a transformative experience for photographers & filmmakers
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August 6th - 9th 2024
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Kyah Hotel, Blackheath in the beautiful Blue Mountains, just outside of Sydney, Australia
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Your retreat ticket includes 3 nights accommodation in your own room at the gorgeous Kyah Hotel in the Blue Mountains, all your meals (breakfast, lunch, snacks, AND dinner), our Unfiltered Creative Toolkit filled with lots of fabulous things, access to all learning, plus the space to come together with other like-minded creatives and nurture yourself & your business.
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If you’re a member of FilmingLife® at the time you purchase your ticket, you’ll get 3 months credit on your Academy membership
unfiltered retreat
6-9 Aug, 2024
@ Kyah Hotel, Blackheath NSW // Australia
Accomodation:
3 Nights / Single Room
Food:
All Meals are included for the Duration of the Retreat
Meet the Speakers
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Courtney Holmes
FILMMAKER & PHOTOGRAPHER. CREATIVELIVE EDUCATOR. FOUNDER OF FILMINGLIFE®. PODCAST HOST.
Courtney Holmes, is an American born Sydney-sider whose passion is to create beautiful, love soaked films and photos for families. She draws on 18+ years of experience as a storyteller and musician to create a nostalgic experience for her clients in her work through the use of carefully hand selected music and thoughtful, intentional storytelling.
Courtney’s experience as a photographer & videographer extends to winning a Gold Award in the Reportage Category at the Australian Photographic Prize, having a selection of her videos purchased for commercial use by Disney, and working with NSW Health on a large collection of family photo + video assignments for commercial use.
Courtney is a sought after speaker and educator on the Art of Filming Families. She is the founder of FilmingLife®, which is a multi platform educational resource, podcast, and community for filmmakers or photographers aspiring to be filmmakers, and she is also an educator at CreativeLive.
Courtney’s CreativeLive Class titled Filming Families: The Modern Family Video has had 46k students around the globe with a 100% recommendation rate, and as a result more and more photographers are starting to incorporate video into their family photography businesses.
Follow Courtney on Instagram @courtneyholmesfilmsandphotos
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Kylie Purtell
FILMMAKER & PHOTOGRAPHER.
FILMINGLIFE® COMMUNITY MANAGER. PODCAST HOST.Kylie Purtell is a family filmmaker & photographer based in Sydney, Australia. She specialises in creating joyful, bold & creative family films for people that don't like to be photographed.
With a passion for creative experiments and a relentless sense of curiosity, Kylie's strengths lie in using creative techniques & colour to capture a family's unique story in a way that's both visually stunning and emotionally charged.
Kylie's work with the FilmingLife® Academy and as a mentor for new & emerging artists allows her the opportunity to do one of her favourite things - support & encourage new filmmakers to reach their highest potential in both art & business.
Follow Kylie on Instagram @KYLIEPURTELL
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Chloe Lodge
Chloe, an expert in her field, has many titles to her name: author, storyteller, light seeker, global citizen, award winner, Nikon NZ Creator and Masters of Photojournalism and Documentary Photography.
However, these don’t define Chloe’s essence, that comes from her ability to make us linger longer when experiencing her imagery and words. Largely achieved through her understanding of light and colour, while simultaneously embracing the rules of photography and rejecting them at the same time resulting in simply outstanding work.
Chloe is a committed creative freedom warrior encouraging fellow artists to seek out containers with which to grow from and not boxes to contain them. She does this through her book For The Love of The Photograph, it’s sister publication the creative journal, mentoring sessions and online courses. She can’t get enough of the tangible, creating and selling her work in many physical forms.
Follow Chloe on Instagram @chloelodgephotographer
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Emma Barnes
Emma Barnes is a newborn & faily photographer based in the Hawkesbury region, north-west of Sydney. With over 20 experience in the business Emma knows what it takes to build a loyal clientele and have them coming back again and again. Through word of mouth recommendations & referrals her business continues to grow year on year.
Emma is a master baby whisperer, able to calm & capture even the fussiest of newborns, and her infectious personality makes her a hit with even the most reluctant kids (and Dads!). Emma is also a sought-after wedding photographer and has recently branched out into mentoring up & comingnewborn photographers to ensure they build sustainable, community-focused businesses and have newborn safety at the forefront of each & every session.
You can find out more about Emma via her website & Instagram @emmergephotography
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Stacey Rolfe
FULL-TIME PHOTOGRAPHER. EFFICIENCY AFICIONADO.
Before Stacey turned her photography hobby into a job she was a lawyer for 12 years. She doesn't miss it. But is grateful for so many of the admin and business skills she spent those years perfecting.
Stacey gets a kick out of finding order in the chaos. Her philosophy lies in prioritising client experience over everything else. Along with being a full-time photographer at Stacey Rolfe Photography, Stacey also runs Tog Hub, where she shares her efficiency & client experience message with anyone who will listen! Through her bespoke Studio Ninja set-up offerings in The Tidy Tog through to her community building co-working days at Club Tog, Stacey is the cheerleader every photographer needs in their corner.
