Sorry folks, but this is a long one. There’s a lot to say about one amazing day.

We all have those days. The ones that feel like they never even happened. That was this past Friday for me when I left my home in New Hampshire at 4:15am, drove to Boston, flew to DC, attended Abby Grace Photography‘s workshop in Reston, VA, then flew back into Boston that same night (talk about a whirlwind!). To rewind a little bit for you, Abby Grace has been one of those photographers that I have been admiring for a while and I religiously follow her blog & recent work. When I saw that she was hosting her first workshop, I really wanted to go, but paying for the cost of the workshop on top of the travel expenses to get to DC didn’t seem feasible for this summer, so I thought, “Well, maybe next time.” A few weeks ago, I saw that Abby was hosting a giveaway for a seat in her workshop. So excited, I entered, but I enter lots of photography giveaways online, so surprised was an understatement when I saw MY NAME on her Facebook announcement. My name. Kelsey DeWitt. I seriously had to read it 5 times to make sure I wasn’t imagining things!

I live on the philosophy that everything happens for a reason, and knew that I just HAD to go to the workshop now. It was meant to be. So I confirmed my spot with many thanks & appreciation to Abby for her generosity, bought my plane tickets (lucky enough on JetBlue, my favorite airline), and off I went to Reston, VA. My alarm went off at 3:50am to get ready (although, let’s be honest, I didn’t sleep much in excitement for the day!) and coffee in hand, I was off to Boston. I flew from Boston to Dulles (still not sure how to pronounce it) and then had some time to explore in the town of Reston before the workshop. SO NICE. The town center in Reston reminded me of a smaller, more perfect version of a city… Boston or Montreal maybe. I went to an Anthropologie & Paper Source for the first time (I promise I don’t live under a rock, they’re just hard to come by in New England). I had the best Panera meal EVER! Then I was off to the workshop.

When I arrived at Abby’s house, I was greeted by a big hug & smile from Abby. I just couldn’t stop thinking, “Oh my word, this is Abby Grace.” Then to make it even better, I walked into the living room and Rebecca Hoyt, another photographer I admire & follow was there helping set up the technological side of things. Abby goes, “This is my friend Rebecca.” I had a decisive moment of whether to politely take the introduction or to just admit that I already knew who she was (creepy?). I went with the latter, obviously.

The other girls began to arrive and we dove right into introductions, talking about inspiration, details on Abby’s workflow & vendors, posing, lighting, branding. In the midst of it all, I remember having a moment where I thought to myself, “Wow. I’m in Virginia right now. Sitting on Abby Grace’s couch.” At that moment, I wish I could have slowed down time because it was flying by way too fast! Her husband, Matt, came home (again, none of us really needed introductions because we all already knew who he was from reading Abby’s blog) with the most delicious dinner. We ate together, poured the most delicious bubbly I’ve EVER had (some sort of sparkling Moscato… I need to get the name of that) and had a Q&A session. I was devastated that my watch read 6:30 and I knew had I to be at the airport around 7pm. I felt like I could have stayed forever because it didn’t feel like a workshop, but a group of friends sitting around chatting (and one of them happened to be a wildly successful wedding photographer sharing her wisdom with us). Good thing Matt was there to remind me that I should probably get going to catch my flight, and with another big hug from Abby, I was off to the airport. Once I returned my rental car, got through security, and found my gate, I sat down and finally had a second to take in the day. It was a day that felt like a dream, like it never happened. A day that I would repeat in a heartbeat if I could.

The takeaway: the workshop was an incredible learning experience. Just coming out of a 10-month intensive photography school at Hallmark Institute of Photography, many of you are probably wondering why I would be interested in so quickly attending workshops when I JUST got out of school. I am so thankful for everything I learned at Hallmark and would not be a photographer without it, but photography is a career where you always need to be learning and moving forward or else you will fall into the large majority who can’t seem to make their passion for photography a career. In the past few months, I have realized that wedding photography is really my passion and where I want to put my focus into. Abby Grace is one of the photographers that I really admire and when given the opportunity to meet and learn from her, took it in an instant. She inspired all of us there to focus on WHY. Why do we want to be wedding photographers? What drives & inspires us? How can we translate who we are into beautiful wedding photography? It was such impeccable timing because these 6 short hours at Abby’s workshop was enough to challenge me to put the why back into my work as I head into a very busy fall season. I feel refreshed, encouraged, and blessed to have spent such an amazing whirlwind of a day in Reston, VA with Abby Grace and other amazing girls that I hope to follow their journeys online.

For photographers, when/if Abby Grace holds her next workshop, GO. Find a way to make it work and go. You won’t regret it.

Cheers to a wedding marathon shooting/2nd shooting 8 weddings in 8 weekends (2 in one weekend, with my birthday weekend off),

Kelsey