Oregon content days
Anonymous | Paid Attendee | paid $1,500
No
What happened
Each concept was beautiful, time and effort had obviously been put into the location scouting and concept execution. Clothing/costuming was beautiful. However, education was very rushed because we had to get out of the space it was being held, which was stressful. Only one of the couples photographed was a model couple. There were too many attendees (12+) and I often genuinely struggled to find a hole to get a shot. Felt like we were clamoring over each other to try and get shots. There was also an attendee who routinely shoved their way in front of myself and other photographers, physically walked into my lens more than once to get a shot, and ruined more of my shots than I can count. When anyone, including the hosts and educators, were leading or posing a shoot he routinely spoke over them and the rest of the attendees and prioritized getting content on 3+ mediums, ignoring timelines or vendor requirements communicated by the hosts. Spoke over the hosts and ignored their wishes. (E.g. don’t take the rented dress into the mud please, and instructing the models to go into the grass/mud) While I do feel like I got some genuinely beautiful photos, for how much I paid, without lodging, transportation etc. included in the cost I don’t feel like I should be struggling to get shots because of how many attendees were present.
Advice for the host
Fewer attendees and being willing to have uncomfortable conversations with attendees affecting the other attendees experience
Joshua Mannila replied
Hi! Thank you for taking the time to leave such a detailed review :) We genuinely appreciate hearing both the positives and the areas where you felt we could improve, and we take feedback like this seriously!
First, we're so glad you enjoyed the concepts, locations, and styling! We spent months planning every detail because our goal was to create something unique rather than recreating the same styled shoots attendees may have seen elsewhere. We intentionally wanted each concept to feel creative and unique while maximizing everyone's time by scheduling three styled shoots each day.
We'd also like to clarify that this event was intentionally advertised as a two-day content day, not a retreat. Those are two very different experiences. Content days are designed to maximize shooting opportunities and portfolio-building, while retreats are typically slower-paced and often include lodging, transportation, meals, and more extensive education. Our content day was never advertised to include those amenities. In fact, education itself was an added bonus that we chose to include because we wanted attendees to leave with even more value!
Regarding the education portion, we completely agree that it felt more rushed than we would have liked. This was our first educational content day, and while we did everything we could to maximize the time available, we underestimated how much time we would want for teaching before heading to the first shoot. Since this event, we've hosted additional retreats/content days and have already adjusted our timelines by building in much more buffer for education. We truly appreciate this feedback because it helped us improve future events!
You also mentioned that only one couple was a professional model couple. This was actually an intentional decision on our part. One of the things we enjoy teaching is how to confidently direct real couples, not just experienced models. We also wanted attendees to leave with galleries that felt authentic and relatable to potential clients rather than featuring the same professional model couples that often appear at multiple workshops. We believe that as long as our couples are comfortable in front of the camera and open to direction, they provide just as much creative value!
As for the group size, the attendee count was shared before registration and has consistently been the size we host for our content days. We understand that photographers have different preferences! Some prefer very small groups, while others appreciate a more accessible price point. We intentionally chose a balance that allowed us to provide multiple fully styled shoots while keeping the event affordable. Reducing attendance would require significantly increasing the ticket price and we wanted to make this opportunity accessible to more photographers :)
Throughout every shoot, we reminded attendees to be mindful of one another, avoid stepping into each other's frames, and we repeatedly asked the group if everyone had gotten the images they wanted before moving on. We also encouraged everyone at the beginning of each shoot to let us know immediately (whether publicly or by quietly pulling one of us aside) if anything was affecting their experience.
Regarding the attendee you mentioned, we genuinely wish we had known this was happening. Based on your review, it sounds like this individual significantly impacted your experience and we're truly sorry for that. However, we were never made aware of the extent of the issue during the event until now. Had we known someone was repeatedly stepping into your shots or disrupting your experience, we absolutely would have addressed it immediately. We have never shied away from having difficult conversations when necessary, but we can only address situations that are brought to our attention. The specific situation involving the rented dress and the mud was privately addressed during the event, but beyond that, we simply weren't aware there was an ongoing issue.
Regarding lodging, transportation, and other travel expenses, those were never included because this was intentionally a content day rather than a retreat. Including accommodations, transportation, and meals would have significantly increased the overall ticket price or made the event financially unsustainable given the months of planning, styling, rentals, permits, vendors, and production that went into creating the experience.
While we genuinely appreciate you sharing your perspective, we also feel it's important for future attendees reading this to have the full context. The experience described here does not reflect the feedback we received from the event as a whole. Since the content day, we've heard overwhelmingly positive feedback from attendees, many of whom shared how much they loved the concepts, education, organization, and overall experience. While we understand that every attendee may walk away with a different perspective, several of the concerns raised here, particularly regarding another attendee's behavior, were never brought to our attention during the event, despite our repeated invitations for attendees to let us know if any issues arose. Other concerns, such as the group size and the format of the event as a content day rather than a retreat, were intentional aspects of the experience and were clearly communicated before registration.
We truly appreciate your feedback and we're grateful that you left with images you loved. Every event teaches us something, and we've already implemented improvements, such as allowing more time for education, while remaining intentional about the aspects of our events that make them unique. We truly do love hosting and connecting with so many creatives! Our goal has always been to create an inspiring, supportive experience where photographers leave with incredible content, meaningful education, and a stronger photography community <3
Daniella and Joshua :)