Given the recent scare about Me Ra and Pascaline’s health in Thailand it seems crazy to announce another workshop but here we are! She and Pascaline have been resting a LOT and still need to but I heard she made it to the beach today. Sweet! Although I don’t think it’s very far…:) I don’t think she can say much yet except for how much she appreciates and needed your prayers. It truly held them.

Me Ra asked me to post this b/c she would love to see you at home, in Seattle. Plus MOTHER’S DAY is coming up and this is the PERFECT gift to ask for! So she didn’t want to wait to get the word out. And she knows she’ll really be ready to have a workshop at home. I also have to say…it made me really happy to hear from you two. ~ xoxo Genie

From Me Ra:

Brian and I are excited to open the Early Bird Registration for the Seattle CONFIDENCE Photography Workshop for Women, coming to you on May 15th and 16th! If you know your ready to sign up, CLICK HERE to register!

Our upcoming ORANGE COUNTY, CA workshop is SOLD OUT so this is our next West Coast one. If you are in need of a weekend with women, full of laughs, and creative inspiration with your camera, the Seattle CONFIDENCE Photography Workshop is for you! It’s just in time to give you CONFIDENCE with your camera and prepped for a new year of photographing your family for the spring, vacations, inside on those horrible, rainy days with all the low lighting, (if your from the Pacific Northwest, you KNOW what I mean!). And don’t forget about those pets! We’re going to cover it all! Ladies, we are going to be READY for an awesome 2010 of photography! All levels are welcome! Topic details are below! But first, to give you a window into what our workshops look like, check out the trailer in this post!

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION STARTS TODAY and lasts TWO WEEKS!

FAQ: (if we don’t answer your specific question here, email Genie direct at genie@fioria.us )

Question: What is the Early Bird Registration?

Answer: If you register between today and April 1st (that’s two weeks), you get to pay the Early Bird fee of $799 instead of $999! Pretty great savings for all of you who jump on board fast! After April 1st, the registration goes back up to the normal price of $999. But we must warn you to not wait until April 1st. One CONFIDENCE Workshop was sold out by the end of the first day for Early Bird! To take advantage of the Early Bird Registration, REGISTER HERE!!!

WHEN? May 15th and 16th 2010, All Day Saturday and Sunday

TIME? An optional Continental Breakfast is served at 9:15am, and then we jump into the workshop by 9:30am. Each day will finish around 6pm. (But we have been known to get excited and not stop on time. So see if you can stay late if that happens again. )

WHERE? The BEAUTIFUL Gallery space at Hotel Murano . We are going to use this incredible gallery as our creative space to learn, grow, be inspired, and create!

MEALS:

FRIDAY MEET AND GREET: One of the things I LOVE most about doing the Seattle CONFIDENCE Workshop is that we get to host the Meet and Greet at our home. Brian and I would like to invite you and your spouse into the privacy of our home for our special Meet and Greet. We’re going to have wine and appetizers, and a lot of laughs. The Meet and Greet will be from 7-9pm. Our purpose is to give you a chance to connect with other women attendees and begin to feel welcome, safe and inspired. We have our work all over the walls, so it will be fun to share with you some of our personal photography.

BREAKFAST: A continental breakfast of fresh fruit, yogurt and pastries will be served both mornings at the Gallery. So feel free to show up at 9am to grab a plate of yummies before we start the day. We’ll also have coffee and tea waiting for you.

LUNCHES: Both lunches on Saturday and Sunday will also be catered for us. If you are a vegetarian or have any food allergies, be sure to email us so we can accommodate you. No problems, we are happy too! No one can be more work than our Gluten-Free, Dairy Free diets. Brother!

SATURDAY DINNER: This dinner is optional for our attendees, but we would love to have you join us! You are invited to a group dinner at a local restaurant within walking distance of the hotel. Details to follow upon registration.

WHERE TO STAY: The Hotel Murano has been highlighted and raved about in Fortune, Conde Nast, Sunset and USA Today. Every floor features a glass sculpturist and their work. There is beautiful glass art at every turn. You can’t help but be inspired by the environment. And, the greatest thing is they are WONDERFUL to work with. Our contact there, told us to have our attendees email her direct for a discounted room rate (around $149). Once you’ve registered, Genie will email you all the contact details to get your room set up. FYI, you are also within walking distance to several restaurants, art galleries and the famous Chihuly Museum of Glass. Plus, the Hotel Murano has a pillow menu! You can choose from six different types of pillows. Can you beat that?

DAY ONE TOPICS:

True to this workshop, time tested (and approved) 🙂 we are excited to start the day with understanding the mechanics of your camera and learning about indoor lighting so you can capture shots of your loved ones in difficult lighting. The second half of the day will be hands on CONFIDENCE building as we process a FULL morning.

DAY TWO TOPICS:

Day Two will pick up where we left off. We’re going to continue to demystify tough lighting and camera settings. We’ll also walk you through our Post Process steps as we demonstrate lightroom, turning images to black and white, editing, what’s the difference between a JPG and RAW image, etc. Depending on the groups interest, we’ll talk about the in’s and out’s of starting your own side business too. (But this depends on the needs of the group.) We’re also going to cover the question of what to do with your images? Are stock photography options available to you, what is the bottom line of blogging, and where should you have your work printed and why?

The BEST part that everyone always loves the most is the models! We’ll also have models join us (both adults and kids), so you can practice EVERY THING we’ve been teaching you. And true to our workshops, we’ll sprinkle our time with creative exercises and inspiration that make our weekend so special.

