The Pet Photographers Retreat - Tuscany Edition

We'll meet at the Leaning Tower of Pisa (camera's in hand of course!) and then drive through the rolling hills of Tuscany's countryside to our venue for the next four days.

Throughout the Retreat you'll have the opportunity to photograph among cobblestone streets, iconic landmarks and stunning natural landscapes all with a world-class photographer as your instructor.

When we're not shooting, you'll join the keynote business focused presentations, small group discussions and editing classes too.

Between all of that there'll be time for connecting with your peers for that ultimate feeling of "belonging".

This is The Pet Photographers Retreat- a space where you belong.

It's about getting inspired, connecting with like minds and improving both your business and your craft! And better still.. you will have made life long friends who actually "get it".

It's in Italy in April with some of Europes BEST and MOST SUCCESSFUL pet photographers!

Location and transport:

Tuscany, ITALY

We'll take care of everything once you're in Pisa! There are direct flights to Pisa from most European cities

We will meet in Pisa on Tuesday morning and a private bus will take us to our accommodation in the Tuscan country side. Private transport is provided back to Pisa on Saturday.

Nearest Airports:

Pisa International Airport (also named Galileo Galilei Airport) - Ryanair, Wizz and Easy Jet

Florence Peretola Airport (if flying into Florence you'll need to catch a train to Pisa)

Inclusions:

Classes are held Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with one shoot per day plus editing/business classes and additional small group break out Q&A sessions

All meals from Tuesday lunch - Saturday Breakfast (total 12 meals)
4 nights accommodation; Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings with check out on Saturday morning

Anne Geier is a professional dog photographer from Austria. Her biggest passion is creating dog portraits in breathtaking landscapes, many of which you would be familiar with as award-winning images.

Her photography clients are throughout Europe and she also loves to coach other photographers.

In 2020 Anne published her first book together with the MITP publisher. Her work has also been published in printed press like Fotohits, Digital Photo as well as in online medias like My Modern Met, Bored Panda and the Daily Mail.

What will you learn from Anne?

Improve your images with intentional compositions and lens choice
Create stunning images beside a turquoise blue river with Anne beside you
Wander through a fortified medieval village for those dreamy Anne-esque photographs
Achieve that dreamy look like Anne in her editing class

Anika Lauer is a dog mom to her rescued Cocker Spaniel Pebbles, who you'll see is also her number one muse.

She's the creative mind behind Fellfreundschaften. Anika's specialty is capturing the special relationship between people and their four-legged friends in the most natural-candid way. The beautiful, small moments that we experience with our pets every day, is exactly what she aims to capture for her clients to enjoy forever!

What will you learn from Anika?

How Anika embrace's her character, and how you can do the same for a positive impact in your business
Create candid yet cohesive portraits of pets with their people
Take your client galleries to the next level by learning to prepare and style your clients
Adapt the natural vibe of Anika's work in her editing class

Mareike was Germany's (and possibly Europe's) first professional pet photographer embracing natural light.

Since 2011 she has been creating colourful, vibrant and natural images for pet owners who purchase products like wall art and albums, as well as commercial clients.

As a mentor, speaker and coach her goal is to empower other European pet photographers to create a market, where they are paid well for their work. She helps her students with all things business related, like selling products, branding, website, marketing, pricing, but also motivates them and inspires them to fulfil their dreams.

What will you learn from Mareike?

How to make more money from each client in her pricing psychology class
Individual feedback to improve your price guide
What small brands need and how to offer commercial photography

As an international multi-award-winning photographer, Jessica McGovern shoots and retouches a wide variety of work from pet portraits to commercial campaigns, headshots to framed fine-art collectables.

Titled heavily across pet, dog and equine photography, her eagle eye, which has given her the critiquing name "Picky Patricia", is useful for pinpointing errors, mistakes or areas of improvement across any style of work, at any level.

Home for Jessica is East Yorkshire, in England, with four dogs, a husband, and a horse called Tuna.

What will you learn from Jess?

How to get started with Off Camera Flash
Work with horses and capture their true personalities
Improve your action pet photography
Learn to calibrate and colour manage for printing client work and awards
Become confident booking and photographing untrained dogs
Start booking commercial clients via agencies

Adam Gray is a self-taught pet photographer based out of the UK. He opened the doors to Kuba Studios just a couple of years ago and is smashing his goals each month by consistently booking 20+ clients a month.

