges, mid shooting something happened to me that has never happened before. I self-destructed completely, think nuclear disaster photography style. I can’t tell you how many weddings I’ve shot where things you can’t even imagine going wrong have gone wrong and I’ve kept a relative cool the entire day and still managed to pull off things I’m almost certain other photographers couldn’t have. However, this first day of shooting with one simple assignment managed to be the exception that brought me to a strong reality and major failure. I was constantly challenged and pushed by these amazing instructors to get past the wall and I’m here to tell you, I didn’t live up to my own expectations.
You might say to yourself, wow, why would you still say this was one of the most amazing and positive experiences of your photography career? Well, I guess from complete and utter failure comes two options: You can either crumble under the failure and quit or you can take that failure for what it is worth, raise your bar as high as it will go and just force yourself past it. I chose the second option which is what I’m working through now from a business perspective. I don’t have a lot of work from this workshop that I’m genuinely proud of and it is because I didn’t push myself hard enough, that is just the tough reality. What I can promise you is that the experience, the education, and the passion I have gained from this one three day stint is enough to light the needed fire. I fully intend on implementing the same level of passion into every shoot that I physically can.
Here are just a few realities of the experience:
-We worked hard, until the wee hours of the morning we were reviewing, editing, and taking hard looks at our composition and style. It was no vacation.
-There were no cookie cutter setup shots (thank goodness). We were given the guidance needed and the tools and sent off on our own to create our own magic with our own creativity. No fake set up shots from this group, only raw and completely on the spot thinking from this amazing group of people.
-There weren’t any egos, from anyone ever. We were all peers working towards a common goal: have passion in your work, let it show, and work your butt off for your client.
-It was really hard, specifically for me. I usually walk into situations and strive and I’m not ashamed to say in this instance I didn’t. I failed, hard. I however got right back up again and continued to work and I’ll continue to do so with the same intensity.
-You don’t want to leave the workshop wanting to be just like the four amazing shooters you look up to, you leave it wanting to be a better version of yourself and that’s how it should be.
-There are very few personalized and individualized experiences in photography conferences, this was the legitimate exception. Individual time and extreme effort was spent on every student in great detail.
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Tony and Amy-Thank you for your hospitality, your humble presence, your guidance, your patience, and your honesty. You all are changing lives in so many ways.
Farid and Jim-You both are total rock stars. You spent late hours and long days pushing us to be the best versions of ourselves. Thank you.
Lindsay-Seriously girl, thank you for keeping us fed and emotionally in check. You were a huge part of this awesome experience.
Hoffshop Students-I learned so much from all of you! You brought laughter, reality, and fun into this experience and I look forward to following all your work in the future. I may be a little biased but I’m pretty sure our group was the best ever and will produce some amazing future work.
Hoffpup (aka Oliver)-Little guy, I miss ya! You were the best airport transport buddy on the planet.
If you read this, thanks, I appreciate you living through my professional rejuvenation. There will be some changes coming to the website and the blog, stay tuned. All for the better!
-Kate
I have included just a few of the images I took during that week below, edits were completed by Hoffer Photography team.
