Important Preparation for a Workshop

When I get close to the opening days of a workshop or tour I do the most important thing I can do to assure a successful trip, I pray.

My most important responsibility to my friends and Guests when I run a workshop is to prepare the way for a great event, and I can only do that with God’s direct help.  Before I pray I have to examine several things to be assured that I will get the answer I desire;

1.  What is my motive?  Is my request self directed or directed outwardly to those that will be in my care during the workshop.  My motives have to be pure in that I am more concerned for the welfare of the guests than my own.  God honors a heart that reaches out to others, he abhors a heart that thinks only of itself.

2.  Does my request line up with what I know is God’s will.  That one is simple, learn from the Word what God expects of us and pray in accordance with those desires of His.

3.  Is my Pride under control?  is God increasing in my life as I am decreasing?  If not I need to re-examine my heart.  Zig Ziggler said, “No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care!”

If I have those three things in order then I can ask God’s blessings on my activities and those of my friends and expect a great outcome to my prayers.  So what do I pray for?  Here is my list:

A. Safety.  I pray for every person involved to arrive safely, travel safely during our time together, and return home safely after the workshop is over.

B.  That each participant and leader will arrive with the right mindset; excited, expectant, ready to learn, make new friends, and enjoy the workshop.

C.  I pray that the conditions, (color of leaves),  and weather will help us have lots of great photographic opportunities.  I further pray that when conditions are less than perfect we will lean how to make lemonade out of lemons!

D.  I pray that our team will arrive prepared and ready to share valuable information with our Guests.  I pray our critiques will be gentle enough, not to offend, but strong enough to help our fellow photographer’s improve their work.

E.  I pray that the Guests arrive ready and able to receive the teaching we will share.  If a student thinks they know everything already, or they don’t think that know enough to be able to learn, they are wrong in both assumptions.

F.  I pray for warm and wonderful fellowship.  In over 35 years of leading workshops I’ve learned that people matter most, and that people that are laughing and having fun, learn more, and gain more from the workshop experience. I pray that we allow no one to ever feel left out.

G.  I pray for the opportunity to witness to my faith.  I don’t evangelize in words, but I pray my conduct, my demeanor, my actions speak loudly about what I believe, and Who I serve.  I pray that I never judge another, but love them right where they are, and trust God to provide for them, what they need.

I have been often asked by participants before a workshop how they can prepare to have the most fun and success possible at a workshop, here is my list of suggestions:

First:  Pray the prayer above!

Second avoid these pitfalls, the 5 things that can ruin a workshop for you and others:

1.  Unreasonable expectations.  Not every moment will be perfect in terms of weather, conditions, traffic, parking, etc etc,  Take a deep breath and know it will get better,

2.  Reacting badly to circumstances.  You dropped your lens, you forgot to pack your cable release, you locked yourself out of your car, your room was cold, your bed was too hard, and on and on.  Things happen, learn how to take a deep breath, get over it, accept the help of your fellow travelers, and laugh it off, you’ll laugh later, might as well start now!

3.  Not Leaving your cares behind.  You go on a workshop to immerse yourself in the here and now, as much as it possible leave, home, office, cares, and concerns at home and use this time to concentrate on your photography and fellowship!   Trust me those cares will still be there when you return from you trip……

4.   Avoid centering on the big three (Me – My – I).  Take a break from pure self interests and see what a wonderful difference it makes in your ability to learn.  When I first started out trying to become a good shooter, I was crushed by everyone’s work that was better than mine, so, I stayed crushed a lot!!!  Get over it, even if you were the best photographer in the world at this moment, that moment won’t last very long, so don’t sweat it!  Work hard at being better than you were yesterday……

5.  Fatigue.  If you are tired you won’t function well.  Take breaks, carry some snacks to keep up your energy, try to get some good sleep every night.  If you feel you’re running down, let the leaders know, and take some time to catch up on your rest.

Come to a workshop, excited, ready, focused and expectant, and go home thrilled that you came………