Knowledge is the best thing we can share
Our community has always shared knowledge- in reddit threads, in group chats, in facebook groups, in late-night DMs with photographer friends. "Have you heard anything about this retreat?" "Did anyone go to that styled shoot?"
The information is out there. It's just never been somewhere you could actually find it all in one place.
Photographers spend hours digging through Facebook threads, scrolling comment sections, DMing strangers, hoping someone three years ago left an honest account of the exact retreat they're thinking about booking. The answers exist. They're just buried.
SOOC is where that knowledge finally has a home.
Real People. Real Experiences.
No PR Version.
This is what community looks like
When we share our real experiences, the wonderful ones and the hard ones, we're helping our fellow photographers and vendors make a confident, informed decision. We're saving someone else from guessing.
Every review on SOOC comes from someone who was actually there, a photographer, model, or vendor who attended and wants the next person to go in knowing. We verify attendance, protect every reviewer's identity, and make sure what's shared reaches the people who need it.
This is about a community that believes everyone deserves to walk in prepared, and looks out for each other to make that happen. This is about growth, for photographers, for hosts, for the whole industry.
When we share honestly, everyone gets better.
Verified
Every reviewer proves they attended- kept private, never published.
Independent
No ads. No sponsored listings. Nobody buys a better rating.
Community-built
Every review makes it better for the next person who comes looking. That's the whole idea.
Protected
Your name and identity stay yours. Always. Share as much or as little as you want.
Built with LGBTQIA and BIPOC photographers at the center
SOOC was built especially with queer photographers and photographers of color in mind, because too many in our community have spent real money to attend retreats that didn't feel safe, welcoming, or honest about what they were.
Every listing includes safety and inclusion ratings, right upfront. You can see whether a retreat felt genuinely welcoming to photographers like you, no digging, no hoping someone mentioned it buried in a review. It's just there.
SOOC is for every photographer. But we believe a community where everyone can show up and feel at home is better for all of us, and we built with that in mind from day one.
How you can be a part of it
If you've attended a retreat or styled shoot, as a guest, a model, or a vendor, your experience matters here.
The amazing ones and the hard ones alike.
Every honest account helps another person walk in more prepared, more confident, and more themselves.
It takes about five minutes. You can stay completely anonymous if you want. And whatever you share will reach someone who genuinely needed to hear it.
your experience
is someone else's map.
Share what you know and help another photographer go in with everything they need… and come back with work they love.