Dear grandmas, don't give up, get help!
Technology is moving at the speed of light and if you feel like you can’t keep up, don’t give up, get help.
It all started after I hung up with my mother-in-law. She had called looking to figure out how to upload something to social media and couldn’t figure it out. I was used to getting all things photography and technology/social media from her, and frankly I loved how she lit up with excitement when she figured it out. She had made a comment on one of our calls about how she wished there was a class for grandmas to learn how to do “all this stuff,” and that is when the idea hit me.
She was right, those in her generation love to learn in-person. You can’t just direct them to more technology (YouTube) to learn about more technology. I also noticed how she loved taking photos of my kids when she had her special time with them and how much joy it brought her to share those experiences with her friends on Facebook.
After thinking on it for some time, last summer I launched the first ever, Grannytog in-person Photography Workshop! I wanted to keep my student number small so I could spend one on one time with each of my students to really help. I held four one hour classes in my studio to help them not only learn photography basics but we also broke down some of the most common social media platforms and how to navigate them.
Not only did my mother’s generation long to learn new skills, they longed to stay connected to their loved ones and staying up to speed on social media is crucial to having the 411 on what is going on in their children and grandchildren lives.
The class was an astounding success, and it also helped me realize more gaps that needed closing.
My students LOVED to practice. They had so much fun on our lab day where they got to go to different stations and play with light, angles and apply everything they learned during their class time. It was so fun to watch them create and have some fun while doing that. We also took a short field trip outside to photograph buildings and murals located in the downtown area too!
Take a look at the 2019 Grannytog Graduates!
I learned last year that it’s not just grandmas that want to learn how to be better photographers, but many people would love to learn how to utilize their smartphone camera better and learn some easy photography basics. Which is why this grannytog is not just for grandmas! To me a grannytog is someone who loves to learn in a specific way: hands on, visual, likes in-person coaching with others, instant results, and not to be committed to something for weeks on end.
Our next grannytog event will have the following:
1.) It will be held for one day April 18th, 2020 at The Nest to allow more space and comfy seating.
2.) We will have 50 spots open instead of 5.
3.) Out of the 6 hour workshop I will only be instructing (talking at you) for 2 hours and the rest will be filled with shooting bays with live models and social media stations for one to one help.
4.) Lunch will be provided for 20 VIP attendees which equals more time to practice and more time to pick the brain of an expert.
5.) We will have over middle school and high school kids volunteering to help you at each shooting bay and station!
6.) Each ticket sold will have a percentage donated to Younglife Green Bay
7.) We will have prizes to give away!
8.) Special vendors +more