A new breed of creative dog photography workshop.
About the Workshop
Created by internationally acclaimed pet photographers Charlotte Reeves and Craig Turner-Bullock, Style Lab Workshop is a dog photography learning experience like no other.
Think about the photographers whose work you love and admire. When you’re scrolling through social media, you can immediately identify their images. What is it that makes their work so instantly recognisable? In a nutshell, this is what we'll be exploring in detail, and this is what you'll gain from the workshop - a deeper insight into yourself, your work, and your own unique style.
Limited to just eight attendees, the workshop will run over four full days, providing plenty of opportunity for group and individual activities, inspirational chats, creative shoots and editing deep dives.
We’ll be embarking on a journey of discovery, where you’ll:
- Explore what makes you different from other photographers.
- Learn how to tap into your unique way of seeing, interacting with and interpreting the world.
- Give yourself space to honestly explore what makes you happy, and hone in on what you truly enjoy.
- Learn why being different can help pave the way to success.
- Discover how to inject your personality and vision into your work.
- Understand why shooting for yourself can be instrumental in attracting an audience that appreciates you for your style.
- Identify any skills you need to develop further, to create your unique style.
Style Lab Workshop is the all-inclusive, life changing experience that we feel pet photographers around the world have been waiting for!
Our International Special Guest
We are very excited to announce that our international special guest will be Alicja Zmysłowska, an incredibly talented and world-renowned dog photographer from Poland. Alicja has been a dog photographer for 12 years and has taught workshops all over Europe - we decided that it was high time she came down under!
Her work is instantly recognisable for her ability to transport the viewer into another world, where the stunning beauty of nature is combined with the unique personalities of the dogs she photographs. She is a master of colour and tone, composition and expression, and a true pioneer in the soft, dreamy style that she is so well known for. We could talk about her work all day, but go ahead and enjoy a selection of our favourites below.
Meet your instructors
Style Lab Workshop creators Charlotte and Craig are thrilled and honoured to be joined by special international guest and dog photographer extraordinaire, Alicja Zmysłowska from Poland.
Charlotte Reeves
Charlotte's style incorporates creative use of natural light, location and expression to produce vibrant and emotive work highly praised by her clients. In 2018, she was awarded the AIPP Queensland Epson Pet/Animal Photographer of the Year. Addicted to creating lightbulb moments for students, Charlotte has been teaching pet photographers since 2013. She relishes simplifying tricky concepts, and helping people achieve their goals by making the learning fun, practical, and positive.
Craig Turner-Bullock
Craig has been photographing pets professionally since 2001 and describes his style as giving his subjects a sense of belongingness. Originally from the Channel Island of Guernsey, Craig is now based in Christchurch, New Zealand. He has written and photographed three bestselling books and in 2018 won the title of NZIPP New Zealand Portrait Photographer of the Year. Craig loves working with others to help refine their creative style and stand out from the crowd.
Alicja Zmysłowska
Through 12 years of experience in dog photography Alicja has developed her own very emotional and dreamy style recognised all over the globe. In her art she values uniqueness and presentation of new ideas. Her work has been awarded countless times in photography contests and published at international photography portals like National Geographic Yourshot, PetaPixel and photography magazines like Digital Camera UK, Digital Camera Poland, FV Photo and Video.
Must-know details
- 10-13 January 2020
- 4-day creative dog photography workshop
- 3 instructors - Charlotte Reeves, Craig Turner-Bullock and international special guest Alicja Zmysłowska
- Near Launceston, Tasmania (Australia)
- All-inclusive (workshop, accommodation, meals & transport during the workshop)
- Starting price of $4000 AUD
- Applications open August 1, 2019.
Keep reading below to discover the full details!
Workshop Details
Style Lab Workshop is an all-inclusive, immersive pet photography retreat.
Inclusions
- Five nights of accommodation in boutique riverside farm-stay accommodation.
- Accommodation options range from budget to luxury (see pricing information below).
- When not immersing yourself in all the workshop has to offer, you'll be enjoying the sounds of the bush, the tranquility of the river and admiring beautiful Tasmanian sunsets at your accommodation.
- All meals throughout the workshop, dietary needs accommodated on request.
- All transportation during the workshop.
- Four full days of exploration, self-discovery and dog photography immersion.
- Group activities and one-on-one attention from three experienced instructors.
- A private Facebook group for continued support from the instructors.
- Your own Style Lab Workshop goody bag, including a T-shirt and notebook.
Workshop format
You'll spend the first two days with Charlotte and Craig, participating in group activities, receiving feedback and input from the group and your fellow attendees, with time dedicated to individual attention from the instructors. In the afternoons, we'll be off shooting in some of the amazing and beautiful locations this region of Tasmania has to offer, then editing the resulting images together.
