There’s an excited buzz in the air with CLG Celebration Week just around the corner… a week of live lessons and fun challenges designed to get you motivated, shooting and learning new techniques!

It’s also a time when we celebrate our wonderful grads and their achievements, and invite them to share stories about their photography journey with our community in the Loving Photography Facebook group. And in appreciation of their contributions, they go into a draw to win a CLG Golden Ticket…

Win a Golden Ticket!

Ooh… a golden ticket? What’s that?

It’s a fantastic prize which rewards the holder with a spot on every creative workshop in the 2021 series, which is chock full of exciting new workshops and a few faves we’ve brought back due to popular demand!

So with that, today I’m delighted to introduce you CLG Grad and creative workshop aficionado Bria Anderson! Bria dived into our last celebration week with gusto, sharing loads of stories from her experience learning photography with CLG (which also gave her loads of chances to win! Go Bria!).

And what a worthy winner she was… we were thrilled to see her take full advantage of her win as she threw herself into each and every workshop with the same zest for learning that we came to know her for when she took our Enthusiast and Advanced courses in 2018 and 2019. So with celebration week about to kick off, we asked Bria to share her thoughts on all things CLG…

 

Meet Bria!

Hi, I’m Bria Anderson, and I’m from Wisconsin where I live with my husband and our two sweet kids. I work as a part-time Audiologist, but am mostly a stay at home mom to my 5 year old daughter and my 3 year old son.

 

How did you discover Click Love Grow?

I found out about CLG from my best friend’s aunt who took my maternity and son’s newborn photos. I asked her for camera tips and she suggested I look up CLG for great resources and easy learning. So I joined their Facebook group and immediately got hooked on learning my camera to try and achieve the gorgeous photos I was seeing everybody post.

I did their free 5 day kids challenge and signed up for as many free guides as I could. Then I knew I wanted the one-on-one feedback you get in their paid courses, so I signed up for the Enthusiast Photography Course in 2018 and followed up with the Advanced Photography Course in 2019.

How did CLG change your photography?

In every way imaginable!

I am no longer frustrated when I pick up my camera, or let moments pass because I can’t capture them like I would hope to. Other times I would take hundreds of photos of my kids doing practically nothing only because I couldn’t get it right and tried so many times. CLG gave me an understanding of how to use my camera which lead to my passion breaking free.

Now I am able to do a quick adjust of my settings and snap only a handful of times knowing I will get at least one picture that I love.

My pictures have become more interesting to look at and convey a sense of the overall moment. I never thought I would have other people asking me to take their family pictures, but CLG gave me that opportunity too.

 

What was your favourite part of the Advanced Course?

The whole course is amazing, it’s hard to pick just one thing.

It felt so personalized… I was able to get constructive critique any time I asked or shared a photo.

The instructors are very attentive and the other CLG students are so excited and encouraging that every bit of the course was tons of fun. There was a great amount of really in-depth learning in this course that was priceless for taking my photography to the next level.

My husband always tells me that after the Enthusiast Course, he saw my picture quality improve… but after the Advanced Course my pictures improved artistically.

What did you enjoy about sharing your experience during celebration week?

Being a part of the CLG courses left me with a contagious enthusiasm for CLG that I wanted to shout to every aspiring photographer I knew!

These courses are a game changer, take them! It’s a level of excitement I just couldn’t keep to myself. I want other people who are stuck with their camera like I was to jump in and feel the excitement of watching their photography drastically improve.

 

How did you feel when your name was drawn as the winner of the CLG Golden Ticket draw?

Is there even a word to describe that?! My jaw dropped! I watched the replay just to make sure I had heard my name correctly! Then I interrupted my husband talking with the kids to tell him the news. My children watched me jump around for joy like a crazy person until I made them join me!

Needless to say, it was a great night!

You’ve now had opportunity to take part in our full range of creative workshops… what was your favourite workshop?

It’s been awesome, and I had two favourite workshops.

One was Heidi Talic’s ‘Documenting Family Life’. I loved this workshop for the freedom and permission she taught to embrace the moments as they come. We were able to let go of the idea of a perfect photo and just grab those every day moments as we see them. Having two small children, this was a perfect reminder. I ended up getting some photos I love and would not otherwise have taken.

My other favourite workshop was Bronwyn Pickering’s ‘Contemporary Portraits’. This workshop got me thinking about the vision I wanted to create in my photos. By thinking about a vision, I became purposeful about what I was shooting and where. It led me to take time to plan, and I achieved some beautiful memories that are not just snapshots.

Check out some of Bria’s favourite photos taken during those two workshops.

 

What was the best thing about taking such a range of different workshops?

The best part about taking all of the workshops is I learned something new in all of them. It’s amazing how there is always something more, and sometimes unexpected, to learn.

The Advanced Course prepped me for these workshops by teaching me the fundamentals. So the fact I was already able to take great photos meant I could fully soak up the expert advice taught in each specific workshop.

How have the workshops impacted your photography and motivation to keep shooting?

These workshops have been great for my photography. Without them, I wouldn’t have made the extra effort to plan a photo shoot with my children or to scout out new locations. They gave me the push to achieve even more, and by trying harder, the reward is greater.

Doing the workshops have been great for my photography.

What do you love most about the CLG community?

I love how this community still allows for growth. The bi-weekly and monthly challenges keep us shooting and experimenting with new ideas or techniques. And now there’s even more fun with the monthly Bingo challenge. All of these things keep our creativity going and help us get our cameras out daily.

Best of all, everyone in the community is there to help build each other up and provide helpful comments. It’s a great safe place to ask questions about anything… someone is always ready to share their wisdom. And seeing everybody’s amazing images is inspiring!

 

What would you say to others about taking part in the CLG Celebration Week?

Definitely do it! It may seem intimidating to write about where you started or record a video, but we’re all cheering each other on! Looking back at where we came from and where we are now is really rewarding and a great encouragement to others. And who knows, you may be the next golden ticket winner and you’d hate to miss that possibility!

Many thanks to Bria for sharing your experience on our courses and workshops.If you want to see more of Bria’s photography check her out on Instagram.

Join my new workshop and learn How to Shoot Pro-Quality Photos With Your DSLR… and it’s totally FREE to join! Register here…