This year’s mnoo school workshop took place last month, and it was so much fun. My dear friend Ed Peers returned as guest speaker, and this year we decided that he would play a bigger role and talk a bit more widely about the craft side of things, so that we’d have a better balance between business and photography. I think all the attendees agreed that was definitely a good decision. I also invited a surprise guest speaker, the amazing Adam Alex, who talked about visual language and added something really valuable into the proceedings.

I feel like mnoo school is developing into something pretty special, and every time we do it it runs smoother and feels more balanced. I’m really happy about my decision to only offer one workshop a year, I think that helps make the time together even more precious. Some of this year’s attendees, Rachel, Corinna, Tim, Genevieve, and Vicki, have written blog posts about their experience.

A huge thank you to the class of 2013 of mnoo schoolers, your spirit was incredible and I miss each and every one of you! Thank you to our kick ass couple, Emma & Pete, for all the giggles during our shoot. I’d also like to thank our generous sponsors, Kelly Moore, Bob Books, and Beloved Collective, who donated to the goodie bags. And lastly, thank you once more to Craven House for starting to feel like a home away from home and providing the perfect space for intimate learning.

Writing this post has taken far longer than anticipated. Every time I’ve sat down and started thinking about what, and how, to write about the first ever mnoo school workshop, words have quite literally failed me. For me, there are so many feelings, challenges and triumphs associated with teaching that it’s hard putting it into words just how scary/rewarding/amazing it feels to spend two days with incredible people willing to learn from me.

When I started writing the material for mnoo school I was thinking that the people who would sign up, would probably mostly be photographers who were in the early stages of running their own business. When the registrations started coming in, and I realised that there was actually a pretty wide spread of people coming, from a few still finding their feet to some very accomplished photographers, it felt like a huge responsibility to try to make sure that everyone would get value out of the workshop, no matter what level they were at. I really feel like we did achieve that during the two days, and that everyone (including myself!) gained new insights and inspiration. You can read what few of my lovely attendees – Polly Alexandre, Nick Ray and Justin Bailey – wrote about their experiences on their blogs.

It really was a special two days for me, and after all the stresses about timings and so forth, everything seemed to flow really well. It was also so very lovely to have my good friend Ed Peers guest speaking and participating at the first mnoo school, I think he definitely added value and a different point of view, which I personally found very exciting & inspiring.

Thank you so much to my first class of mnoo schoolers, you are a special bunch and have set a definite benchmark for things to come! Thank you to our lovely couple, Sophie & Henry, for giving so much during our shoot. I’d also like to thank our generous sponsors, Kelly Moore, Bob Books, moo.com and Beloved Collective, who donated to the goodie bags. And lastly, thank you to Craven House for being the perfect environment for our time together.

Below are a few images from the workshop, shot by me and Ed (depending on who you see in the picture! :D).

mnoo school Class of October 2012: Ed , Justin , Fiona R , Sophie, Polly, Lucy, Fiona K, Matt, Nick & Nick