#10

Have you ever paid for an entire conference just for the chance to hear ONE family photographer you admire talk for an hour or two? At The Family Narrative, you get two full days plus two half days dedicated entirely to building, maintaining, and enjoying a sustainable family photography business.

#8

Most in-person photo education is either a strong lineup of teachers with a big group of participants or an intimate group with 1 or 2 teachers. TFN combines an amazing lineup of world-class instructors with a boutique-sized group of attendees... around a 1:7 ratio.

#6

Another great thing about keeping the teacher:attendee ratio low is that we're able to offer each of our attendees a personal review given by one of our teachers at no additional cost... we’ve offered everything from website and portfolio reviews to pricing and editing reviews. This is always a huge highlight of the week!

#4

And then there’s location... lots of retreats happen in cool cities, but then you miss out on the city because you’re stuck in a conference room somewhere. In order to combat this, we take everyone out to some of the best places for ACTUAL MEALS instead of catered buffets, then plan optional evening outings that take advantage of all the magic of the city where we’ve all come together.

#2

One of the founding principles of The Family Narrative was championing diversity and inclusivity in the industry. We aim to ensure that every single person in the community is valued, heard, respected, empowered, and feels a true sense of belonging. We are anti-exclusivity, anti-hate, and anti-bigotry. FAMILY knows no boundaries.

#9

TFN is one of the only retreats in the industry designed entirely with experienced photographers in mind. We assume a baseline amount of knowledge regarding how to use a camera and run a business, and focus our time on inspiration, business strategy, and keeping pace with the industry.

#7

One of the great things about keeping TFN small is that you don’t have to choose between one talk or another, one live shoot or another, one discussion or another... you get to do it all! Every attendee gets access to all of the content.

#5

And speaking of teachers and attendees... we are firm believers that everyone in attendance brings valuable experience and information to the retreat. Everyone does everything together - morning coffee, lunches, evening outings. No VIP teacher’s lounges here!

#3

If you’ve ever attended a great conference, you know how overwhelming the new information and ideas can be. Each of the TFN teachers creates a handout that focuses on their area(s) of expertise, which are bound into a beautifully designed booklet full of actionable worksheets and idea generators that they can reference for years to come. And whether or not you attend, you are welcome in TFN Together, our membership dedicated to setting and completing goals that benefit your work and your business.

#1

After all of the above - all the intentional space we create for the open sharing and exchange of ideas and inspiration - it’s no surprise that our attendees and teachers tend to form deep and lasting bonds. Our online community is very active with everything from work-related questions to frustrations to shared successes. Long after the retreat is over, that community remains our biggest accomplishment.