Dates: Mon 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th September 2012

Price: £850 plus VAT

Venue: The Old Hall Hotel, Buxton, Derbyshire

Tutors: Gordon McGowan, Kevin Wilson, Louise Sumner, Elaine Sanderson

Models: 2 sets of Bride & Groom, family with children plus a couple (at least 9 models)

Here we have a Four Day Portrait and Wedding Workshop with only Britain’s Best photographers and tutors teaching, GORDON McGOWAN, KEVIN WILSON, LOUISE SUMNER and ELAINE SANDERSON. They have been carefully selected for their knowledge, standing and expertise to give you the BEST information you can get to make your photography business successful. 

We have also chosen a very exquisite and charming hotel, The Old Hall Hotel in Buxton, Derbyshire.  This is THE oldest hotel in England so as you can imagine, it is steeped with atmosphere and opportunities.

They have plenty of weddings here throughout the year so we know it is a perfect place for our workshop.

The Old Hall Hotel has been chosen for its quaintness and atmosphere, exquisite rooms as well as being right next door to the stunning Pavillion Gardens, where the opportunities for second location shooting are endless..

We have at least 9 models throughout the 4 days to ensure you get loads of variety in your photography.

BOOK EARLY to avoid disappointment as places are limited. 

DAYS 1 & 2

On Days 1&2, we will be concentrating on taking you through a wedding from start to finish with two sets of Bride and Groom.

Tutors Gordon McGowan and Kevin Wilson, with their different styles, will teach you all in the proposed agenda (see below) in both the Old Hall Hotel(bedrooms) and The Pavillion Gardens in Buxton.

Our guests will be split into two groups. One group will be learning with Gordon McGowan on Day 1, then Kevin Wilson on Day 2. The other group will be learning with Kevin Wilson  on Day 1, then Gordon McGowan on Day 2.

Kevin Wilson will be covering:

• Creating and capturing natural moments
• Group shots & tricking lighting
• Using light to create stunning images whether it be natural light with or without reflectors,
• Creative use of your environment and surroundings
• Effective communication channels between you and your client
• Different types of albums (samples will be on hand)
• Pros and cons of using the various types of albums

Gordon McGowan will be covering:

• Posing and expressions of the couple at the venue itself, from when they arrive up to the speeches
• Incorporating fashion photography with wedding photography
• Working with odd shaped couples (eg. small bride, large groom)
• Group shots, tricky lighting situations
• Creative use of backgrounds
• Use of ambient lights, reflectors and flash

DAYS 3 & 4

On Days 3&4, we will be following the expert tutor Louise Sumner, as she guides you whilst shooting portraits with female model as well as a family with children. Louise will be shooting in mainly natural light so we will be making the most of the outdoors.

Not only this but we have a fantastic lineup for you on the ‘Business Front’ as well. Elaine Sanderson (co-owner of Britain’s Best Photography) will also be sharing with you the secrets of how to really get your photography out there and get seen. This is always the trickiest bit – getting seen and respected for what you do and really profiting from your photography.

Elaine has been in Sales & Marketing for over 15 years and 9 of those years have been within the photography trade so there is little she does not know about getting your photography seen. She has tutored the subject of Sales & Marketing to photographers on both a One to One basis as well as on workshops and seminars. FOR TESTIMONIALS ABOUT ELAINE SEE BELOW.

Our guests will be split into two groups. One group will be learning with Elaine Sanderson on Day 1, then Louise Sumner on Day 2. The other group will be learning with Louise Sumner on Day 1, then Elaine Sanderson on Day 2.

Louise Sumner will be covering:

• How to capture amazing male and female shots
• How to get the most out of children during a portrait shoot
• Interpersonal and interaction skills to make the shoot successful
• The use of natural light and lighting
• Making people look good
• Corrective techniques
• How to emphasise peoples good features

Elaine Sanderson will be covering:

• The fundamentals of running a successful photographic business
• What it really takes to be a successful and profitable wedding photographer
• How to develop and build your brand, image and reputation
• How to get seen amongst the crowd
• Marketing campaigns that work (both online and offline)
• How to attract the right clients
• The importance of planning &cashflow
• Lots of tips and tricks to improve your performance

VENUE at The Old Hall Hotel in Buxton, Derbyshire

Reputed to be the oldest hotel in England, one time host to Mary Queen of Scots and dating back to the 16th century, we have chosen the Old Hall Hotel, in Buxton for this  2 Day course.

We have chosen this 'warm and welcome' venue very carefully to give you the best opportunity of taking photos with fantastic backgrounds. The hotel hosts many weddings here throughout the year and we will be using the elite bedrooms in the hotel itself as well as the exquisite and delightful Pavlillion Gardens. These gardens are just a stones throw across the road and commonly used for second location shoots. The Gardens boast sweeping pathways, rivers, picturesque bridges, a majestic bandstand as well as a floral conservatory - all great backdrops for our photography course and we can guarantee that you will have some great images for your portfolio.

All guests can also stay in this hotel and you will be pleased to know that they were awarded an 'England breakfast award'!  This award recognises hotels and B&Bs that offers guests a quality and varied choice of breakfast, alongside a high level of service and hospitality.

