I want to preface by saying that I've not been asked to write this. It's not even been hinted to me to say this. They have no clue I'm doing this. This is from the heart. 

If it's childcare, beg some favors from family and friends. It will pay off later. If it's money, sacrifice elsewhere. Hold off on the new lens a few months. This is more important. 

Stretch, reach, sacrifice to make it happen. Folks such as Stan, Sterling, Rick and Brad have decades worth of knowledge and experience. They are where you aspire to be. They spent more than the cost of the seminar a thousand fold gathering this knowledge, so the cost to go is small. 

But here's the deal. As great as the hosts were (and they were awesome), the big takeaway from the seminar was the sharing. There were several studios represented, and every single one shared emotional and poignant stories. It changed my outlook after 10 years in business. Stop selling features like the coolest album and the "sharpest" metal print. It's not about that. It's about finding what motivates people emotionally and tapping into that emotion. Don't prey on it. Embrace and empathize. 

I hope you can make their seminar, but if you can't, find one soon. Find one being done by someone who is where you want to be. Find one being attended by people passionate about wall portraits and the emotion behind them!! 

Is this seminar worth it? Of course it is!!!! Double or more your sales average for starters. I've learned more about the photography business from this seminar than any others. Not to say anything negative about the other amazing opportunities I've taken part in, but it doesn't go deep enough into the business side. Or a lot of it is the same tricks repeated. And the follow up coaching after is non-existent in the other opportunities. Really, your seminar is the only one with the right people in one roof with an emphasis on marketing and selling wall portraits as an in depth focus. There is nothing like it out there! If a person doesn't get their return the first order, they aren't doing it right. 

I attended the 2016 seminar in San Diego this past January. I've come into the business of portrait photography later in life. I have a Master's degree in Speech Language Pathology and worked in the schools for over two decades. A year and a half ago, I decided to pursue my lifelong passion of  photography. Since I had no previous sales or marketing experience, I knew this was the area of my greatest need. At the MOTWP seminar, I was able to spend several hours each day just talking with some of the best portrait photographers in the nation.  Each instructor is so open and willing to share what has and hasn't worked in their studio. I've found the relationships that began at the seminar to be one of the richest blessings of attending. Not only did I gain sales and marketing knowledge, but I gained the friendship of those in attendance and the instructors. 

I had a little last-minute trepidation about investing the money- which I could have easily used for other things - but it was well worth every penny! I really appreciated all the advice, first-hand experiences, and suggestions in the program parts. But equally important to me was the personal attention and generous advice given one-on-one by each of the instructors. They were all willing to share their own techniques and get down to the nitty-gritty details that make the difference  between knowing what to do and how to do it- relative to the business of portrait photography. Left to my own devices, I wouldn't have had the courage to take some of the steps I've taken in my business in the 18 months since the seminar. 

Please excuse the length of this but I want it to be as thorough as is required for its purpose. As some may have seen, I was introduced to this collection of people a couple years ago. My buddy, Don Ling, told me about this seminar and introduced me to the group. Seeing as though the seminar represented a healthy investment, I wanted to know more about the principals as I'd not heard about any of them. But even if I had I still would've wanted to know more. So I questioned them on their forum. My intentions were never to question or doubt anybody's credentials or integrity, I just needed to satisfy my ignorance. Once reasonably satisfied, I decided to participate in the seminar as the topics were of great interest to me. 

My philosophy on seminars as always been if I can get at least one thing that benefits my business then it was worth it. Well, I'm quite happy to report that I got more than just 1 thing. Credentials of presenters to seminars that I've attended over the years have always been very good. However, what you never know is whether the experts can actually teach and impart? Years ago I attended a convention with a very accomplished wedding photographer whose work I admired greatly. He was the keynote speaker and he was HORRIBLE. He just didn't possess the VERY basic skills of public speaking let alone teaching. His work was and is off the charts amazing but that's irrelevant in a seminar setting if you can't effectively communicate. Expert instructing is NOT required. But being able to effectively communicate is. Again, I'm happy to report that all 4 of our presenters were fully able to easily communicate and impart information. 

In my opinion, this seminar is not for everybody. This was a portrait business seminar. Not a portrait photography seminar. If you want that, look elsewhere. But if you want real world portrait business experience being deposited into you, I highly recommend this seminar. 

I love that this workshop focuses on specific ways to build value about our artwork through every encounter that we have with other people. The specifics that were shared about networking, the language that we use about our artwork, community involvement, interpersonal communication skills, and different relational sales techniques have been valuable throughout every aspect of my business and helping me to move my average sale up from $1700 to over $3000. It has helped me transform my own thinking, and therefore how my clientele view me, from "photographer" to truly a portrait artist. I also loved how accessible each of the instructors were during the entire workshop -- eating breakfast, lunch, and multiple dinners with them was invaluable, along with the small group mentoring sessions where I was able to ask specific questions and get targeted advice on concrete issues that I was dealing with in my business. I can't emphasize enough how much getting to know these instructors and the other dedicated portrait artists that attended this workshop has led to meaningful and helpful relationships and a community of encouragement and a source of genuine help in the daily running of my business.