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WELCOME HOME

Because Everyone Needs a Little Help Sometimes...

By Helen Howard Photography

March 10^th, 2015

A Workshop with Emma Case & Pete Smyth

Last year in September I attended a Welcome Home Workshop, created and run by Alternative Wedding Photographer, Emma Case. I wanted to share some of my experiences from the Workshop, how it has helped me and how I have found a useful & supportive network of other photographers who have also attended the Workshop since it began.

Like many others I have followed Emma’s work through her blog for years and have always admired her unique and definitive style, above everything, her honesty. I will try to ellaborate more, Emma has the ability to tell a story, aided by her unique eye for catching and documenting every last little detail, her love of all things old, she can see the beauty in absolutely anything, she can see what it means to her clients to document not only the details of their wedding day, but the details that have formed the building bricks of their lives. This is what I really admire about her work and ultimately the initial reason I was really keen to attend the workshop. The way I take photographs or the way I compose a shot, will never be the same way Emma does it, I see things differently, but what I felt I could learn from Emma was how I could develop my own brand, my own style and way of working and how I could use ‘me’ to find the right sort of clients for me. Having spent a little bit of time off with my little boy after he was born, I felt like I needed to look at wedding photography with fresh eyes, call it a kick up the bum, call it a boost, whatever it was, it was what I needed to re-evaluate my own business goals as well as a few personal ones.

Emma works alongside her husband Pete and really they are the epitome of ‘Team’. What you see with Emma and Pete, is definitely what you get, their philosophy is to give 100% of their true selves to their clients and that is the key to finding the right clients for them. Without even an ounce of arrogance about them, Emma & Pete admit that not everyone will like their work, it’s maybe not for everyone, but that’s okay it’s totally okay.

FINDING MY FEET

As in any situation where I find myself around new people, I am fairly quiet and tend to hang back - often taking in as much as possible, observing, listening, a little nervous to let myself be noticed or known, but sussing out who is who and what’s what. I have to be honest and say that despite feeling a little apprehensive before the workshop (I don’t think I was alone here as others mentioned they were also feeling a bit scared!) it very quickly felt as though we were all among friends.

I don’t think anyone attending was prepared for what was to follow, each and every one of us was there in search of something. Each perhaps with a different need and a different goal, but each one equally important to the individual nonetheless. Emma & Pete’s openness and honesty is heartfelt and really gets to you. Their passion and belief in everything they do for their clients just sends you on a totally unexpected emotional roller coaster with them, almost like therapy for photographers! Thank you to Millie and Jo for being our models for the day, it was fun!

EVERYONE NEEDS A LITTLE HELP

When you are self employed and working most of the time, in isolation from the outside world, it’s often difficult to step back and look at how far you have come and how much your business has grown. 7 years ago I would have never believed that I would be photographing weddings full time, yet with support and encouragement from my family and a load of amazing clients who are happy to recommend and pass my details on to anybody and everybody, I made it happen.

Without someone to give you regular appraisals it is important to either find time to do this for yourself, or be part of something like the Welcome Home workshop that can help you to refocus and reevaluate what is important, to the photographer as an individual and to the photographer as a business. I have come to the conclusion that the needs of the business and the individual aren’t always the same, but they do need to compliment each other.

The boost I got from attending the workshop was that I realised my business is doing okay, I can continually push myself harder, but generally a profitable business is a successful business and I should be proud of that and that alone. It was all I needed after a bit of time out being a mum for a while, to be reminded that I can be both a Mum and a Photographer and what a blessing that is.

NOT JUST 'ANY' WORKSHOP

When I was selecting images for this blog post I emailed Emma, because rather than racing to the front of the group to take photo’s of the models that I could include in my portfolio, I chose to sit back a bit and document the photo shoot element of the workshop, I said to Emma (abut the above image) ‘Don’t you think it reflects a lack of confidence?….2015 has got to be about moving forward…’ Emma, despite being on travels with Pete over the other side of the world took the time to reply ‘But look how wonderful this is my love! Sometimes sitting back gives you a whole other perspective…’ I appreciated her words - they were a support.

Now I have come to accept that in photography, especially with weddings, conditions are not always perfect, lighting, weather, timings, they all have an impact on how we shoot someone’s day. But lighting does not have to be perfect, weather does not have to be perfect and everything cannot always be perfectly on time.

It’s the moments and memories that are perfect, even more so when captured just as they were and people were being just as they were, at that particular time.

If you are a photographer trying to decide if the workshop is for you, I would say go for it. You will laugh, undoubtedly cry, you will make friends and come away with a shit load of support. And most of all you will come away with opened eyes…..

THANK YOU EMMA & PETE

You will never know the enormity of your generosity to other photographers, I think it is quite rare to be as open and sharing within a creative industry, but this is the community ethos that you have passed on to the Welcome Home Group on Facebook. Any member can post a question and they will be bombarded with helpful and supportive replies from other ‘Homies’, for some of us working at home without much daily contact with ‘humans’, it is a lifeline, like ‘virtual’ work colleagues. I am thankful…

SAYING OUR FAREWELLS

It is accurate to say that from the moment we met as a group at Welcome Home things got pretty emotional as we all began talking & listening. But as it came to the point at which we all had to say what we felt we had got from the day, I think some of us were a little surprised at how the workshop had affected us. There were tears a plenty, but it was totally okay. Part of being a ‘creative’ is feeling emotion and interpreting emotion, I would have been worried if none of us were crying, but as it happened - we all were!

Footnotes

Emma Case Welcome Home Workshop

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FootNotes

Emma Case Welcome Home Workshop

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