You can find out more about Stacey and the wonderful offerings available through Tog Hub via her website and Instagram @toghub
Retreat Schedule
please note: the Retreat schedule is not final and subject to change
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Day ONE
10:30: Arrival - Drop off bags at Reception
11:00AM: Welcome Lunch
12:30PM: Opening Talk - Courtney Holmes
1:45PM: Break
2:00PM: The Power of the Edit with Kylie Purtell
3:30PM: AFTERNOON TEA & Camera Settings for Video
4:00PM: Practical Filming Exercises
6:00PM: Dinner
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Day Two
7:00AM: Wellness Wakeup (Optional)
9:00AM: Video Editing with footage captured on Day 1
10:30AM: MORNING TEA
11:00AM: The Power of You (Building a Business on Community Relationships) with Emma Barnes
12:30PM: Lunch
1:30PM: Lemonade (Embracing Change in Your Business) with Chloe Lodge
2:30PM: AFTERNOON TEA
3:00PM: The Unfiltered Creative Toolkit - Creative Play Time + Portraits
6:00PM: DINNER
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Day Three
7:00AM: Wellness Wakeup (Optional)
9:00AM: Streamlined & Seamless (Crafting Your Client Journey) with Stacey Rolfe
10:30AM: MORNING TEA
11:00AM: Small Group Breakouts
12:30PM: Lunch
1:30PM: Small Group Breakouts
3:00PM: AFTERNOON TEA
3:30PM: Closing Talk with Courtney Holmes
6:00PM: Dinner + Where’s the Family Photography Industry Headed? Speaker Panel Q&A
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Day Four
8:30AM: Breakfast & Goodbyes
10:00AM: Check Out
buy your ticket
buy your ticket
Are we speaking your language? If you’re keen to join us at Unfiltered Retreat in 2024 hit the button below and grab your ticket!
Early Bird tickets for 2024 are on sale now! Early bird sale ends December 2nd, after which the ticket price will increase.
9 reasons to attend unfiltered retreat
“If you aren’t willing to risk the
usual, you will have to settle
for the ordinary.”
Here’s 9 great reasons to join us
for a transformative
experience for the family
photographer & filmmaker.
“When you buy your ticket to Unfiltered Retreat you’re not only getting access to your favourite artist for an hour or two, you’re getting access to your favourite artist PLUS a bunch of other great artists for the whole 3 days.
All our speakers will be participating in the Retreat and joining in just like you, so you’ll have the chance to chat to them after their presentation too.”
9
“I didn't expect the speakers to stay the entire retreat, so that was a lovely surprise!”
“Unfiltered Retreat is the only conference in Australia designed for experienced family photographers and filmmakers. We know you know how to shoot & use your camera, so we’ll focus on expanding your creativity, inspiring you and giving you tools to run your business better.”
8
“If you are looking for a retreat where you are free to strip back all that's keeping you from reaching your potential - thEn this the retreat for you.”
“When it comes to photography/filmmaking workshops you’re either choosing between a huge conference with a large range of speakers/teachers and a lot of people, or a smaller workshop with only one or two teachers. At Unfiltered Retreat you get the best of both worlds, a great line-up of experienced speakers in a boutique-sized retreat/conference. Roughly a 1:6 speaker/attendee ratio.”
7
“You need to get into this community now… while you still have the chance to get a ticket!”
“When you come to Unfiltered Retreat you don’t have to choose between which speaker to hear when or which creative exercise to participate in. In keeping our attendee group smaller, you don’t have to choose between sessions, you get to experience it all!”
6
“I didn’t leave with new skills per se, what I left with was far better…
a belongingness, access to like-minded creatives who inspire me.”
“By keeping our Unfiltered Retreat speaker/attendee ratio small, we’re able to offer different small group activities like goal setting activities & biz strategy brain storming sessions.
You’ll walk away with valuable feedback, attainable goals and a plan to move forward in your life and business with confidence.”
5
“Forever grateful. Completely transformed. Longing for more.”
“At Unfiltered Retreat we firmly believe that everyone has something to teach and learn. Some of the best learning at a retreat or conference comes from the conversations you have outside of the sessions, which is why our break times are generous, so you have the time to chat with your fellow attendees and speakers.”
“When you attend Unfiltered Retreat you’ll walk away with a creative toolkit to take home and use in your art, as well as a booklet with all of the key information and takeaways from each of the speakers presentations.
We’ve curated a thoughtful schedule that’s an equal mix of creative, hands-on, practical and instruction, so no matter what you want to get out of the experience, be it creative techniques, business strategy or just straight up connection with other creatives, we’ve got you covered.”
3
“So many incredible personal and professional conversations with women who I felt 'got it'. the strong sense of community that was created made the retreat, and everything that happened feel so impactful.”
4
“It was magic!
I don’t know how. I don’t know why.
but i know it was.”
“We believe that there’s so much more to our role as photographers than just capturing pretty pictures.
The way you run your business and life as a photographer should reflect your inner passion and fill your creative cup. Otherwise, what’s the point?
Our mission at Unfiltered is to provide you with a creative sanctuary away from the hustle of real life. Time to reflect on what it is that YOU want your business to look like. And opportunities to learn from some crazy talented artists who might inspire you to try new things in your work.”
2
“Absolutely MAGICAL, transformational, heart-wrenching yet healing, brilliance!”
“And finally, after such a transformative experience it’s totally normal to walk away having forged life-long bonds with your fellow attendees and speakers. And that community doesn’t end when the retreat does.
Thanks to the power of FilmingLife®’s already established online community platform, we’ve created a space where you can continue the connection, community & learning all year round.
When you attend Unfiltered Retreat you’re not just joining us for a few days, you’re joining us for good!”
1
“It was magic. it was real. There was not a single ego in that room. There was so much love, support, humanity and friendship and it was everything we needed it to be.
Kylie & Courtney brought that together and imagined it into being for us. thank you.”
Hang with us on Instagram @unfiltered.au
