Fake It to Make It: Hanging Out with the Pros at WPPI

I admit it. I am not a professional photographer. But I sure love hanging out with them and absorbing photography skills. I have spoken at length on this blog about using your photography and video skills to achieve your goals. Today, I’ll share with you how spending time with photographers is helping me achieve some of my professional goals.

This week I was super late in publishing a blog post because I was in Vegas, with little to no wi-fi signal. I was learning a bit about the ins and outs of the photography industry at the WPPI Convention (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International). My goal this week was to evaluate the business value of obtaining a trade show booth at the convention and learn the needs of photographers in the field.

Hmm, fly out to Vegas in March to mingle with the best and brightest photographers? Palm trees? No problem. Too bad it was in the upper 40s and windy.

I would show you some of my photos from the event, but I went old school and took a film camera. Expect those photos in a couple of weeks. My iPhone photos weren’t exactly a showcase of the enormity of the event. The top photo, although from an iPhone, was still better than any of mine. It was taken by photographer Feuza Reis from New Jersey.

In Las Vegas, I met some of the most kind, generous, and creative business professionals you could ever hope to encounter. There was no competitive, cliquish atmosphere.

There was an amazing aura of altruism. The seasoned pros genuinely wanted to share tips with the beginners… and not just for a fee, but because they wanted to help them. This could be seen in all the coffee shops and restaurants.

The main focus of the event was the trade show. It was amazing. Picture all the glamour and convention space of the auto show, but with the focus completely on wedding and portrait photography.

You feel the mesmerizing high quality of Kodak Metallic Digital Paper in your hands. You know that wedding photo will last for generations to come.

You walk through aisle after aisle of amazing hand crafted albums with pages as thick as an iPod. Albums custom created after hours of effort by your professional photographer.

You attend workshops by successful photographers, sharing secrets on how to truly tell the story of your clients.

Attending this convention made me truly appreciate the training, expense, and expertise all acquired by the artists known as professional photographers.

The photographers I encountered shared their professional experiences with me. They shared photography tips with me. They shared their lives with me. It was truly awesome.

I’d like to especially thank my roommates at the event. Considering I knew almost no one when I got on that plane, they made me feel right at home, even though I wasn’t a photographer.

So, Karey, Carol, Jen, and Feuza, thank you so much. I’ll be updating this post next week with some of their amazing photos from the event. For now, I’ll share that yes, I met my professional goal. I did ascertain that WPPI is a great value to attend. But I also met a personal goal; I made some friends that I will value in the years to come.