This retreat is for working and aspiring pet photographers, as well as serious dog-loving photography enthusiasts, who want to become better at photographing the dog in front of them.You don’t need to specialize in reactive dogs. You don’t need to be a professional photographer. And you don’t need to know everything about cameras.What you do need is a genuine interest in dogs and a desire to understand them better.This experience is for photographers who want to:

• Better understand canine body language, arousal, movement, personality, and behavior — and use that understanding to make better photographs.
• Become more confident working with dogs who are energetic, distracted, sensitive, selective, or simply not interested in sitting still for the camera.
• Learn how to position themselves, the dog, and the handler to create stronger images while respecting what the dog is communicating.
• Move beyond generic dog portraits and create photographs that actually tell you something about the individual animal.
• Build or strengthen a portfolio of **exceptional images in an extraordinary environment.
• Learn through real dogs, real situations, and real shooting opportunities rather than spending the entire workshop sitting in a classroom.

This is more than a photography workshop.You’ll spend several days photographing carefully selected model dogs throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains, working in forests, fields, trails, water, and other dramatic mountain environments.You’ll have the opportunity to create the kind of images that can elevate a portfolio — while learning the behavioral skills that make those images possible.The goal isn’t simply to leave with more photographs.It’s to leave with a better understanding of dogs, a stronger eye, more confidence behind the camera, and a portfolio that proves it.If you love dogs, love photography, and want to get better at both, you belong here.