This year will mark eight years since opening my first photography related LLC along with my wife Sandi. Three years in, we completely rebranded and starting Twisted Oaks Studio with the idea of being more specialized as well as building the company into something much larger than just the two of us. Twisted Oaks Studio was the start of us building the multi-photographer studio that we own and run today. The two of us have spent the past 8 years running a business and shooting weddings together while doing our best to not choke each other out or make the other sleep on the couch (I’m sure anyone reading this will be able to guess which one of us has done that more than once).

BTS

A few years ago, when I began working with Leica Camera USA and teaching workshops, Sandi made it very clear that she had no desire to join me. So, I did my best to not involve her even when I was swamped with planning a workshop and making sure that deadlines were met. I simply kept that side of things to myself knowing full well that she had zero interest. Well, that is until a few months ago when I started planning the Savannah 2020 workshop and wanted to try something new.

As our studio quickly grew into one of the most successful on the entire east coast, Sandi did her best to stay focused on running the business and its finances while I focused more on our marketing. Part of our marketing strategy was for me to become more involved with the educational side of the industry in order to build relationships and network as much as I possibly could. Because of this, and because of the fact that my work was simply out there a lot more for the public to see online and on social media, I became the face of the business.

It wasn’t until a little over a year ago that I decided to really push Sandi to start sharing her work, or have me share it, so that clients and everyone in the wedding photography industry understood and knew just how talented she really was. When we shoot weddings, there’s a very big reason that I’m able to get the shots that everyone sees due to them being shared on social media and that’s because we work amazing as a team. Not only with running the studio but we very rarely shoot weddings by ourselves or with anyone else, and that’s because we know exactly what the other is doing or thinking at all times on a wedding day.

“Getting together with like minded people who might do things a little different was very helpful for my work flow and my approach to shooting in the field. I learned new ways to grow my business and my client experience. Jay and Sandi work great together and gave so much amazing useful information about how they run their business. From the laid back "classroom" setting to in the field it was a very informational and fun workshop!”

~ Laura Turner (The Creative Shutter)

When I first sat down with Leica to discuss a game plan for our 2nd Savannah workshop, we really wanted to take this one to a new level. We wanted to focus more on keeping everything very centered around what makes Twisted Oaks Studio so successful, how we went from shooting 20 weddings to 120 in just a few years, and our creative approach to shooting that ultimately created the very well-known Twisted Oaks brand and style. Once we had that idea in place, I knew the only way to offer the full experience for all of the attendees was to have Sandi teach this workshop with me. It was hard enough finally convincing her after 6 or so years to start sharing her work more, so I really wasn’t sure how this was going to go. The only thing I really envisioned in my head as that meeting wrapped up and I told Leica that Sandi wouldn’t have a problem with it was the couch. I had a pretty good feeling that I’d be spending a night or two on it.

“I didn’t know what to expect. I really stepped out of my comfort zone by attending a workshop that was out of state. I loved TO from the moment I found their art & I wanted to learn some of their secrets. Jay and Sandi were so personal and shared so much with us. It was like we were sitting with old friends. The focus was on “storytelling” and I can’t wait for my first wedding of 2020 to use what I learned.”

~ Kaity Atzert (Kaity Atzert Photography)

THE FIRST ONE

Luckily, to my surprise, it didn’t take all that much convincing and I was actually surprised to see that she was even slightly excited about it. But, she was also pretty nervous teaching a workshop for the first time, especially having never attended a workshop herself. Once she saw the workshop quickly sell out and we started putting our lectures together, she was all in. It was a little over 3 years prior that I had decided to host my first workshop, 7 total, all of which were either hosted by myself or with a photographer friend that had a very different style than mine. It was honestly really cool to start off the new year of 2020 with the two of us hosting our first workshop together, in Savannah, and have it completely sold out.

TOPICS

• The story of Twisted Oaks, our business approach and structure

• What our current biz model looks like and what changes we’ve made this year

• The creative side to our business, how we established our brand/style

• Storytelling and the prep that goes into being a good storyteller for your clients

• Shooting techniques that we use and how we use them

• The creative thought process to the wedding day, how we approach each part and why

• Album design and sales

CONCLUSION

The workshop turned out being what I would consider to be the all around best workshop that I’ve hosted to date. It took a couple of years to really get the hang of what works well and what doesn’t when planning for these destination workshops, but the timing of this one was perfect for Sandi to join me. John from Leica and I had really worked out all the little kinks from pervious workshops and were able to really make this one go extremely smooth without any real hiccups. As with all of the workshops I’ve hosted in the past, it was an awesome experience for everyone that attended and the days flew by as we worked from 9am until after the sun went down.

We had a good mix of experienced wedding photographers to a few that were early on in their careers and looking to soak up as much as they possibly could. Sandi and I were able to work with just about everyone making sure that they were able to walk away with new knowledge, in both business and shooting, that they could start implementing as soon as they got home.

As with all of my workshops that I do with Leica, everyone got to shoot with a Leica camera/lens combo either for a day or throughout the entire workshop which only adds to the experience. It’s always awesome when I get to see other photographers who have never tried a Leica camera before get to test one out, and not just for an hour, but for an entire workshop. Not only does this add to the overall experience getting to play with new gear, but it also helps them see things a little differently which is one of the big reasons that I always suggest it to everyone that attends my workshops.

We couldn’t have asked for better weather, which was in the high 60s the entire time we were there and since this was the second year for me hosting this same workshop I knew exactly where I wanted to go for the shooting parts of the workshop. Savannah really is one of the most beautiful towns you can spend a few days in during the month of January as a photographer. Beautiful and old gnarly trees that have had their roots in the ground for hundreds of years, Spanish Moss hanging from all around, and enough history to easily make walking down any side street or little park the perfect backdrop for a kick-ass photoshoot.

If you missed out on this one, we’ll be announcing next year’s Savannah workshop a lot earlier this year giving everyone a little extra time for planning and saving on AirBnB’s and travel arrangements. Keep an eye out on social media for the announcement or be sure to join my newsletter on the Home page.

Thank you to everyone that helped make this workshop an extremely special one, especially our sponsors. Looking forward to seeing the growth this year from each and every photographer that attended!

REVIEW

“I am thrilled that I was part of Twisted Oak’s Savannah workshop 2020. Jay and Sandy are the most genuine people I’ve met. Very kind, passionate and giving of their time with us. Sharing their gift and love for photography was such a treat. This is my second workshop with Jay. My first was in Ithaca, NY for a camp reset. When I heard he was going to be in Savannah doing another one I booked the next day. Jay is patient and kind and is a true artist. He’s willing to share and help in any way you need. What I loved about Jay’s teaching is that he took time with anyone who asked and made sure they were happy and completely understood. If you are thinking or joining a workshop shop with Jay and questioning if you should, Don’t you won’t regret it.”

~ Tina Aligata

ATTENDEE PHOTOS