The 7th annual FUSION: THE WORKSHOP will be held in Louisville, Kentucky on April 2-5, 2027. Limited space available. 

 

WHAT IS IT?

Join Jenn Lewis, Dan McClanahan, and Garon Cooper for four full days of learning and creating during this epic photo, filmmaking, and business workshop and shootout in the Louisville area. This event will be limited in attendance so that you are able to connect with each of the instructors and gather information you're able to implement in your business right away. 
 
All 3 instructors are high school senior photographers, but the processes they teach in photo, filmmaking, and business can be applied to almost any genre of portraiture. As an added benefit for the attendees, Dan McClanahan is also a commercial photographer. 
 
Michael Mowbray, owner of Molight, will also be there as an educator and to assist in answering lighting questions! 

OUR INSTRUCTORS

DAN MCCLANAHAN

Meet Dan McClanahan.

 

Dan McClanahan became a photographer in 2009 with the goal of creating a fresh alternative to traditional photography in his market. His quest was so successful that his work quickly made waves in the photo industry with multiple Grand Imaging Awards, WPPI awards, magazine features and becoming one of the youngest photographers on record to receive all three photography degrees bestowed by PPA. He also has an amazing collection of five Team USA jackets from his multiple years representing the US in the World Photographic Cup. 

 Dan has taught thousands of photographers around the US and specializes in lighting education. He owns and operates McClanahan Studio and splits his time between advertising photography and modern high school senior photography.

 Outside of work Dan is a small town Iowa introvert who loves his family, punk rock drumming and strong coffee.

 

 

JENN LEWIS

Jenn Lewis is an award-winning portrait photographer based in Clemmons, North Carolina who concentrates on seniors and headshots. She began her photography business 19 years ago as a “mom with a camera”. With a determined work ethic and tenacious personality, she grew her part-time business from her living room to her full-time 1600 square foot studio while multiplying her sales average by 10. She is an army of one, but her ADHD helps her to multitask like a BOSS. 


Jenn loves this relationship-based business. She lives to attend conferences where she has learned great business practices like combining good sales techniques and a great experience all while taking killer photos. But the networking (which usually takes place at the bar) might just be her favorite part. :) 

Jenn is easily recognized by her crazy curly hair, which has been rumored to give her superpowers in her sales room. She enjoys road trips, long walks on the beach, and pink Starbursts.

Jenn will lead our business discussions. She'll spend a portion of the time teaching her in person sales program and how she accomplishes a $5500+ average sale in her senior business, and we'll spend the rest of the time round table discussion-style, chatting about whatever is holding you back from your business goals, from sales to senior model programs, to client experience and more. We'll have the opportunity to really dig in deep to the business side of things, and with a small group, you'll get your questions answered!

GARON COOPER

You'll get to spend time learning epic cinematic filmmaking from Garon Cooper, the beard behind the brand. Garon found a passion for storytelling and began his career in filmmaking in 2010. He soon blended his cinematic style and techniques into photography to create a bold and dramatic new style. Being both photo and cinema minded allows him to see the world differently than other artists, and bring clients a fun and unique experience while simultaneously creating beautiful artwork. 

Being bearded allows him to fell a redwood with a single Chuck Norris roundhouse kick.

Y'all, this is a real treat. There are a lot of photographers out there teaching video, but Garon is both a photographer AND filmmaker who will teach you to shoot video like a filmmaker. He knows how to teach photographers because he IS a photographer. He understands how we see things, and he knows what to teach us to set us apart from the other photographers who are shooting video. We'll start with instruction on shooting video, then finish with learning some basic video editing techniques. We'll be using Final Cut Pro, but what you learn about editing will be transferable to any professional video editing tool. If you want to know why he's the filmmaking expert you want to learn from, click the video above! See more here!

MORE DETAILS:
 
Overview of what you'll get from FUSION: THE WORKSHOP:
  • Guidance with posing, composition, using natural light and OCF, how to work on set with your clients
  • Learn or improve your filmmaking skills so you can create incredible marketing content
  • Get help transitioning to in person sales or increasing your sales, get answers about running a senior model team, marketing, or improving your client experience
  • Network with other photographers and have some fun creating in fun spots and learning practical applications that will help you in your photo sessions!
 
