Review | Newborn Photography Workshop with Robin Long Photography

I had the wonderful opportunity of attending Robin Long’s 2 day newborn workshop in Clearwater, Florida in March of this year.  I did my research before signing up because it was such a big investment for my business, and I couldn’t have made a better decision! I had a few questions before even putting a deposit down and Robin answered my emails so quickly and with lots of detail.  Even through an email, she is so warm and helpful.

I had followed Robin’s work for some time and couldn’t believe I was going to meet her and learn from such a talented newborn photographer. I was so excited to learn everything on the itinerary. It was packed full of everything I wanted to learn and more! The night before our first day in the workshop I couldn’t sleep. I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve! When I arrived to the first day of the workshop, I was so eager to get to know everyone and dive head first into the workshop. Robin was extremely prompt on getting us started and kept us on schedule the entire 2 days. We had a small class of 8 students and 2 hosts, Tracy Gabbard and Delfina Kopczynski. Robin’s promise of keeping classes small in order to give the proper time and attention to all of the attendees was very important to me and to the success of the workshop. To start, we all took a few minutes to introduce ourselves and then got to work.

It was amazing the details Robin provided in everything from how to set up your sessions, props she uses, camera settings and how to use the light (natural and studio). She helped each of us get our settings correct for white balance, proper exposures using our histograms and how to properly focus for newborns. She was so patient and helpful with all of our questions and made sure everyone had a CLEAR understanding of these subjects before the first newborn arrived. There was a wide range of experience in the workshop and Robin catered to all of our skill levels. I was so appreciative of how she set up the flow of the workshop in teaching us all of the technical aspects that are important and made sure we understood before we started photographing newborns in order to get the most out of our experience. We were able to constantly apply and adjust what we were taught throughout all of our shoots during the next two days.

We had a total of 3 newborn models and 2 maternity models. Robin went through all of her basic poses, how to create a composite shot with advanced poses and BABY SAFETY! She stressed many times on our responsibility as newborn photographers to keep these sweet babies safe. We also learned how to properly wrap a newborn and used one of Robin’s awesome Nest Wraps. Robin was so open with her information during our session with the newborns and maternity models. She answered all questions in detail and was willing to share any information and knowledge she had gained in her career. One of our newborns was more difficult to work with than the others and she walked us through all of her suggestions on how to settle a newborn and work with them in order to make a session successful.

Not only did Robin teach us so much about newborn and maternity sessions but she also taught us about the business side of things and post processing. Both were extremely helpful and again Robin wasn’t stingy with her information. Everything from working with parents, photoshop techniques and pricing was covered. We had a Q&A session at the end of each day with Robin and had an open dialogue about anything newborn photography related. It was educational to hear Robin’s perspective and the other attendees. No question was too big or small. It was packed full of information and my notebook that I got at the beginning of the workshop was full of useful information that I now apply to my business.

Robin also had these AMAZING grab bags for her workshop attendees and she doesn’t hold back! She has amazing sponsors that graciously donate different items and discounts that I have definitely taken advantage of!

I would HIGHLY recommend this workshop or any mentoring session with Robin to anyone. She is an amazing photographer, teacher and friend. It is so evident that Robin loves what she does and it just radiates throughout her workshops. I count my lucky stars I had the opportunity to meet Robin, learn from her and really get to know her over my few days in Florida. It is an experience I will never forget and one that has shaped me and my business forever. For that I am truly grateful!