Our first workshop in the United States! We’re going to overload you with so much information, you’ll never approach a wedding the same way again. But it’s not going to be all hard work because we have a mansion on the beach all to ourselves for two and a half days. Sun, fun and photos. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Here’s a brief breakdown of how the days will go, with a few surprises along the way:

Sept. 27: Arrival Day! Everyone will file in during the afternoon/evening.

Sept. 28: Full workshop day. We (Ben and Erin) will talk about:

- what makes a good photo

- the types of moments, scenes, compositions and light we look for at a wedding or portrait shoot

- how to make cleaner compositions

- how to get out of a creative rut

- editing, post production, how to edit for slideshows, website and blog

- we will go through some of our more unusual, difficult photos and describe how each was shot, including equipment and lighting used.

- wedding-day scenarios and an engagement-style shoot in the afternoon. We will shoot a real couple, discussing how we come up with certain compositions and light, how we execute each photo, and also guide attendees with their own shooting.

Sept. 29: Review photos from shoot. Individual portfolio reviews, open to everyone, along with Q&A about branding, pricing, destination weddings and standing out in your own market. Class time officially concludes in the afternoon, but we look forward to socializing with everybody through the evening and the following morning. Check out time is noon on Thursday.

This spectacular home has a private pool, hot tub, game room, theater room with a huge screen (bring slideshows to share!), and it’s right on the beach. It’s going to be a nonstop party with tons of shooting, talking, sharing ideas, and figuring out how to take your business to the next level.

Lodging is included at the beach house for all three nights, with checkout at noon on Thursday. The house will accommodate all workshop attendees, but hotels are available 30 minutes away if you prefer. But half the fun is going to be hanging out with everyone late into the night, so we encourage everyone to stay with us. There won’t be a dull moment, so bring your sense of adventure and enthusiasm.

All meals are included, and they’ll be good! We will always have snacks around, as well. Arrival night is beer and burgers (and veggie burgers) at the house. The second night’s dinner will be up to our guest chef (who is also a great photographer and will be helping at the workshop). Breakfast and lunch will be brought in Tuesday and Wednesday, along with breakfast Thursday morning. Please let us know if you have any special food requests and we’ll take good care of you.

Ben and Erin do not have normal lives, but they like it that way. For nearly two years, they have been traveling the world together going from destination wedding to destination wedding, living out of their ThinkTank bags, changing time zones so frequently they’ve almost become immune to jet lag.

Before going into business together in San Francisco, Ben was based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Erin in Atlanta, Georgia. They both have been photographing weddings full-time for five years; before that they were reporters and photographers for newspapers.

Ben and Erin are consistently ranked as two of the top wedding photographers in the world (Both were named Among the Top 10 Wedding Photographers by American Photo Magazine, and Ben was the Wedding Photojournalist Association’s Photographer of the Year in 2007). They have attended workshops around the world, and have also taught workshops around the world. But the Beach House will be the first, and most likely only, workshop they teach in the U.S. this year. They have put a lot of thought and time into making this workshop exactly how they want it, drawing on their experiences from how they have learned the best over the years: through a genuine interest in people, brutal critiques of their own photos and an insatiable desire to always be better photographers than they were the day before.

Just like our wedding fees, we wouldn’t charge what we do if we didn’t think it was worth it. Our goal is to give you enough inspiration and information to instantly increase your creativity and your bookings as soon as you walk out the door.

$2,850 per person. Two people from the same studio: $4,995

To reserve your spot, the non-refundable deposit is $995 for one person or $1,495 for two people. If you can’t make it for some reason, you can transfer the deposit to another person. The balance will be due one month before the workshop.