By the end of our weekend, you will be filled with CONFIDENCE, refreshed, inspired, and possibly shooting in Manual like it’s nobody’s business. (I promise, shooting in Manual is way easier than people make it sound, but one step at a time.)

PAYMENT OPTIONS:

1. You can pay the whole balance at once.

2. Use the Coupon Code: fourpaymentdeal (all one word, all lower case), and you will get the Early Bird Registration deal but have FOUR months to pay it off! Me Ra and I want to give you CONFIDENCE this year!  2010 is about making dreams come true! ~ Brian

NEED HELP CONVINCING THE HUBBY?

If you need help coming up with ways to convince your hubby, check out Brian and Jeramy’s Top 12 Reasons for a Husband to Send His Wife to a CONFIDENCE Photography Workshop. You and your husband will crack up, and comments from other husbands are even FUNNIER! CLICK HERE!

REFUNDS & CANCELLATION POLICY:

Our policy is to not give refunds. Due to the costs of holding a workshop, we must pay many of our workshop expenses months ahead of time. If you must cancel due to unforeseen problems, depending on your reason for canceling, your tuition may be considered as a credit for a future workshop. Thank you for understanding!

WHAT DO PAST ATTENDEES SAY ABOUT THIS WORKSHOP? To read what the last Seattle Workshop Attendees said, CLICK HERE!

Jen from Seattle, WA wrote; I know how these workshops can change your life…it did mine! MeRa and Brian were my inspiration…Thank you … you all are doing such greatness in this world!

Jeramy (husband of a wife who attended twice) from CA wrote; if you are reading this post and are on the fence about going to this workshop…or wondering if it’s really worth it….let me just tell you about my experience. my beautiful bride went to the Sonoma workshop last year with me ra and brian…and it changed her life. like so many women, she struggles with self-doubt and insecurities…coupled with strong passions and desire to create things of great worth. the magic of this workshop will help you see that YOU ARE special and can do anything it is that you want to do, if you just set your mind to it. there is limitless potential in you all…and if you have ever wondered how to get it out….sign up for this workshop and you’ll see. you will never be the same again.

Marianne from Seattle, WA wrote;
This was the BEST day I’ve had in a long time…it was so nice to wade through and be challenged, laugh along the way, conquer a fear, and leave wanting more. What a day! I can’t thank you enough!

Kari from Seattle wrote; Me Ra takes the camera apart and puts it back together in a way that actually makes sense! Prepare to laugh, learn, and walk away inspired!

Julie from Seattle, WA wrote; As a past workshop attendee…It WILL change your life and how you see yourself.

Allison from Virginia wrote; I can tell you with total honesty that this will be a life changing time for you all. Just soak it all in and throw yourselves in wholeheartedly and you will come away with SO MUCH!!

WHO IS THIS WORKSHOP FOR?

This workshop is for women only. It is a workshop that is meant to inspire women, and at the same time help them understand their cameras. Coming from a Masters degree in teaching, Me Ra and Brian bring a number of teaching strategies to the workshop so every woman walks away with CONFIDENCE in using her camera. But this workshop is more than a photography workshop. True to their reputation and the testimonies you’ve read, Brian and Me Ra have a heart to bring inspiration, encouragement and vision to women. They will make you laugh so hard your side will be aching. And then be prepared because their stories may bring tears too. Me Ra and Brian have a goal to refresh women, build their CONFIDENCE and help them capture the photos they want. But not only help women shoot better photos, but also, having the understanding behind HOW they got their favorite photos so they can replicate the lighting again and again.

OUR PROMISE:

We promise to have lots and lots of stories, laughs and possibly a few tears at this workshop-all signature elements to a Me Ra Koh Workshop!

Can’t wait to see you all for another awesome CONFIDENCE workshop!

QUESTIONS?

Feel free to email Genie ( genie@fioria.us) for any and all questions. Genie keeps me up to date on all questions as we travel for wedding season. She is truly my “little Genie”! If you need help with booking your hotel, understanding the area, flights, payment options, shoot her an email!

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? CLICK HERE to register today and make her MOTHERS DAY AMAZING!!

BIO for Me Ra Koh Photography, Inc.:

Me Ra and Brian are a husband/wife photography team. Their business is diversified into several powerful ways. They travel worldwide shooting high end weddings together. They teach photography workshops for women across the country. Their workshops often sell out, and attendees describe them as “inspiring, life changing” weekends. In 2008, Me Ra and Brian scripted and produced a DVD series called, Refuse to Say Cheese and Beyond the Green Box. This homegrown DVD series has caught the eye of large corporations, and in March 2009, the series won the prestigious NAPPA GOLD award for the Best New DVD for Parents! Their DVDS are accompanied by other award winning photography products to help budding businesses get off the ground (see www.refusetosaycheese.com). In 2008, Me Ra was asked to represent women photographers in the iconic role for Sony as an Artisan of Imagery. This accepted invitation is a huge honor. The high end magazine, Wedding Style by Grace Ormonde, has called Me Ra and Brian a Master of Their Craft. Their work has been published in several nationwide magazines. They have also been spotlighted on VH1, Martha Stewart and Oprah! Me Ra, having a published writing background, dedicates two hours a day to writing her daily blog so women can find photography tips, inspiration and confidence. To follow her blog, along with thousands of other readers, visit www.merakohblog.com.

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Want to learn more about REFUSE TO SAY CHEESE? Check out our Award Winning DVD set, Refuse to Say Cheese and Beyond the Green Box ,or discover our popular 101 Kits for starting or expanding a business in photography, click on the titles of your choice!

We haven’t forgotten the Running on Empty winner for Orange County! We’ll announce her early next week! Thank you everyone for your beautiful entries.