Well, its friday again, and yes, I have been MIA, but for good reasons, I pinky swear! Last week I was traveling south for a wedding, and with all the flight delays {what is with this winters’ weather??} I just could not get online. Plus, I had been at WPPI all week, and wow, coming back from Vegas was exhausting! So, this weeks Fluffy Friday is on….

 

WPPI

 

Have you been? Do you know what it is? Well let me tell you, it will change your life!

 

OK, so change your life might

 

Ok, not really, but if you are wedding photographer it can be pretty amazing, and overwhelming and downright FABUTASTIC!

So, here it is my 100 word review of why you should go to WPPI if you are a wedding tog…

THE TRADESHOW

Yes, the classes are awesome. Seeing the speakers that you admire most {yes, when I walked past Susan Stripling, I gasped} is amazing, and educational {more on that to come}. But the tradeshow will change your business, I promise! Seeing all the new gear, holding that camera you have been coveting {hello D4s} and asking questions is priceless. I could chat with all my vendors, and tell them the features I would like to see {and my clients to}, and its amazing to have that experience. This was not my first trip, but it had been four years, and in those four years there has been a huge shift in the industry. The last time I went there were 10 frame companies…this time there was one, that I saw. But its more than that, its meeting photographers from all around the world who are there to do the same thing as you, and to start chatting, at a lunch table about what works well, and what doesn’t!

THE SPEAKERS

The lineup this year was amazing! The down fall is there are so many you want to see, you have to pick and choose. Lucky for me, I took my mom, she went to classes I could not attend, and since she is vested in the owner, she took really good notes! Matt Kennedy was one of the ones she saw, and loved it! I am getting emails from his presentation and still learning! I can’t wait to review all the notes. My two favorites were The Chrismans, and Jarred Platt, with Cliff Mautner as a close tie in! The only reason I did not list Susan Stripling, was because I have been watching her on Creative Live and it was very similar, if not less in depth {in all fairness creative live is 30 days, not 2 hours}. The biggest thing about the speakers, is seeing HOW they function. I have seen there work, I know what it looks like {which is why I chose to listen to them speak}. So when I go, I want some meat. Not a pretty slideshow with their “year in review” but an honest to goodness chunk of treasures. These three delivered for sure! The Chrisman’s spoke about being safe not sorry, and if you have seen their work, its such a true statement! Their presentation showed the 100’s of images it takes to get the ONE perfect one they show. And the best part, they showed all the bad ones in a time lapse slideshow as RAWS…it was incredible to see, and I learned so much! The best statement is “back up, get close. Stand up, get low” its my new wedding mantra!

And Jarred- he is a lightroom master, and I will tell you I learned more in those two hours then I ever knew about lightroom- and I used to think I was proficient! If you missed him at WPPI, he is on Creative live in 2 weeks, don’t miss that! Let me just say, that learning what the spray can does in lightroom is life changing! It will BLOW. YOUR.MIND! and I want even talk about smart previews! Holy UNREAL!

The NIGHTLIFE

Um, I hear its really really awesome! But Stacy and I were in bed by 8 Vegas time each night! Thats the beauty of coming from the East Coast!

I can say this, it took me four years to get back, and its not a cheap trip, but its worth every penny! I cant wait till next year! CANT WAIT! Yes Mark, and I am going back….

 

The Best find of the week was this new Album.  The client goes through an interview process with a professional writer, and the album has their love story, eloquently written. But the best part, is you can add their invitation, the love notes they write each other, and all kinds of other mementos, as well as vellum image pages, and gorgeous text- its magnificent! I cant wait to add it to the album lineup!

And because a picture is worth a thousand words…

{these are from  my iPhone, the real ones will be in a post in a few weeks}