November 9-10 Recital Portraits Workshop
Pas de Deux Photo is hosting a workshop dedicated volume work in dance photography. The event will take place Saturday, November 9 and Sunday, November 10 at Ron McKinney Photography in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. 800 McArdle Drive, Crystal Lake, IL.
We plan to cover every aspect of the Dance Recital Portrait Photo Shoot -- and you'll get four different perspectives from speakers Ron McKinney and Mike Farella, and mentors Stacey Barnhouse-Wright and John-Mark Stephenson. All four of us will share our experiences of having grown our volume dance businesses from their beginnings to where we are today, shooting more than 20 dance schools a year.
Whether you're wanting to get your first recital portrait shoot, or if you're trying to grow from 6-10 schools, this workshop will help you achieve your goals. We'll cover how to earn the interest of new dance schools, when and how to contact them, how to do online orders that automatically fill Google spreadsheets, we'll discuss pricing, how many poses to do with individual dancers, the logistics of the shoot, the benefits of using PhotoDay or GotPhoto software, and the equipment you'll need. Check the schedule below for all our topics.
Registration Features
All registrations are for Nov. 9-10, 2024. Your registration includes:
- Two days of community and education
- Recital Portrait Photographers leading the groups
- We'll cover every aspect of recital portraits
- Small setting - ask questions and learn what works for you!
- Lunch on Saturday and Sunday
- Exclusive group rate at the local Holiday Inn includes breakfast
- Studio setups on Sunday for test shoots
- Saturday night social at the Holiday Inn
- Designed to help you start doing recital portraits, as well as to grow your existing recital portrait business
- Stay late on Sunday for a demo session of Ron working with a high school dance team
Registration is $675. Add a second person from your studio at 50% off. All registration fees are non-refundable.
Workshop is limited to 40 participants. A photo studio can bring two members, the second can come with 50% discount.
Group rate lodging coming soon! $129/night at the Holiday Inn Crystal Lake less than one mile from Ron McKinney Photography Studio.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9
9 am Welcome and Intro to Speakers Ron McKinney & Mike Farella and Mentors Stacey Barnhouse-Wright and John-Mark Stephenson
9:15 am What to do to Prepare for Recital Portrait Day (Discussion)
- Pre-orders
- Prepping Organization (Class Rosters)
- Setting Expectations with Dance School
10:15 am Logistics to Running a Recital Portrait Session on Location (Demo and Discussion)
- Backdrops, Lighting, Camera and Lens
- One or Two Setups
- Shooting against black vs white backdrops/marley
- Multi-days vs One day shoots
- Next Level: Tripod Tethered to TV
12:15 pm Lunch (included)
1:00 pm Running the Recital Portrait Shoot (Demo and Discussion)
- The PhotoDay/GotPhoto Way
- Using a QR Code vs Manning a Table for Same-Day orders
- Using an Assistant to Document the Dancers
- who do you hire as assistants
- How to get 3 poses/dancer per minute
- What settings to use for Individual Dancers
- Shooting Groups (changes in settings)
- Working with your Poser
- Using the Posing Banner
- How to Deal with Parents during the shoot
3:00 pm Selling Your Products (Demo and Discussion)
- Using PhotoDay/GotPhoto
- Using Your Own System
- Jotform for pre-orders, Pixieset for Viewing Gallery orders
- Products to sell
- Things that can upsell
- Average order minimum of $70/dancer
- 100 dancers = $7,000-plus
- 200 dancers = $14,000-plus
4:00 pm Post-production After the Recital Shoot (Demo and Discussion)
- Using GotPhoto/PhotoDay
- Using Your Own Staff
- Culling and Cropping, Batch Edit, Export to Viewing Folder
- Using Evoto and Sorcery Sauce to clean and extend backdrops
- Fulfilling Orders
5:00 pm Workshop Ends for the Day
8:00 pm Reception at Holiday Inn
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10
9:00 am Adding New Dance Schools (Discussion)
- Dance Studio owner(s) talk about their perspective
- How to approach new schools
- The discussion of Kickbacks vs other shared services
- Comp Teams vs Rec Teams/Recital Portraits
10:00 am Selling Sessions after the Recital Portraits (Discussion)
10:30 am Different Lighting Schemes (Demo and Discussion)
- Going from 2 Lights to 7 Lights
11:30 am Artistic Lighting at Recital Portraits (Demo and Discussion)
12:00 pm Lunch (included)
12:45 pm 5-Minute Intervals on Shooting at 3 stations
- 1 stations set up for traditional lighting with 20ft wide white muslin backdrop
- 1 station set up for artistic lighting with black background
- 1 station set up with 108-inch color paper backdrop
3:00 pm Workshop Ends