We have gathered together only the VERY BEST photographers and marketing experts that Britain has to offer for this 4 day Portrait and Wedding workshop. You will gain incredible knowledge on all aspects of portrait and wedding photography, and importantly what makes a successful business from a failing business.

You will be enlightened as to how different photographic approaches and techniques (from our photographers) can ALL achieve great success. You can go on a training course with just one photographer teaching you but is it not better to get the insight of 4 professionals all in one hit? These are all well known names in the UK and have got to the top through both photographic ability and the ‘know how’ in Sales and Marketing.

We have thought very carefully about WHO is teaching you, WHAT they will teach you and WHERE they will teach you. We want you to come away from this workshop with pure enthusiasm and the knowledge to get things really working for you too.

We are privileged to have :

* Gordon McGowan, who has won endless awards for his work, has been recognised as one of the Top Ten Winter Photographers by Professional Photographer magazine and who has achieved the enviable status of Fellow with the British Institute of Professional Photography.

* Kevin Wilson, who has no less than 17 Kodak Awards and has the rare distinction of achieving 7 Fellowships in all three major photographic bodies - the Master Photographers Association, the Society of Wedding & Portrait Photographers and the Royal Photographic Society

* Louise Sumner, who again is a mutli award winning photographer, having won numerous awards with the Society of Wedding & Portrait Photographers and the Master Photographers Association.

* Elaine Sanderson the founder and owner of Britain's Best Photography. Elaine has a vast amount of Sales & Marketing experience and understands the photography market so well as she has run photography training courses since 2002 and been the sales driving force behind the business. She has also taught this subject to hundreds of photographers, who then went onto running their own successful photography careers.

Louise Sumner is one of those extremely talented photographers that brings a high end touch of class to her subject. She specialises in weddings and portraiture and has won SO MANY AWARDS for her work. She is an inspiration to women photographers out there (well all photographers) and being a natural and talented speaker at the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP) events, she is the 'perfect' candidate to bring to you all the secrets to mastering great portraits.

Here is just a list of some of the awards she has won in recent times:

• South West Master Photographer of The Year 2009 and 2010

• SWPP Winner of the 20 * 16 Portrait Award 2009

• 3 SWPP Gold Awards 2009

• BIPP Western Fashion Photographer of the Year 2008, 2009

• MPA SOuth West Region Best Momchrome Image 2006

• MPA Southwest Region Classical Weddings Winner 2005/2006/2008

• MPA Southwest Region You and Your Wedding Winner 2006

• MPA Southwest Region Best under 5's Image 2006

• She adds a touch of class and female vigour to this 4 day photographic workshop - don't miss her..

Visit the web site

Britain’s Best is a small Company, started up by Elaine Sanderson. Elaine has a vast amount of experience in starting up and promoting businesses and to date, she has done this 4 times in her lifetime with amazing results. So, what better person to learn from than someone who has set up 4 successful business and runs her own dedicated membership site, teaching entrepeneurs and individuals how to market themselves online and offline (launched September 2011).

She has also been around photographers a long time (since 2002) and knows and understands what it takes to get a photography business flourishing. She has also taught Sales & Marketing (both online & offline) to hundreds of photographers, who then went on to set up their own businesses. She has also conducted seminars in this field too. She understands Step by Step what you need to do to achieve your ultimate goal of making your photography business a successful and profitable one and this is exactly what she wants to share with you on this Workshop.

She previously co-owned the Peak District Photography Centre (now reformed into a new venture) where she helped turn the company into a 6 figure turnover within 18 months. Here she organised the courses to perfection, performed much of the Business & Marketing duties as well as taught Sales & Marketing on the Wedding & Portrait courses.

Here are just a few testimonials about Elaine

"Many many thanks for your time yesterday, it was a real pleasure to be able to talk to someone that can offer guidance and help, can look at things from a different perspective, but can be positive and friendly with it.  Very refreshing."  

Brian Sidwell Photography

"A big 'Thank You' to Elaine Sanderson for providing the 'iFraime' templates for my 'Welcome Page'. If you are in business and want advice on IT, Marketing or a host of other business related matters please contact Elaine Sanderson. She is the most helpful and knowledgeable person I have ever chatted to on the net. Fantastic service. So please do yourself a favour and look up Elaine, you'll be so glad you did."

Randell John Photography

Who hasn’t heard of Gordon McGowan from Glasgow? Of course everybody has! He is simply brilliant at capturing beautiful, inspirational and jaw dropping images. He has endlessly been in all the photographic magazines over the years and no wonder, as his work has received Global acclaim.

He has been recognised by Professional Photographer magazine as one of the Top Ten Winter Photographers, he is MPA Winner for the Best Wedding and Portrait work four times over in 2007/2008 AND SWPP Photographer of the Year in 2006. Wow, there are few photographers out there that can boast all that!

On top of all that, he has achieved the highest qualification of Fellowship from both the British Institute of Professional Photography (BIPP) AND The Master Photographer’s Association (MPA).

