Creating the ELEVATE Workshop is a true pleasure. I'm a little nerdy and I think it's actually fun to write presentations and brand a whole bunch of goodies for our attendees. However, at the end of the day, the most important thing is that our attendees walk away inspired, changed and ready to rock their world. I think teaching and mentoring others is a true honor and one that shouldn't be taken lightly. My goal isn't to fill you with a bunch of bullshit - it's to be honest and open about my experiences and methods, so I can empower others to go forth and grow their businesses. In fact, after each ELEVATE Workshop, we survey our attendees and ask for the same honest critique and feedback to see how we can make future workshops better and stronger! While putting together this blog post, I was a little hesitant, because I don't want it to seem like I'm tooting-my-own-horn here, but I wanted to show you some of the responses we have received from past attendees! I also went to some of their blogs and I'm AMAZED by not only how the quality of their work has progressed, but also how much stronger their businesses have become!
One of my favorite success stories is Johnna Holmgren. Johnna attended ELEVATE last fall and she was really just officially embarking on the world of being a full-time wedding photographer. When Johnna and I sat down for our one-on-one's, she had mentioned that she had this little idea. You see, she had just taken part in a wedding fair and it was a smashing success. Her husband happens to be an amazing chalk-board artist, so he made their 'booth' at the wedding fair with chalk boards and amazing typography. It most definitely drew in a crowd and Johnna managed to book a TON of weddings, because her booth was so inspiring and innovative to the brides! As we chatted, Johnna mentioned how she felt like, maybe - just maybe - her husband could pursue his art of typography and maybe their chalkboard art could be a real thing? We sat, dreamed, talked and made goals for Johnna during her week with us and I'm happy to report that Johnna and Max launched their new brand, Bear Fox Chalk earlier this year!
Johnna is just one of many success stories from our attendees at ELEVATE! Here are some quotes and feedback from others who have attended our workshops!
"I was actually really surprised at how different and variety filled your talks were. Each spoke about a different important aspect of photography. When you started, I thought "What are the rest of them going to talk about?... THIS IS IT!! THE MOST IMPORTANT!!!" Then Daniel started and I was like, "This is IT!! WOW!!" Then Collin.... and so on. So... it was GREAT! Full Day one blew me away." Johnna Holmgren from ELEVATE 2, Northern Minnesota
"Eliesa will inspire, encourage and challenge all that cross her path. she's a highly ambitious leader with a lot of wisdom to share." - Megas Daas, from ELEVATE 2, Northern Minnesota
"[The shooting challenges were] super awesome. Each challenge was different and that was fun. I liked that they weren't wedding based. It was a good chance to think about photography differently.. for those who only shoot a bunch of wedding.. a chance to step outside the box." - Jess from Elevate 1, Palm Springs
"Would you recommend Elevate to others? Why? 9/10 Yes. I recommend Elevate, because it puts shooters together with other shooters in an open, supportive, and honest environment. And we all need that as artists." - Nate Larson of Capture Studios from ELEVATE 1 and 2.
"I loved that you (Eliesa) and the speakers weren't just "available" for questions during the presentation time but it was flowing throughout the entire time if there was anything that came up or critiques or things like that." Johnna Holmgren
"This is wedding photography workshop 3.0 and more people need to experience this type of workshop. We discovered things we just didn't want to hear, but NEEDED to hear." - RJ Kern
The registration deadline for our upcoming ELEVATE NYC Workshop is September 7th! Our seats are filling fast, but there is still room! We have an absolutely amazing group of people signed up! Join us!