A couple of weeks ago, I attended the Beyond Brilliant Retreat in Costa Rica at Vida Asana in Playa Hermosa — a thoughtfully designed experience for female photographers focusing on lifestyle, swimwear, and portrait photography (How could I not join?) It was such a great opportunity to grow creatively and connect with other professionals in my niche just a couple of hours away from my home.

The retreat was led and organized by Jessica McKnight. Jessica brought a wealth of knowledge on the business side of photography, offering invaluable insights into strategy and growth. The amazing Lindsay Adler was brought in as an educator and focused on technical skill development with workshops on posing, lighting, and stylized portrait shoots. These were exactly the areas I wanted to dive into more deeply. Additionally, the retreat announced a late addition to the team of educators, Pratik Naik from Solstice Retouch, an incredible retoucher and photographer, who shared tips and guidance on editing and AI. The dynamic mix of skill-building workshops, business insights and mindset work rounded out the retreat as a really holistic experience.

Each day featured styled photo shoots with professional models, thoughtfully curated by Jessica. Set in a variety of locations, mostly outdoors, these shoots offered unique opportunities to create impactful images. The fast-paced structure—sometimes allowing just one minute per photographer to capture a shot—pushed me to approach each session with intention and decisiveness. It was a valuable exercise in trusting my instincts and focusing on the story I wanted to tell. The experience was both challenging and inspiring, helping me refine my technical skills and now, after having the time to take it all in, clarify the direction I want to take with my work.

One specially rewarding aspect of the retreat was connecting with the attendees. Many have thriving photography businesses and years of industry experience. Their insights and perspectives were not only inspiring but also reminded me of the value of collaboration and community. April Schultz, Cristina Nicole, Lula May Williams, Angela Torres & Leslie Gilbert are some of the talented women who I got to work with, just to name a few - Have a look at their work.

Although the beginning of the year was a stressful time, the retreat was the perfect way to kick off 2025, offering a space to reflect and challenge myself, it helped reinforce my goals and encourage me to fully embrace my creative journey (Embrace is actually the word I chose for my business for 2025, but more on that later…). It also inspired me to revisit Women of Surfing, my passion project that merges photography with storytelling, as I work to bring its vision to life (I will also be sharing more on this soon and you can visit the instagram and see more information about the project here).

The Beyond Brilliant Retreat offered so much more than skill-building; it was a space to reflect, challenge myself and grow alongside talented, like-minded creatives. I’m incredibly grateful for the experience and the inspiration it’s given me for the year ahead. If you would like to know more about my journey as a photographer in Costa Rica, the Retreat or have any questions, feel free to reach out and keep visiting the blog for more insight.

To my fellow creatives: never underestimate the power of stepping away from the day-to-day to invest in yourself and your craft. It might just be the spark you need to take your work to the next level.