It's time for the WPPI 2019 recap blog! I want to start out this blog post by saying that I'm not the best at documenting my own adventures. I get caught up in the moment and forget to take photo! You'd think that because I'm a photographer I'd be better at that but I'm not! Sooooo this blog has a few cell phone photos of my time at WPPI this year.
If you're reading this blog and are saying "What the heck is WPPI?!?!" I got you! WPPI is the Wedding and Portrait Photography International Conference/Expo. It is, arguably, the biggest photography conference in the world! Every year tens of thousands of photographers ascend on Las Vegas, Nevada for this event. There are soooooo many things that happen during the week of WPPI in Vegas and there is never enough time to do everything! There are many speakers that talk on different aspects of photography, lighting, and business, there is a trade show area where you can check out new equipment, albums, and companies, there are photo walks you can go on to take photos and learn, and there are so many parties and networking opportunities to partake in. This year I had the amazing opportunity to teach as Master Class at WPPI! I am so honored that I was able to speak at WPPI, it was really a dream come true! I was able to speak to 50 other photographers all about how to get published as a wedding photographer.
My lovely photographer friend, Charity, came with to WPPI to learn and to help me with my class. Devin had to work all week and wasn't able to get away, so it was great to have a girls week in Vegas! We flew out of Indianapolis on Monday the 25th and got into Vegas around 7:15pm their time. We checked into our hotel and then walked around the strip for a bit and grabbed a daiquiri before heading back to the hotel to catch some sleep. I also, stopped at Del Taco for a burrito because they're my favorite aren't in Indiana!
The next day we woke up bright and early and picked up our passes. We listened to the Rise & Shine talk that morning and then grabbed some lunch before we both had to head our separate ways for the day. Charity, took a few more classes and I headed out to the mountains for a styled shoot! I knew that I wanted to do a quick shoot while I was in Vegas with the mountains and when I found this shoot and it fit in my schedule, I knew I had to go! You can view the full blog with more images from that shoot HERE!
After the styled shoot, I ran back to the hotel room to change out of my dusty clothes and then went to watch the wonderful Alexi Lubomirski talk! He photographed the Royal Wedding and engagement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and he's a Prince himself! It was so great to hear about his experience with the Royals as well as all of his fashion experience. After Alexi's talk, I met back up with Charity and we grabbed some dinner and then I called it a night!
Wednesday was super busy for me! I had so many meetings and events to attend that it was jammed packed! The first thing I did was attend a class and then I walked around the trade show for a bit to see new equipment and products. Charity and I then grabbed lunch and then I was off to a meeting with a company from Japan. I was able to learn about their product and shed some insight on wedding photography in the United States. I then met up with the TwoBrightLights ladies, Meghan and Camille, for a drink with them and some of the other TBL folks! TwoBrightLights is a service I LOVE so I always love seeing Meghan at different events! After a quick drink, it was time for me to attend the WPPI Speaker and Exhibitor Happy Hour. It was at the SkyFall Lounge at the Delano with gorgeous views of the strip! Then it was time for yet another party, the WPPI Opening Night Party. I grabbed a few drinks and mingled with some new friends and then headed out to meet back up with Charity. We both went to the last party of the night with the wonderful folks of Shoot & Share! We had some champagne, took some photo booth photos, and then headed back to our hotel for some rest.
Thursday was the day of my class so even though it wasn't as jammed packed as Wednesday, it was still pretty busy! I started off the morning visiting with the CGProPrints family and the other ambassadors. CGProPrints is my canvas lab and they were my sponsors for WPPI! We had some breakfast and mingled then I was off to go over my presentation one last time and get ready for my Master Class! My class was at 1pm and it went well! I got to share my knowledge all about getting published with 50 other photographers during this Master Class. So many folks asked questions and send me wonderful messages after the class with all that they learned! After my class, I went to listen to the wonderful Ryan Schembri and then I met up with Charity for dinner. We were planning on going to the WPPI afterparty after dinner but ended up grabbing a drink and watching some TV in the hotel room instead, we were exhausted!
Friday was our last day in Vegas! We slept in a bit and then visited the expo floor one last time and I got my camera and a few lens cleaned. We grabbed lunch with another photographer friend, Autumn, and then headed to the airport and got back to Indiana late Friday evening.
WPPI and Vegas was a blast and I'm already looking forward to WPPI 2020!
