Q&A with the Brains Behind Inspire Photo Retreats

Rangefinder: Inspire’s mission is to “foster and maintain a supportive community where photographers are encouraged and empowered to grow in their lives and businesses through innovative curriculum in the areas of Craft, Vision and Business.” Can you expand on this and talk briefly about how some of your speakers and courses support this?

Enna Grazier: I love our mission statement! Without community as our foundation, we’d all be so much lonelier and bored. We screen every part of Inspire through this filter: Will it enhance community? Will our attendees grow in one of our curriculum areas? We design the Inspire retreat schedule around three different curriculum tracts: Craft (the physical process of using a camera and other image-making equipment), Vision (artistic and personal introspection and inspiration) and Business (sustainable pricing, workflow and customer service).

All Photos Courtesy of Kate Mcelwee and Stephen Wang For Inspire Photo Retreats

Mark Higgins: In 2016, for example, we had Cig Harvey do an intensive class called “Magical in the Mundane,“ Tyler Wirken taught an image-review class called  “You Only Need One Percent“ and Eric McCallister taught a lighting class called “Getting Creative with Off-Camera Flash.“ For Inspire 2017, we will have 21 great teachers. When we choose our faculty we’re not just looking for great photographers and charismatic lecturers, but great educators whose philosophy is aligned with the community concept of Inspire. We haven’t announced our entire 2017 lineup yet, but right now we have announced Spencer Lum, Carla Ten Eyck, Huy Nguyen, Dani Diamond, Tyler Wirken, Andrew Funderburg, Jen Rozenbaum, Ashley and Graham Scobey, Vanessa Joy, Kevin Jairaj, David Murray and Joel Wiebner.

Rf:  How long has Inspire been in operation, and has it always been in New England?

MH: We are currently preparing for our eighth Inspire Photo Retreat (February 27-March 1, 2017). For the first several years, our retreat was held within an hour of Boston at the historic Concord Colonial Inn. Our current home is Newport, Rhode Island, at the Hyatt Regency on Goat Island. We love this location because water surrounds the hotel, giving it a more isolated “retreat“ quality.

EG: The hotel’s layout fosters a sense of community. It has plenty of open and inviting common spaces so that our attendees will connect with each other.

All Photos Courtesy of Kate Mcelwee and Stephen Wang For Inspire Photo Retreats

Rf: Has your vision changed or evolved at all from when you founded Inspire to now, and what do some of those changes include?

MH: We sit down yearly for a planning retreat, and what has been a constant is believing in our mission statement and crafting Inspire around it.

EG: Helping photographers learn how to build a self-sustaining business has always been our goal, and fostering a culture where peer-to-peer mentoring and support is the norm. Inspire will always include opportunities to learn about pricing and effective business management, and also how to make sure that your business is satisfying in a holistic way (i.e. is it taxing your mental or physical life?). If you’re not achieving financial and emotional balance, then it’s time to make some changes!

MH: Our curriculum has changed over the years to offer longer intensive classes. The whole class schedule is arranged around opportunities for mentoring, which is at the heart of Inspire. The mission statement is what guides us and helps define who we are and what Inspire is at its core.

All Photos Courtesy of Kate Mcelwee and Stephen Wang For Inspire Photo Retreats

Rf: Why is peer-to-peer mentoring so important in this industry and to Inspire?

MH: Our diversity of experiences is what drives peer-to-peer mentoring. Last year I watched a conversation unfold at lunch between four people sitting around a table: a businessperson, a social media savant, a lighting guru and an album maker. I was amazed at what each person took out of this conversation in new knowledge and skills. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that learning only happens in a classroom. I see peer-to-peer mentoring taking place over coffee, lunch, dinner and breaks.

EG: We also believe that most photographers, while they work alone, are actually fairly gregarious beings. They crave community and connection and without it they struggle in both life and business. They all need a place where they can bounce ideas off each other, share war stories, and compare notes on life and work. Our faculty members help us to create an environment where this happens naturally: we work hard to select faculty members who see themselves as life-long learners, who will gain as much from the Inspire retreat as anyone else.

MH: Our faculty members don’t just drop in to teach a course and leave; they immerse themselves in the Inspire community and participate from the beginning to end. We believe that given a supportive environment and time, everyone will learn from the people around them. Another way we promote this at Inspire is by sharing meals. We include a celebratory welcome dinner plus three lunches that pull everyone together. Nothing brings a community together like sharing a meal!

All Photos Courtesy of Kate Mcelwee and Stephen Wang For Inspire Photo Retreats

Rf: Any advice for emerging photographers entering an over-saturated market?

EG: First, hone your craft to the point that you don’t have technical limitations that get in the way of your artistic vision. Learn how your camera works! Second, get feedback on your images. We encourage anyone and everyone who cares about making images to look for feedback and critique from photographers who will be honest to the point of ruthlessness. If an image only makes sense when you’re there to tell the story, then it probably isn’t working.

Rf: Who are you inspired by?

EG: Now you’ve turned the tables—this is a question that we always ask our Inspire attendees! Pete Souza is someone I’ve followed for the years that he’s been in the White House. Can you believe he’s made—after culling—two million photographs? Actually, that’s not a surprise, but the fact that they continue to be compelling and unique is amazing. At my house we’ve been learning about wet-plate Collodian photography, so I currently have new profound respect for the photographers at the time of the Civil War who had to carry a whole darkroom of volatile chemicals by wagon in order to make a single image.

MH: I’m inspired by the photographers I meet on a daily basis who work hard at improving every facet of their vision, craft and businesses. It’s incredibly hard to be a photographer, and these people are passionate about their clients.

Check out Rf’s Giveaway tab this month on Facebook—Inspire is offering one lucky winner a free conference pass to the 2017 retreat (a $539 value)! Go to our Facebook page for more details, or rangefinderonline.com.

www.inspirephotoretreats.com