What actually happens at a photographers' retreat
Not a sales funnel. Not a stage with a “six-figure” promise. Just photographers, somewhere beautiful, being honest with each other. Here's the idea.
A lot of photography “retreats” are really conferences with better lighting — a stage, a headline speaker, and a pitch waiting at the end. I want to do something quieter and more honest than that.
The Co Lab gatherings are about the thing we don't get enough of: real time with people who do what we do. No pecking order. No performance. Just a handful of photographers, somewhere beautiful in Scotland, actually talking.
Collaboration over competition
The industry pushes us to see each other as rivals. I've never believed it. The photographers I've learned the most from are the ones who opened up their process, shared the unglamorous bits, and asked for help when they needed it.
- Small groups, so everyone's actually in the room.
- Shared meals and real conversations, not just sessions.
- Time to make work together, and time to make none.
- Nobody selling you the next tier of anything.
You leave with fuller lungs and a few people you can actually call.
That's the whole pitch. If a weekend like that sounds like what you've been missing, tell me — the first ones are taking shape now.
A note: this is a sample piece written to set the tone for the journal. The words are a starting point — edit, rewrite, or replace them with your own.