UNLEARN
– An Art Retreat for Female Photographers & Creatives –
wedding edition
Lisbon, Portugal
1st-5th November 2026
HOSTS
Nat Orce
Lena Sabała
INVESTMENT
£860 (shared room) / £940 (private room)
early bird until August 1st: -5%
UNRAVEL. UNMUTE. UNWIND. UNLEARN.
About the retreat
U N L E A R N
Somewhere along the way, most of us pick up rules we never agreed to: how a photograph should look, how a creative life should be run, how much space we’re allowed to take up and how loud we’re allowed to be while doing it.
UNLEARN is five days in Portugal to put all of that down.
This isn’t a workshop about technique. It’s a space to unravel the expectations and old narratives you’ve been carrying, unmute the voice and vision that are already yours, and unwind, properly slow down, with a small group of women who get it.
What you do with that space afterwards is up to you.
We want you to come home seeing a wider perspective.
unravel – releasing expectations and old narratives
unmute – finding your own voice again
unwind – rest and slowing down
UNLEARN – the deeper transformation, letting go of inherited rules and returning to your own way of seeing
WHAT TO EXPECT
This is a small retreat for 8 to 10 women, built around creative exchange, hands on shooting, honest conversation and rest. There’s a villa, a city made for wandering, and people who’ll push your work forward.
Across the week you’ll:
- Take part in a wedding style photoshoot on the beach, working with a real couple, in a dress by @flossyanddossy
- Join in on photo challenges
- Spend a day in Lisbon
- Sit in on discussion panels covering the real challenges of wedding photography, the ones nobody puts in their portfolio
- Practice Kundalini yoga, working with intention rather than just stretching it out
- Eat well, talk for hours and actually rest
You’ll leave with new images, a few new friendships and a clearer sense of your own creative voice.
WHO IS THIS FOR?
UNLEARN is open to any woman working creatively with a camera: wedding photographers, content creators, portrait photographers. Anyone who feels the pull to slow down and reconnect with why she picked up a camera in the first place.
You don’t need to have a particular style, a particular direction or a particular level of experience.
All you need is curiosity and a willingness to get out of your comfort zone.
MEET YOUR HOSTS
Photographers • Artists • Storytellers • Mothers • Women
NAT ORCE
Born in Poland and based in Warsaw, Nat has spent more than two decades documenting love stories around the world, photographing hundreds of weddings across countries and cultures with the same curiosity she had on her very first.
She was part of the new wave of photographers who helped shape modern wedding photography in Poland. Long before “authenticity” became an industry buzzword, she was already making work that was emotional, poetic and deeply human.
Beyond the camera, Nat is a writer and filmmaker, and the author of TRUTH, a personal photographic exploration of femininity, vulnerability and self discovery. At UNLEARN, she won’t just teach photography. She’ll invite you to slow down, trust yourself, and create work rooted in truth and human connection.
LENA SABALA
Based in Scotland and photographing love stories across Europe, Lena is drawn to real moments, quiet emotion and the beauty of things unfolding naturally. Candid reportage over directed perfection.
With more than two decades in the wedding industry (as a singer in a wedding band, a dress designer, a stylist and even once as a celebrant) Lena has learned to read a room instinctively and listen first, always.
At UNLEARN, she’ll invite you to slow down and refine your own way of seeing, encouraging work that feels honest, intentional and unmistakably yours.
THE PROGRAM
Day 1
Arrival Settle into the villa, drinks and the challenge lottery to kick things off. Pizza night.
Day 2
Discussion & Bridal Portrait Challenge Morning discussion panel, followed by a creative bridal portrait challenge, working with a real person, not a professional model. Evening free to explore.
Day 3
Lisbon – creative photo challenge & wandering around an inspiring city. Getting lost to find yourself.
Day 4
The Wedding Shoot The bride and groom beach styled photoshoot, the centerpiece of the week.
Day 5
Departure
Woven through the week:
– everyday kundalini yoga practice
– long table dinners
– 1:1 or group portfolio reviews
– conversations that tend to happen once everyone stops performing and starts being honest
INSIDE THE DISCUSSION PANELS
The panels aren’t lectures. They’re things we genuinely wrestle with ourselves, meant to make you think sideways, not nod along.
