intimate day filled with emotions & transformations
Powerful Day Retreat at Högberga Gård
retreat photographer stockholm
At the end of April of this year, I was invited to document retreat for Nathalie, a yoga teacher who regularly holds her classes at beautiful Högberga Gård in Lidingö.
Speaking to Nathalie on our initial discovery call, I was excited when I learnt that this was no ordinary yoga retreat! Held in calming embrace of Högberga Gård, the retreat included 2 hours for spa relax, a soul session with amazing Sandra Aggemo, opportunity to try skin care product from Luceo & amazing brunch as a goodbye!
This was the very first time for Nathalie to organise a retreat and she wished to document every detail, both in photos & videos, to kick off her journey as retreat provider.
The day turned out quite unexpectedly to be very intimate with participants sharing deep emotions and I respectfully documented little details and the overall vibe in order to help Nathalie portray the power of her retreats.
Initial Morning Yoga Session
As Nathalie's brand uses a lot of muted shades of brown and grey, I kept the editing in line with her visuals. It is an important element in my work when documenting events, retreats & brands - to deliver gallery that is visually in line with your brand voice.
Skin Care Session & Morning Snacks
While the participants enjoyed a few calm moments before submerging themselves into the world of spa, I documented their honest moments to portray the mood and genuine exchange. Despite the grey April weather outside, the vibe was uplifting with a lot of smiles and was a beautiful contrast to early spring nature outside.
I wanted the future audience who will look at the photos to be transported into the experience and be able to imagine themselves enjoying a similar day retreat, which is why I incorporated also a few frames of nature and environment around, as well as details of the micro moments that happened.
The shots of the skin care I took were also aimed to be usable for future marketing for the brand owner, which is something that can be agreed upon if you have several vendors with whom you are organising your retreat!
THE SPA
Thanks to Nathalie's immaculate planning, the participants had the spa all to themselves. The emptiness around them just beautifully strengthened the moments of connection shared among mist & water splashes and created visuals & videos that Nathalie is now able to use to tell an emotional story that many will resonate with.
Something like a spa with real people in it is a very delicate thing to document. I kept my distance and focused on details, textures, shots from the back or from a distance in order to preserve participants comfort while still catching those important elements of the day. I also communicated with the participants and asked their permission when shooting details of their feet and hands.
Soul Session with Sandra Aggemo
After relaxing 2 hours in spa, the participants returned back to their mats and connected with wonderful Sandra who lead her soul session. Because the session usually is very emotional, some participants did not feel comfortable with being documented. This is a situation for which every organizer must be prepared and accept it as there's not much to do when you want to stay respectful towards the participants.
I was allowed to take a few shots from the back and a few that focused on capturing the essence of Sandra but for the most part, I put the camera down for this part.
SHARING. BREATHING. BRUNCHING. LAUGHING.
The day finished on a lighter note, with connections deepening as some real transformations happened during the day for some of the participants, as they were able to release their pains and trouble. The ends of retreats are just as important to document as their beginnings or middles. They have the potential to show all the incredible changes your retreat made in everyone who took part and the impact of what you offer is most profoundly felt right at the end.
Seeing some of the participants starting the retreat with uncertainty, maybe personal trouble or even anxiety and then seeing them how their faces lit up in the end, wrapped in laughing and lighter mood was the most powerful manifest to Nathalie's first retreat ever. And I was glad that I was able to be there to document its power for all the future audience, helping them to see how this experience can make wonders for their lives.
interested what deliverables you will receive with a day retreat like this ones?
While every retreat is different and my offers are always customised depending on where you need to put focus on when it comes to the visual documentation, you can get an approximate idea of what to expect for one day retreats or workshops lasting from 4 hours.
Full Day Active Coverage
Photo Gallery with over 100 diverse images documenting both big and micro moments
1 min highlight video telling the story of moments from the whole day & a few shorter videos for social media
Real time documentation during the day for direct social media use (e.g. instagram stories) so that you can stay present and focus on the retreat
