SF+ // April 10, 2026

A Full Day of advanced classes

SF+ is an entire day dedicated to advanced business, marketing, lighting & editing classes, held the day after the general conference. Classes will cover more advanced material than the classes on the first three days, so expect a deep dive! 

2026 Speakers & Topics

Sal Cincotta

Turning Content Creation Into A Scalable Commercial Business

Every business in the world needs content. Video. Still photography. Websites. Social media. As photographers, we have the skills to deliver this and be insanely profitable in the process.

This class will teach you how to position your brand and skills with video and photo to start offering content creation services to small businesses. This is a 6-figure line of business that leverages the gear and skill-set you already have.

In this highly requested class, Sal will teach you:

-How to market and sell this service.
-What gear is required. (hint: it’s less than you think)
-What’s required to deliver to the client as a final product.
-How to price these services.
-How and when to outsources the pieces you can’t deliver on – video editing, etc.

How to Photograph Women Over 60

This course is all about lighting, posing, styling, and the client experience specifically designed to photograph women over 60 with confidence and elegance. Alissa shares practical techniques to create flattering, heirloom portraits while building trust, comfort, and connection throughout the session.

Alissa Cincotta

Ray Alvarez

Lighting With Intent: Advanced Portrait Lighting

Move beyond basic lighting formulas and learn how to craft light and create final images with purpose. Ray breaks down advanced portrait lighting techniques from 1 light to 6 lights that emphasize mood, depth, and storytelling, teaching you how to make deliberate lighting decisions that elevate your work and create stronger impact in your final images.

Creating Luxury Set Designs Clients Can't Ignore

Learn how to design high-end sets that immediately elevate your sessions and attract premium clients. Esther covers styling principles, prop selection, color harmony, and spatial design to help you create visually striking sets that photograph beautifully and feel intentional, polished, and luxurious.

Esther Kay

Ric Lewis

The Finishing Touch: Post-Production Techniques

This class focuses on the final steps that take an image from good to exceptional. Ric shares professional post-production techniques, including color refinement, skin work, and how to use post-production to tell the story of your image, helping you deliver polished works of art that align with your brand and help you stand out from the crowd.

More than Moments: Redefining Wedding Photography

Step into a masterclass designed to elevate your wedding work through storytelling and intentional artistry. This session dives deep into building a narrative through compositional rules, using texture to get a sense of place, capturing details that evoke emotion, and using advanced techniques like motion with intent. You will learn to craft images that are both visually striking and emotionally resonant. Whether you’re looking to push your boundaries or redefine your style, this class will give you the tools and inspiration to make your wedding galleries unforgettable.

Esteban Gil & Mandy Wright

Doug Weittenhiller

How to Actually Reach Your Audience In A Broken Email World

For SF2026, this is the follow-up to my original email deliverability class that many of you have taken in the past and spoke highly of. That session laid the foundation, and this one takes it much further. If your emails aren’t hitting your client’s inbox, it doesn’t matter how good your work is. You are invisible.

This isn’t another “how to write better subject lines” class. Instead, this is about the technical side of email deliverability that most photographers ignore until it costs them bookings.

We’ll break down everything that matters in plain English: DNS records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), domain reputation, sending IPs, SSL certificates, and how email providers actually filter your messages. I’ll also cover how AI-driven spam filters are evolving, and how to stay one step ahead so your client communication doesn’t end up in the Promotions tab or worse, spam.

This is a lab-style session, so bring your laptop. After I explain each step, you’ll check your own setup in real time and make improvements on the spot. By the end, you’ll know if your domain is authenticated correctly, whether your sending practices are hurting you, and precisely what to fix to get your delivery rates up.

Twig & Olive sends over 200,000 emails annually, and we maintain a 99.99% delivery rate. I’ll show you the exact systems and tools we use so you can get the same results. And I absolutely promise to not only give you the tools during the class, but also resources to follow up on after so that you can have the most successful deliverability possible.

What to Bring:

• Laptop or tablet you use for business email
• Access to your email host or DNS settings (GoDaddy, Google Domains, Cloudflare, etc.)
• Your current email system (Gmail, Outlook, or business email client)

Work Smarter, Not Longer: Systems, Automation, and Workflows That Scale

This course focuses on building systems that reduce overwhelm and support sustainable growth. Amanda walks through real-world automation, workflows, and tools that streamline communication, bookings, and client management so you can scale your business without working longer hours.

Amanda Rae

FAQ/Schedule

How many classes will i be able to attend?

During each class time, two speakers will be teaching. You will be able to select which class you want to attend.

What will the schedule be?

9:00am – 10:30am
Ray Alvarez & Doug Weittenhiller

10:45am – 12:15pm
Esteban Gil/Mandy Wright & Alissa Cincotta

12:15pm – 1:15pm
LUNCH

1:30pm – 3:00pm
Amanda Rae & Ric Lewis

3:15pm – 4:45pm
Esther Kay & Sal Cincotta

Shoot. Learn. Party.

Already have a general registration ticket and want to add SF+? Click here to add it on.

SKILL LEVELS

Beginner: Just starting out or relatively new to a given subject matter. Basics will be covered and the course will move at a slower pace. The instructor will spend a little more time trying to explain concepts to ensure everyone is following. On a scale of 1-10 consider this level a 1-3 on the given topic.

Intermediate: Has a grasp of some basic concepts. This course level will move at a faster pace and assume you have basic knowledge covered on the given subject matter. On a scale of 1-10 consider this level a 4-6 on the given topic.

Advanced: You have working knowledge of the given subject matter, but are looking for more fine-tuning and some advanced topics to take your work to that next level. DO NOT expect instructors to explain basic concepts in this course. On a scale of 1-10 consider this level a 7-10 on the given topic.

Class Types

Hands-On

These are shooting courses. You will be shooting and working. Bring your camera, gear, or whatever you need for the course and to create create images. Expect to have some level of shooting.

Live Demonstration

These are instructor-led courses where you will see a live demonstration of what the instructor is teaching. You can still bring your camera to these courses and you can photograph, but the goal of the course is NOT for you to shoot or to ensure you get a shot. The goal is for you to see how and why the instructor does what he/she does in order to get the final result.

Lecture

These are non-shooting courses. Typically classroom-based, bring your laptop and notepad and focus on learning!