Some of what we’ll be unpacking:
- Why “find your style” might be the most wasted advice in the industry
- The connection between isolation and creative block, and why most photographers are looking for their voice in the wrong place
- What a piece of couture or a brutalist building can teach you that a workshop never will
- What luxury clients are actually paying for (it isn’t you)
- Techniques to boost your creativity
- Where the most interesting images really come from
- Why nobody in this room, including us, is going to claim to be done
Come ready to disagree with us.
You’ll leave with more questions than you arrived with, and a much clearer sense of your own answers.
KUNDALINI YOGA & YOUR GENTLE GUIDE
MEET YOUR YOGA GUIDE –
IZABELA WOLSKA
@poczuj.to.soba
Born and raised in the mountains of southern Poland, Isabell learned the rhythms of life and grew among the peaks that shaped her soul. Now based in Lisbon, she lives enchanted by the raw beauty of nature, the ocean, and the magical light of the sun, bringing over 12 years of Kundalini Yoga practice into this vibrant new chapter.
Before fully committing to this lifelong path, Isa solidified her calling at the Ram Das Guru Ashram in Portugal. This profound experience taught her to connect deeply, adapt instinctively, and understand that healing comes from within. Her work is grounded in listening to the soul first, always.
Isa’s practice is rooted in feeling rather than thinking. Rather than treating yoga as a sequence confined to the mat, she creates space for a “practice of life”—believing that our truest lessons don’t end when the practice is over, but unfold naturally in how we show up for ourselves and the world.
For Isabell, yoga is a beautiful commitment to rhythm, routine, and showing up every day. Yet, she believes it is never about chasing the perfect posture or flawless alignment; it is found in the spaces in between. No matter the style or type of yoga you practice, what truly matters is devotion and pouring your entire heart into it. In the end, she reminds us that the truest form of perfection is found within our beautiful imperfection.
At the heart of her spaces are mantras, meditation, and a fierce optimism. Through sound and stillness, she invites you to slow down, heal, and shift from mind to pure sensation — creating a journey that allows you to return not just to how your body moves, but to how your soul truly feels.
Is this only for wedding photographers? No. While the program is shaped around wedding photography challenges, UNLEARN is open to any female photographer, content creator or creative who wants to slow down, create and reconnect with her own voice.
What’s the group size? 8 to 10 women. Small and intentional.
What’s not included in the price? Travel. Everything else (accommodation, breakfast, dinners, the program, models, props) is covered.
Do I need to bring my own gear? Yes, bring whatever you usually shoot with. This is about your eye, not a particular kit.
What if I’m not very experienced? Come as you are. The retreat is built around exchange and exploration, not a hierarchy of skill.
Can I just come for the rest and skip the shoots? The program is designed as a whole experience, but there’s plenty of built in downtime, and yoga is there for exactly that.
WHERE YOU’LL STAY
A private, freshly renovated villa @casa_goti with a pool just outside Lisbon, your home base for the week. You can choose between a single private room or a shared one.
Address: Herdade de Aroeira
Mornings start with a breakfast buffet, and most evenings you’ll gather for a home cooked dinner together in the villa.
U N L E A R N
INVESTMENT
| Room type | Price |
| Shared room (single beds) | £860 / 4300 zł |
| Private room | £940 / 4700 zł |
early bird until August 1st: -5%
Includes: 4 nights accommodation, daily breakfast buffet, home cooked dinners in the villa, the full UNLEARN program, models and props for the shoots, and the company of a small group of women.
Not included: Flights (Lisbon), taxi to the villa.
A deposit of 200£ secures your place, with the balance due on or before the 1st of October 2026.
Spots are limited to 8 to 10.
Once they’re gone, they’re gone.
EXTEND YOUR EXPERIENCE: Join the portrait retreat packed with live shooting.
READY TO UNLEARN?
Join us in Portugal this fall
Five days. One villa. A handful of women who are done waiting for permission to create on their own terms.
Can’t join us on that date?
Set up an individual consultation or 1:1 mentoring on for 12, 6 or 3 months.
Are you also into portrait and women photography?
Extend your experience and join my workshop
29. October – 01. November