You simply must learn the techniques that Gordon McGowan uses. Just to capture SOME of his inspiration will really set you on the right road to a successful career in photography. When booking him for this venue, he clearly oozed enthusiasm for his subject and talked with a passion about his work. After all these years of being a wedding photographer, he commented “I just love it”. He comes across as a very down to earth man who immediately puts people at ease. He expressed the desire to get across to you as much as possible in this Britain’s Best venue and we believe he will do just that.

What will he be teaching? Well, he makes it quite clear that his passion is shooting so you will be on location with Gordon shooting around Chatsworth Gardens and church with bride and groom.

Visit the web site

Kevin Wilson is without a doubt, one of this country's highest award winning photographers. He has no less than 17 Kodak European Gold Awards which include:

Kodak U.K. Under 5's Photographer of the Year
Kodak U.K. Family Portrait Photographer of the Year
Kodak U.K. Open Portrait Photographer of the Year
Kodak U.K. Portrait Photographer of the Year
17 Kodak European Gold Awards of Excellence

He has also enjoyed the status of being one of the Worldwide Finalists in the Hasselblad Masters competition and is deservingly acclaimed to be one of Europe's leading wedding and portrait photographers.

He has to have more photographic qualifications under his belt than any other photographer out there. In a nutshell, he has the rare distinction of achieving 7 Fellowships in all three major photographic bodies - The Master Photographers Association (MPA), the British Institute of Professional Photographer s(BIPP) and the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) as well as achieving a Masters degree with the Professional Photographers of America.

His passionate teaching skills has resulted in him mentoring people from Licentiateship through to Fellowship, as well as travelling the globe lecturing for Kodak. In fact, he has also produced his own DVD called  'Conception, Capture, Control' where he provides an insight into how he creates his Award winning  images, demonstrating use of light to transform the mundane to a stunning art piece.

Additionally, having been President of the MPA and also been their Chairman of Qualifications, he is a perfect and valuable contribution to our Britain's Best Photography courses as we know he will impart so much valuable information to you and in the right 'human touch' way.

The bottom line is that he is a people's person, putting you immediately at ease with his relaxed and warm manner. He describes himself as a child at heart which helps him with his fun loving and free style of photography. It is a real treat to have Kevin on board and we know you will be far from dissappointed.

Visit the web site

This workshop is aimed at photographers (both keen amateur and professional) wanting to expand their creative and inspirational photography and push their photography boundaries to the next level. It is aimed at those who feel they need to branch out and learn how highly successful photographers make it in this industry - and you are being taught by professionals who are vastly different in their approach but all extremely successful.

It is also aimed at those wishing to improve their portfolios, websites or blogs as we can guarantee that you will come away with stunning images.

It is also aimed at those who want to brush up on their business acumen to make sure that are maximising every opportunity when it comes to marketing their business.

To get the most out of this 4 day Wedding and Portrait course, you basically need to know how to use your digital SLR and you need to be able to understand the settings and change them quickly. None of the tutors will be delving back to the basics of how to use your camera and the fundamentals of photography.

Timings: On the first day, we aim to register and have morning coffee from 9 to 9.15am. On subsequent days, the start time will be 9.15am. There will be a refreshment break in the mornings and the afternoon. A buffet lunch will be served at approx 1 pm. We aim to finish most days at approx 5pm.

Details: All confirmation details will be sent to you when you book.

What To Bring: Bring along your digital SLR camera and lenses, tripod, spare battery (please ensure that your battery is fully charged before arriving), warm clothing, comfortable shoes, rainproofs. If hot and sunny, remember to bring your sunhat and sun cream.

Accommodation: The place where you are welcome to stay and generally has plenty of rooms is the Old Hall Hotel itself, a beautiful and comfortable place to stay (tutors are also staying here). You can stay as many nights as you wish but you need to book and reserve. The price per night is approx £70 and includes Bed and Breakfast. Evening meals are also served here. All their details will be sent to you when you book the course as well as all directions with your Booking Details. Other nearby hotel options will also be sent to give you a choice but we do recommend that you stay at the Old Hall Hotel.

 

Make sure you do not miss our 4 day Wedding & Portrait workshop where we have thought very carefully about WHO is teaching you, WHERE we are located and WHAT we are photographing. We know you will come away brimming with knowledge and enthusiasm:

THE BEST TUTORS: Four of Britain’s Best Photographers; GORDON McGOWAN, KEVIN WILSON, LOUISE SUMNER and ELAINE SANDERSON.

A FANTASTIC VENUE: The Old Hall Hotel Buxton Derbyshire (reputed to be the oldest hotel in England)

AT LEAST 9 MODELS FOR YOU TO PHOTOGRAPH IN 4 DAYS - this variety will ensure you cover every aspect of posing and lighting for various subjects.

A COMPREHENSIVE COURSE covering 'hands on' shooting with Bride & Grooms, couples and families, Sales & Marketing and BUSINESS development.

Teas/Coffee/Refreshments on arrival, morning and afternoon. Buffet lunches.

All this for just £850 plus VAT (inclusive of everything mentioned above)
A deposit of £250 will be required to book your place