This past weekend I had the pleasure of hosting my first workshop in downtown Charlottesville at Old Metropolitan Hall. I was lucky enough to be a part of Envision last year, where I taught alongside several photographer friends, but despite that experience, going out on my own and teaching a solo workshop was a little scary to me at first! It can be a little intimidating to put yourself out there and not know exactly what’s going to become of it. Especially when you’re potentially setting yourself up for rejection and/or failure. One thing I’ve learned over the past year or so, is that you have to go for things. Otherwise you’ll just be sitting on the couch watching other people do things on tv for the rest of your life. Hosting a workshop is something that’s been on my business bucket list for some time, so actually going out and doing it was incredibly exciting and also a ton of fun!

I really enjoyed every part of the workshop process. From planning the styled shoot with Kat, who was sweet enough to volunteer her incredible talents (she styled the shoot AND did the florals) to putting together my presentation and lots of fun little touches for the attendees, I loved every part of it! I love to plan things, so that part of this was right up my alley. I had a very specific vision in mind for a workshop that fit my brand and I’m so happy with how everything turned out!

When workshop day arrived, we set everything up at the beautiful Old Metropolitan Hall on Charlottesville’s downtown mall and waited anxiously for everyone to arrive. I couldn’t believe the day had finally arrived!  I was a bit nervous because despite loving to teach, I’m a self confessed introvert. It couldn’t have been better though! Keeping the group small and intimate meant we could really dive into each topic and leave time for people to ask questions. Each of the incredibly talented attendees made it such an awesome experience for me. Getting to get know this group and hang out with them for the day was an honor! I loved hearing their questions, discussing business and shooting topics with them, and watching them pose and interact with our styled shoot models. They are all such talented photographers already, so I can’t wait to see them continue to grow in the future.

Here are a few behind the scenes peeks at the day taken by my good friend Serena.  Want to see the styled shoot? Check it out here, or as featured on RuffledBlog here!

I couldn’t end this post without a huge thank you to all of the friends who helped make this workshop a reality! Without all of their hard work behind the scenes, this wouldn’t have happened at all. I am so grateful to have such awesome people in my life! I left the workshop Sunday evening feeling very loved. Thank you, guys. I love you to the moon and back.

Interested in learning opportunities with Katie Nesbitt Photography? Visit this site for info on future workshops and mentoring.