He mastered the art of marketing his business through Facebook ads and client conversions.

Adam has a true passion for capturing the unique personalities of his clients’ pets. In addition to his work as a photographer, Adam also enjoys helping other business owners learn how to convert more leads and increase their client base.

What will you learn from Adam?

How to shoot with selling in mind to improve your averages
Streamline and automate your processes to service clients better (and save time)
Become confident converting enquiries to bookings via phone calls
Plus individual help with Facebook Ads

Sarah is a professional pet photographer in Switzerland specializing in storytelling and adventure photography. Her aim is to create an unforgettable experience for her clients and capture those precious candid moments as well as stunning ‘the shot’ images in breathtaking mountain landscapes.

In 2022 her first book on dog photography 'Hundefotografie - So setzt du deine Fellnase liebevoll in Szene' was published by Rheinwerk Verlag in German.

What will you learn from Sarah?

How to adapt your photography approach to tell your clients story through your images
Put your new learned approach into action on a pre-dawn shoot with Sarah
Understand the profitable digital-only model that enables Sarah to book 40 clients a year with starting prices of over €1400
Plus create a newsletter strategy that leads to more returning clients

What can I expect?
Each day will be different! For demonstrations, styled shoots and workshops, we will be breaking into small groups so you will have the option to choose the workshop which suits you best immediately after booking.

There will also be business classes, some editing and round table discussions!
Is there any downtime and what about meals?
The entire event is a great opportunity to hang out with your peers who actually get it!

There are meal breaks scheduled (and we will be eating together) however you should expect it to be pretty full on! With that said, the class types are all mixed up to use different parts of your brain throughout the day!
I have a dietary requirement, can you cater for me?
I get it- I'm in that camp too, I'm Coeliac!

Vegan, vegetarian, Halal, gluten free, and all the other dietary requirements and allergens can be catered for. Just let us know through the booking form!
Where is it and how do I get there?
The retreat is being held in the hills of Tuscany! The nearest airport is Pisa and we are providing a private bus from Pisa to the accomodation, and back again.
How do room allocations work?
If you opt for a "Standard Twin Share" room, you are welcome to request a particular attendee as your room mate if you know another attendee, otherwise, a room mate of the same gender will be assigned to you.

If you have upgraded to a private room, you will have your own private room and bathroom, all on the same site of the rest of us of course!
Are there any other requirements?
You need to have a good level of fitness to enjoy this retreat as there is quite a lot of walking involved.

There are no minimum requirements for your photography or business skills but you will benefit most from this event if you have a professional level understanding of your camera (can comfortably shoot in manual mode and understand your lenses).

In order to keep ticket prices down, all models will be paid with images. To make this happen, you are required to upload a minimum of one image per model that you photograph within 2 weeks from the end of the Retreat.
I am interested in exploring Italy more afterwards, can you help me?
I highly recommend that!
I live in Italy and will happily share some local knowledge!
Tell me more about the video workshop
The video workshop is an optional add-on. It is €350 per person and will run on Saturday 29th April with Alex and Emmeline of Eden Photography and Video.

During the five hours you will learn how to shoot and edit video for your clients and marketing materials. You don't need to have any prior knowledge of video to attend but you will need a camera which has video function.

Lunch is not included but is available at the hotel restaurant.
Transport back to Pisa will be provided at the end of your workshop.
I still have questions!
No dramas, just email me! kirstie@thepetphotographersclub.com

Steph Alexander

2022 Retreat Attendee

Before the Retreat I was nervous that I wouldn't measure up amongst so many other fantastic Pet Photographers, that I would be 'behind' on knowledge and maybe failing in what often feels like the extremely slow progress I'm making toward my own business goals.

Was that warranted?

Absolutely not!!! It was a reassurance to be able to spend time with so many great people with such skill and beautiful work. Not only was it motivational to see what everyone else is doing and working towards, it was beneficial to be amongst peers who lift you up, support you and help you look at your own sticking points in a different light.

What would I say to someone on the fence about joining the next Retreat?

Looking for Motivation...Check!

Need support or direction?... Check!

Want to improve your skills... Check! Hoping to challenge yourself?...Check!

Want to have a great time and meet other pet photographers?...Check!

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