This workshop is for all levels of photographers, however we will not be going over camera/lens basics in great detail. We will be teaching and demonstrating with Godox lighting such as AD800, AD600, AD400, AD300, and AD100. We love getting our lighting from Michael Mowbray at molight.com!
 
We got great feedback on our pre-con OCF Basics class we added to the beginning of the event for those of you who have not used OCF before, are not using it on a regular basis, or need a refresher. So we're doing it again! In this class, we'll take care of the technical stuff... making sure you know how to power the lights with the triggers, starting you off with the basics of how to choose your exposure and flash power, and talk about lighting patterns. The instructors will not have a lot time for one-on-one troubleshooting and teaching to those who choose to forgo the pre-con. We're doing this for y'all! Triggers and lights will be provided during the workshop. If you already own a Godox trigger, we recommend you bring it, labeled with your name. OCF Basics class now included in your registration! 
 
Fusion attendance will be limited to 35 attendees. 
 
Travel and accommodations not included in registration. 
 
Light snacks and beverages will be provided for the welcome party and during the classes at the hotel. 
 

LOCATION: 

The welcome party and the business and photo/video editing classes will take place in a classroom setting in the Louisville area. Specific location TBA. 

 

ACCOMMODATIONS:

Hotel TBA! it's not a requirement to stay here, just a convenience! It's always nice for attendees to be staying at the same place for extra time hanging out and talking shop. You will need a car to get to the shoot locations, so we recommend attending with a friend or making a new friend in the facebook group and share a car rental!

SCHEDULE:

The schedule is FLUID. Something might change... it'll be okay!! We'll have fun and make sure you learn. :) Please remember to be flexible! We may be forced to change a location or the schedule... we might add something or change a time. The schedule below is our plan! Breakfast is on your own every day. Make sure you're in the FUSION facebook group to keep up with everything! 

Friday: 2-8pm. Garon will get us started with a video presentation and balancing Ronins with attendees to help us prepare for the filmmaking portion of the weekend, OCF Basics, and meet and greet (pizza and snacks provided). Get to know your fellow attendees and chat with the instructors!

Saturday: Noon to sunset. Shoot locations coming soon. Photo and video with Dan, Garon, and Jenn. Dan and Jenn will be teaching photo and Garon will be teaching video. We'll shoot until sunset, then the rest of your evening is free! We encourage attendees getting together for a group dinner! 

Sunday: 2pm to 9pm. Shoot locations coming soon.

Monday: 10am-530pm. We'll be back at the hotel for this one. From 10am-1230pm, Garon will kick us off with video editing, using the clips he captures during our shoot days, and Dan will demo some photo editing for us too! Lunch break on your own 1230-130pm. Then be ready to chat business from 130-530pm. From sales to senior model teams, bring your questions! This will be an informal round table style discussion.  You'll want to stick around through Monday evening, so plan for a late night flight home that night or to leave on Tuesday morning. 

REGISTRATION:
 
$1695 
 
 
**Tickets are non-refundable but will be transferable. You are responsible to sell your own seat if you are unable to attend.

Fusion 2025 sold out 5 months before the event, so if you want a seat, grab it now! 
 
 

GETTING THERE

You'll want to book your flight into Louisville (SDF).

 

 

Maybe not that airline though. :)   >>

 

 

We do recommend having a car or sharing a rental with someone during the workshop, as we will need to drive to shoot locations. 

 

 

 

 

 

Image by Jenn Lewis

FUSION 2027 REGISTRATION

FUSION: The Workshop 2027 -Alumni Flash Sale

**BY REGISTERING, YOU UNDERSTAND THAT REGISTRATION IS NON REFUNDABLE BUT TRANSFERABLE. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR SELLING YOUR OWN TICKET IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND. PAYMENTS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE.

FUSION 2027 ALUMNI PAYMENT PLAN

The payment to secure your spot is $450, and there will be 5 remaining monthly payments due of $200 each. The payments are non-refundable, and if you choose not to complete payment, you have the option to sell your seat only when the payments are fulfilled.