Put a bunch of creative ladies, armed with cameras in a beautiful setting and there’s no doubt that magic is going to happen.

The other week I had pleasure of attending a Video Workshop run by Sally Badnall from Sweet Shute. As soon as Sally approached me with the idea of attending the workshop I jumped on the bandwagon as quick as possible. Sally is a breath of fresh air and a star in her field- she makes beautiful short videos, takes some dreamboat photographs and is a styling queen.

The workshop was held at the Sandalwood Shearing Shed in McLaren Flat. Well and truly off the beaten track, this rustic gem was the perfect place for a day of being behind the lens. On a usual day the Shearing Shed is run as a 2 night stay accommodation, situated on a big property with a stunning outlook over rolling hills and vineyards. On this occasion we had the same outlook, but the shearing shed and cottage was decked out with beautiful blooms from McLaren Vale Florist and plenty of props and food that Sally and other attendees had provided.

After plenty of mingling and some sneaky nibbles, we kicked things off with some guided meditation by Michele– it was the perfect way to clear the head and get ourselves into a creative space.

Once we were feeling all blissed out we started our the workshop. As a girl who loves to be behind the lens I was a little, let’s face it, very excited to get going. Sally had set up a variety of ‘scenes’ for us to work with that we could tailor to our skill level and to suit our business, which was great as we were such a diverse group of women working in various fields.

Before I knew it I was surrounded by gorgeous wedding dresses by She Sews (modeled by massive babe Steph Walker), plenty of homemade baked goods by Mulberry Lodge, Wildfire Organic tea, Sew and Sew and Coriole wines, flowers and props as far as the eye can see. As soon as I saw the locally sourced greenery and wattle suspended over the dinner table I had another Pinterest wedding dream moment.

Over the afternoon there was laughter. There was hand modelling. There was trial-and-error. Most the best bit was the collaborations. Everyone was keen to share advice in such a positive way. We all took turns at ‘directing’ and assisting, and even a spot of hand modelling. As filming can be a tiring job, we were lucky to be feasting on a delicious spread provided by The Barn Bistro– these guys are spot on when it comes to fresh and local food.

Sally is yet to release her workshops officially, but when she does I highly recommend them. I have never played around with the video feature on my iPhone properly, so I was a newbie in the game. I found this workshop very easy to follow, with plenty of time to take things at your own pace, and would be perfect for those in small business or want to learn how to make beautiful short videos for social media.

 I’ll never look at making a cup of tea or picking up scones off a plate the same way again!

If you want to have a read about Sally and future Sweet Shute workshops you can find her on her website, Instagram and Facebook.

Big love to these amazing ladies and businesses who contributed products and joy to the day-

Megan from She Sews

Hazel from Mulberry Lodge

Jodie from Sew & Sew Wines

Megan from The Barn

Jane from Wildfire Organic Tea

Libby from Sandalwood Shearing Shed

Priyan from Mclaren Vale Florist

Michelle for our calming guided meditation and workshop consultant

Sacha from Makeup Baby

Amber Lee from Vanilla Vibe

Steph who was our stunning model for the day (can be found at @steph.walkerr on instagram)