We know how fortunate we are to have found the career that inspires us. We appreciate the trust our clients place in us. And we are grateful everyday to be in our clients' lives.

What we didn't know, when we started this journey, was that we would also have the opportunity to share our experience and knowledge with others in our industry. The Bebbinar experience is one that truly humbles Steve and I as our attendees entrust us with so much, open their hearts and minds to our ideas, and embrace all that Steve and I have to offer. The talented, fun loving, kind, quirky, gentle, honest people that come and sit with us for a Bebbinar inspire Steve and I in so many ways.

So, first and foremost, a thank you to Audra, Alan, Scott, Jeremy, Kenny, Elizabeth, Kim, Erica, Sam, Rico, Gracci, Libby,Laurie, Heather, Ral and Danelle, for allowing us into your lives, both personal and professional, and for giving so much of yourselves to this process. Thank you. (As you guys post your images on your blogs, I'll link to your sites so everyone can see them!)

As always, we started the Bebbinar with our one and only rule: no egos, no excuses! With that out of the way, we dove right into an intense eight hours that challenged all our attendees to think about every aspect of their photography, business, and lives. Our businesses, as photographers, are so entwined with who we are as people, yet so often we don't see that correlation. The relationship between who we are and what we do is so tightly bound, that knowing more about ourselves as people can only serve to enhance our business.

The second day began with an impromptu tutorial in the benefits of ShootQ. This is a system that has truly shaved hours off Steve's and my work flow each week and everyone wanted to know more about it. We quickly ran through the processes that we use, and everyone was amazed at how little time we had to spend on the mundanities of our business and how quickly we could get back to the other things that need to be done. Following that, we dove right into off-camera lighting.

Then it was outside to embrace the ever-changing Vancouver weather. Nadia, who is a wonderful make-up artist here in Vancouver, was our beautiful model! We've known Nadia for a few years now and we have always wanted to photograph her. We couldn't wait for this to happen!

Once outdoors, we worked on finding locations, seeing light, using video light and off-camera flash to enhance the scene, working with clients, and a number of other concepts. Some folks stood back and watched, while others got right into it. At times there were 17 cameras pointing at Nadia and she worked it like a super model!

Here are a few of our favorite images of Nadia:

I also really like the way this image looked square (for a great action that really makes this easy, check outParker J'sstuff)

A doorway and beautiful light:

Quietly waiting. I love this shot for a lot of reason, but mostly because it was taken inside the studio, in not-so-great light, without her awareness. I love the mystery in this image:

the last one for now:

All these images were made within a 2 minute walk from our studio! One of the exercises we do is to find locations in otherwise unattractive areas - which is something we have seen our attendees struggle with. Who know what the most important thing to look for in a location is? To find the answer, sign up for one of our Bebbinars! ;-)

Our final day was focussed on workflow and the keys to the 4 day work week (yes, it is possible!). We demonstrated how we are able to efficiently process a wedding, how to streamline and maintain the work flow in all aspects of our business, and how we can be home at night to tuck our kids into bed. Giving everyone the tools to reclaim their lives is our favourite part of the Bebbinar! After the one-on-ones and some crying, we wrapped the final day at 2:30am (so I guess technically it was Thursday). It was home to sleep and then up early to take the kids to school!

Ral & Danelle, grads of v1.0, were with us on Tuesday and Wednesday. They were there as reps for the fabulous Finao, but they also helped us out by photographing the Bebbinar in progress. Check out some of the images of the Bebbinar in action:

The Bebbinar World Tour is starting in April and there are still a few seats left in each city. These are the only cities that we will be teaching in until our Australia/New Zealand tour in October. Please don't wait to sign up...they are almost full and we are limiting the numbers to keep the groups intimate! For more information, or if you have any questions at all, drop me an email at signmeup@bebbinars.com and we'll take care of that for you! Don't be afraid to ask our alumni their opinions - in fact we encourage you to do that. Then sign up! We'll see you all on the road!

This afternoon brings the start of our second Vancouver Bebbinar. We're joined by a group of incredibly talented photographers from Canada, the US, Ireland and Mexico. After having a chance to look at some of their work, we are truly humbled that they entrust us with their education.

We have revamped the program after receiving wonderful feedback from our October attendees. More shooting, more worksheets, more real, honest solutions...it is going to be so fantastic! I'm hoping to try live blogging during part of the Bebbinar, but we'll see how that goes.

We're going to be immersed in the Bebbinar until Thursday morning and we will return all your email and phone calls at that time. I can't wait to share the results of this Bebbinar with all of you!

The photo above was taken by the wonderful Mark Adams of ShootQ(who has offered a wonderful promo to our attendees). We'll tell you more about our other incredible sponsors as the week goes on!

When the Bebbinar opened Monday evening, we didn't know what to expect. We worked hard to gather 20 photographers from around the world who were ready to take that next step towards greatness. It was a mixed group with some very well established studios to some studios that were just getting started. But the thread that joined them all together was the knowledge that they wanted to grow and the desire to take steps to make that happen.

We opened Tuesday with only one rule: Egos and Excuses are checked at the door.

Our goal for the Bebbinar was really simple - we wanted to give each person, regardless of their skill level or the amount of time they had been in business, tools to get to the next level. We literally sat down and went through our entire program to ensure that there were take-aways for everyone: things they could go home and do immediately to set themselves on a new path. Just three things, because anymore would overwhelm and any less would be insignificant. From the feedback we have received so far we didn't just succeed in that regard, we went above and beyond our original goal.

