Host a Rachel Vanoven
I am so excited that you are interested in hosting me for a workshop in your studio!
As a workshop host, you'll have a big hand in helping make this workshop a success for all of our attendees, while also getting a free seat to the training along with access to my past eWorkshop, one month free to The Collective, and access to my Newborn Assistant Training video!
Teaching is a huge responsibility that I will never take lightly. From observation-styled Fly on the Wall workshops to intensive hands-on posing two-day classes, I put my heart and soul into making sure that everyone leaves with all of their questions answered, problems solved, and skills exponentially increased!
In these super-intensive workshops, you’ll spend two days in an intimate setting with three other photographers and me! We keep these classes small because we will be covering so many different aspects of newborn photography.
We’ll start day one meeting at the studio before our first model arrives so I can show how I set up before each session. Once our first baby arrives, we’ll spend the next two hours working on lighting and angles and shooting beanbag and prop setups! Each attendee will have 1:1 time with me every time they take a shot, which is done in order at each attendee's own pace! Then we’ll have a break for lunch before our second model of the day, which is the parent/sibling/wrapping portion of the workshop. You’ll watch how I interact with parents, work on angles and end with some of my favorite wrapped poses!
Two Day
We’ll spend an hour on editing and then break for the day and get cleaned up for dinner out! (Cost of dinner not included) Here we can reflect on the day, get to know each other, and keep the photography conversation going…or just pretend we’re all BFF’s on a night out.
The next morning we’ll start with hands-on posing! For our first baby, each attendee will pick the pose that they struggle with the most and will have 1:1 time with me while you assist me on that pose, and then I’ll assist you doing the same pose. (Think the pottery scene from Ghost) after this baby, we’ll order lunch and get ready for our last newborn - a Fly on the Wall style baby! I added this fourth baby to the agenda after amazing reviews from my Fly on the Wall style workshops, where people felt they learned SO much from sitting back, not messing with their cameras, and watching me work! Plus, you’ll get to see my seamless posing flow for newborns and how well it works!
After nearly a decade of teaching, I’ve learned that NO ONE learns the same way. Some people learn better from a 1:1, some do better in a large group. Some need to be hands-on, others need to watch. Some people need help with only one pose or lighting, others need help with EVERYTHING. So I decided to start an entirely new form of newborn workshops, and that's the Fly on the Wall, or observation style, workshop!
These workshops are affordable, relaxed, fun, and still jam-packed full of knowledge! We’ll meet at my studio and go over set up and newborn prep, then everyone (limit ten attendees) can sit back (or hover over my shoulders, or wander around the room) and watch me shoot an entire session start to finish. We’ll cover: Froggy, Timber, Womb, Tummy Time, Facing Forward, at least two prop shots, Wrapping, Macro, Parents, Sibling (if we can get a model with one!), Potato Sack, and Tucked in Tight (if baby stays sleeping!). The entire time, attendees can ask questions, take behind the scene shots to help them remember positioning and light placement, and observe how my sessions flow!
Afterward, we’ll edit for at least an hour, then get cleaned up and head out to dinner…preferably someplace that has tacos and margaritas!
Fly on the Wall Workshops are great for both beginners who want to have a good foundation of knowledge for their business, long-time photographers who need to brush up on a few things, someone who struggles with lighting, people with social anxiety who can stay quiet if they’d like and let others ask questions, and people who like to have fun/relax while learning at the same time!
To become a workshop host, you'll first submit your application in the contact form at the bottom of this webpage. Then we ask that you gather a survey of interested photographers in your area! To do this we ask that you reach out to your fellow photographers in the area and local photographer social media groups to gather contact information of those interested in attending, along with their general preference on style of workshop! Once you have 4-5 interested attendees we would then move into the planning phase of the workshop, and coordinate dates with those who are interested in attending.
Once the workshop is established we will then open the remaining spots, a max number of 10 for fly on the wall workshops and 5 for two-day intensives to the public!
The host will then assistant attendees in the Facebook group with recommendations on local hotels for traveling along with helping Rachel secure a good outdoor location if the workshop includes a family session.
How to be a
1. Watch the newborn assistant training video prior to the workshop.
2. Pre-heat their studio to 80 degrees 3-4 hours before the session starts.
3. Get everyone's lunch orders the day before via the Facebook group / pick up lunch during the workshop.
(Rachel covers the cost of Lunch)
4. Provide small snacks and water for attendees/client's family.
5. Provide a safe and clean studio for attendees and clients.
6. If Rachel's main assistant can not attend the workshop, the host will stand in as her newborn spotter to ensure our little client's safety.
7. Help Rachel set up in the studio prior to the workshop and help pack up after the workshop.
8. Hosts are to help with behind-the-scenes images/video when not assisting Rachel.
9. We ask that the host help with communication to our attendees throughout the Facebook group with questions about hotel, travel, and location.
10. Host will assist in finding a good location if needed for any outdoor workshops.
11. Take behind the scenes images of attendees and Rachel shooting/ teaching
We appreciate all that our Host does to help make these workshops a success! As a Host, your workshop seat is FREE, one month FREE to the Collective, and lifetime access to my newborn assistant training video!
Please email hello@rachelvanoven.com with photos of your entire studio and prop storage room to complete your application.
Please list your studio gear (posing bag, lighting, general amount of props.)
Any questions about the workshop process?