Days three and four will be spent with Alicja, who will take you through her Artistic Dog Photography curriculum with a special focus on personal style development, using her own creative process to highlight what goes into defining and developing a specific look. She'll cover technical aspects such as lens choice, along with creative shoot planning and execution with regards to light, location, composition and framing.
In the post-processing component of Alicja's instruction, she will show you how to creatively edit the image to bring the vision you had to life. You will realise the potential of the scene based on your own imagination and the tools you have available.
Throughout the workshop, we'll continue to revisit the themes of originality and creativity, finding inspiration and promoting individuality. The retreat will truly be an intensive laboratory for creatively mixing various stylistic ingredients along with a dash of your individual vision. You'll end up with a recipe for your own personal style, helping you stand out from an increasingly crowded pet photography market.
Pricing
Accommodation types vary and as such, there will be a range of different pricing options.
The base cost for the retreat is $4000 AUD for rustic cabin accommodation, in a shared room with 3-4 attendees and a shared bathroom.
At the other end of the scale, you can secure your own private spa cottage from $5500 AUD.
Other options (including upgrades to include a guest) will also be available.
Payment plans will be available for no additional charge. The minimum deposit is $1000 AUD and the full amount will need to be finalised by December 2, 2019.
Comprehensive payment plan information and full pricing will be available prior to applications opening.
This workshop is for you if:
- Your pet photography shooting and editing skills are solid
- You are reasonably happy with your standard of work, but feel your portfolio lacks cohesiveness and an identifiable style
This workshop isn't for you if:
- You are still working on basic camera + photography skills
- You need to learn how to use Photoshop and Lightroom
- You need help with starting or running a pet photography business
- You want to learn how to replicate successful photographer's styles
Application Process
Due to the limited number of spots available (only 8) and the high interest in this workshop, we will be accepting attendees based on an application process.
Applications will include a 10-image portfolio and will be open from August 1–8, 2019. Applications will not be accepted on a first-in, first-served basis. Instead, after the application closing date we will be processing applications and selecting students based on a variety of factors.
When assessing your portfolio for suitability for the workshop, we'll be looking for:
- demonstration of good basic camera skills
- well-focused images
- a good basic understanding of working with natural light
- an understanding of correct exposure
You do not need to have an outstanding, professional portfolio to apply, as that what we'll be working towards during the workshop! Attendees will also be selected based on room preferences, so the more flexible you can be with this, the better.
Successful applicants will be notified no later than August 15, 2019.
Please note that a $100 AUD application fee will is payable when applying. This will be fully refunded if we are not able to offer you a place for any reason, however it will be non-refundable if you are offered a place in the workshop but decline to proceed.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Style Lab Workshop has been primarily created to help pet photographers with the art of pet photography, so there will be no business (sales, pricing, marketing) related topics taught during the workshop. This makes it suitable for a wide range of pet photographers, whether you run a business or never intend to!
January is the middle of summer in Australia, however this far south the summers are generally mild. It's usually pleasantly warm during the day (up to 25°C / 77°F) and comfortably cool overnight (down to 12°C / 53°F). January is the month with historically the least amount of rainfall and rainy days. Sunrise is around 5:45am and sunset just after 8:00pm.
We took careful consideration of the weather averages when choosing Launceston, Tasmania. Despite this, we have no control over what the weather decides to do on the day. We’ll still shoot if it’s cloudy or raining lightly, but if it is raining heavily we will attempt to re-shuffle the shoot times. Unfortunately, we cannot offer refunds based on weather, but we promise to make the best of any weather situations.
There is room to allow a limited number of attendees to bring their significant other. Guests are welcome to enjoy the accommodation and the grounds while you are participating in the workshop. The farmstay is located in a rural area, so we recommend renting a car if your guest plans on enjoying activities throughout the region. There will be an additional charge for a guest in order to cover the additional accommodation and meal costs.
We're all about full immersion for this experience - we will be eating, sleeping, and talking pet photography all day every day - so staying with the group at the venue is a must. We also limit the number of people attending so we can give each and every attendee personal and individual attention.
Style Lab Workshop is closest to Launceston, Tasmania (LST). From Launceston, it's a 1 hour 20 minute drive to the venue.
We will run a shuttle from the airport to the venue on the afternoon of Thursday, January 9. We'll also run a shuttle from the accommodation back to Launceston on the morning of Tuesday, January 14. If you need transportation to or from the venue outside these times, this will be your responsibility. There is plenty of parking space for cars at the accommodation if you choose to self-drive.
We cannot confirm any future repeats of this workshop at this stage, however there is always a possibility. If a future Style Lab Workshop is organised, our international special guest will change, so don't miss out on this amazing opportunity to learn from Alicja, down under!
We highly recommend the Barka out-of-this-world pet photography retreat series if you are keen to improve your shooting and editing, along with all aspects of running a successful pet photography business. Charlotte teaches these with Nicole Begley and Kaylee Greer and you can find out when the next one is on here.
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