We started Tuesday with a lesson in style and branding. One of the first things we wanted to do was help each person define their style by giving them the vocabulary to do that. The exercise also brought out what influences and inspiration people were using in their imagery and I think that surprised some of our guests. No one wants to think their work looks like anyone else's work, so seeing their images through a fresh set of eyes certainly surprised some people. And that is a good thing - there is no way to grow if there is no room for growth.

After deconstructing and removing any ego that was left in the room, we moved on to our shooting assignments. These were tough. In fact, not one person in the group felt very comfortable with the parameters they were given. And that was the point - we wanted to show them two things: they are better technical photographers than they thought they were, and that you can only truly grow as an artist when you push yourself beyond your comfortable limits.

At the end of the day, the group had really bonded together as they realized that there were more similarities between them than differences - that they weren't competing with each other but rather helping each other grow. When I collected their homework for the evening and settled in to read it at about 11pm, I was truly moved by the way in which they were embracing their growth and committing to the process. More than one person's words moved me to tears and I was truly humbled by the trust that had been placed in our hands.

Wednesday was all Laura Novak - a truly wonderful person. We wanted to give everyone the chance to look at their businesses in a new light and to find a way to move forward. Laura continued the theme of worksheets and assignments and had each person work through a series of steps that defined their goals, and laid out the path each wanted to follow. These were intensely personal activities and when some people chose to share some of their goals, the tears flowed freely and we all realized the importance of taking these steps. Laura put some fun and levity into a very, very important process. I know that people's heads were spinning as we went out to dinner that evening.

Everyday, we had chosen restaurants and locations to reinforce the concepts that we were hoping to instill in everyone. We wanted everyone to be aware of the ambience of a place, the perceived value that created, the overall service, the experience itself and the associated branding that each restaurant had created. We saved our highest end experience for Wednesday evening when we brought everyone to the Ocean Club for dinner. This was our way of showcasing a more high end, boutique style experience where you don't mind paying a premium price for a premium service. They have a $25 fixed menu every Wednesday so it wasn't too pricey, but I think the overall experience helped drive home the point.

Somehow, Steve and I ended up on the wrong end of the camera (again) and became the models for our very own seminar. It started innocently with Mark Adams wanted to take a few images of Steve and I, and quickly evolved into a lesson in off camera lighting involving a manual flash, a dish towel and a sync process that consisted of yelling "GO!". Needless to say, it was fantastic and a great way to really pump up the group. Here are some of the images that Mark and Laura were able to make with this incredibly expensive and sophisticated lighting kit:

And, of course, we had to turn the tables on Mark as well:

Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to Mark that evening as his flight left at 7am on Thursday. We invited Mark to come and show everyone the studio management system that the LaCour team has developed and is now making available for photographers. It's something that we're using in our studio in an effort to streamline our processes and develop a more efficient workflow. We knew this was something that would help our attendees immeasurably, so we were super excited when we found our Mark was coming. ShootQis an awesome system and I would strongly encourage everyone to check it out. You can read all about Mark's version of events on the LaCour blog.

That's Mark in the middle, between Steve and I.

Day three at the Bebbinar began with a review of the images from Tuesday. I think that everyone was very nervous about this part of the day. After all, these were jpeg images, almost straight out of camera, created in less than ideal circumstances and conditions. No one was confident that they had done well. In fact, the room was very quiet as the images started to come up. It wasn't long before people realized just how great a job they had all done. There were fantastic images being shown. It was an amazing opportunity for everyone to see the value of good photography before any processing at all takes place. What was even more amazing to see was the support they all gave each other - they were all so excited when each person's work came up. There was nothing but positive affirmation as we critiqued our way through the morning.

We moved into the crux of the entire Bebbinar just before lunch - the importance of consistency and how one can become more consistent. We didn't offer a magic bullet to make it all right, but what we did do was showcase the importance of presenting a consistent and cohesive product if moving up market is your goal. By lunch, there wasn't a photographer in the room that was maligning the importance of consistency and who wasn't committed to making it happen.

The rest of the day (and night) literally flew by as we moved into the details of our two button workflow and began our one-on-one sessions. Steve, Laura and myself all split up and took separate groups for this exercise. I have no idea what happened with the other groups, but with almost everyone I sat with there was a good cry taking place. This was truly an amazing experience for me as a teacher to see that what we had tried so hard to do the past three days had made an impact and was having an effect. The tears were of relief and joy, not sadness and fear, as each person or couple realized their potential and that they could reach it. I am still moved and sit here with tears streaming down my face again as I write this. For me, this affirmed that Steve and I have made the right choice to give back and to share. It was a hard choice, but such a rewarding one in the end. I hope that every single person that attended the Bebbinar is on the way to greatness - because each has the potential to get there. All that was missing was the drive, the tools and the commitment. To be even a small part of that is one of the most humbling and gratifying things we have ever done.

We have some huge, huge thanks to extend to the people that helped us put the Bebbinar on. I hate to use the word "sponsor", so I'm not going to, but the following people were extremely generous to the Bebbinar and their continued support is something we are always thankful for. In no particular order:

Finao

DWF

Shootsac

Parade

Pickpic

Totally Rad Actions

Bludomain

Boda

GKing Photo

ShootQ

Showit Web

Wedluxe