This weeks column is coming to you live from Vegas baby!! I’m here in the city that never sleeps attending the Wedding and Portrait Professionals International (WPPI) convention. Imagine 20,000 photographers gathering in one place to learn from the best in the industry, check out the latest toys and meet new friends. It’s awesome! I’m especially thrilled to be sharing a room with 2 fabulous photographers from Virginia, Tori and Laura and of course our recently transplanted Texas buddy Korie. I love our industry and how open everyone is with sharing about their business, all 3 of these girls could be considered my competition but instead of hiding behind that and hating on each other we encourage each other and share about our businesses. If one of these girls can learn from a mistake I’ve made then I’m happy to share my experiences with them. I have really loved sitting around our hotel room talking about what is working and not working for our business and getting feedback and encouraging each other to step outside the comfort zone! I’m feeling very blessed and inspired this week and will be headed back to Virginia tomorrow with a notebook full of ideas!!
Love It!
1. Jose Villa! I can pick out his photos with one glance and they make me sigh with contentment. He makes me want to go back to film and back to the enjoyment of flipping through physical prints. His work is stunning and inspires me to no end! Monday night Korie and I got to hang out with him after his class with maybe 20 other photographers and just ask questions and chat. It was great being able to talk in such an intimate environment with someone I admire so much. It was awesome of him to stay almost 2 hours after his class to answer questions, I love that!
2. Instax! So I picked up one of those super cute polaroid style cameras here. Remember way back in the olden days when you actually held the photo in your hand minutes after taking it and thought it was the coolest thing! You could shake it and watch the image appear. Yep I have the new version of that once popular style! It is a Fuji Instax and it is fun to take pics with my roommates and the speakers we get to meet. I love the old school style to them, so much fun!!! They are great for a fun guest signing book at weddings too!
3. Kelly Moore bags! So we all know how much girls love purses and I used to be pretty immune to that. I only started carrying a purse after I left my wallet sitting somewhere because my hands were full with my phone and keys. Now add a camera and a few lenses to that mix and the question is how to get all that to a shoot and of course look GOOD!! Thankfully some awesome ladies like Kelly Moore have come to the rescue and designed gorgeous leather camera bags that look like high end purses. I wanted to check them out in person and see if there was one to fit my needs and oh yes I found one that I would be happy carrying to a portrait session, on a wedding day or even just to go out and take my camera. It is so pretty, I’m in love!!!
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Hate It!
1. Jet Lag! So of course this trip is just long enough for me to get adjusted to PST time and then I’ll have to fly back to EST time. That 3 hours that can really screw with your body! Also trying to sleep in a new place when you know you have to be up early is never good. I’m pretty sure I’m going to sleep for a week when I get home to make up for it!
