Sleepless Nights, Vegas Fun, and Lots o’ Learning // WPPI 2012

Yesterday I got back from Las Vegas, where Kelly and I spent several days at WPPI, an annual convention for wedding and portrait photographers. To say I’m still recovering is an understatement. What is it about Vegas that can suck the life right out of you? (And the money right out of your wallet… and we didn’t even gamble!) But we had SUCH a great time, so I wanted to post a quick recap with some of my favorite Instagram iPhone photos from the week.

It was our second time going, which actually made it a pretty different experience from the first time I went two years ago. (I didn’t go last year, but Kelly did, and that was her first time.) The first time, you can’t help but be overwhelmed the entire time. The whole experience, from the trade show to the classes to Vegas itself, is just sensory overload. The first time I went, I spent HOURS on the trade show floor, making sure I looked at everything at least 3 times. I also made an effort to go to more of the classes, and since I was still pretty new to photography, I learned a lot of valuable information.

But this time around, since we’ve both more or less chosen our album companies and a lot of the other products we use, and we’re not interested in switching, we skipped over a LOT of the trade show, and instead just focused on a few booths we were interested in (some of the standouts: Smilebooth, With Etiquette, and Pinhole Pro) and spent the rest of the time meeting and chatting with people. I also felt a lot less scared and intimidated this time, and instead of freaking out every time I saw a “celebrity” photographer, we usually would just go up and chat. If there’s one thing this WPPI experience taught me, it’s that all those West Coast photographers I so adore (and feel SO inferior to) are real people too. They’re normal. They’re nice. But more on that in a second.

One of the speakers we saw on the trade show floor the first day was Jesh de Rox (whom I saw speak two years ago also). He is truly one of the most inspiring photographers you will meet. And I wasn’t embarrassed AT ALL when Kelly volunteered us to be “kids” for a portrait session demonstration. (As if it was really a stretch, since people think we’re 15 half the time anyway.) Go check out his Beloved movement… it really is revolutionary, and worth the investment if you feel stuck in a rut when it comes to posing clients and achieving natural, real moments and expressions.

That night, we got all gussied up to go to Airplanes and Blazers, THE party of the year for anyone who’s anyone in the photography community. ;) Let me start by saying that I am NOT by any means a party-ing kind of girl. I treasure my nine hours of sleep a night, and I normally can’t stand being in noisy, smoky bars and clubs. But this party? I haven’t had so much fun since our wedding! The beauty of it is that everyone already has something in common, and you recognize so many familiar faces, that it felt like dancing the night away with a bunch of friends instead of just strangers. (Also, since the majority of people there were married, you didn’t have to worry about creepy guys making a move… whew!) I really feel like so many people there are the types- like me— who NEVER go out, so to have the opportunity to let loose was pretty amazing. Also, the Flash Dance did an INSANE job of DJ-ing. People were tearing up the dance floor!

What was also super cool about that party was all the people we got to meet and ended up hanging out with late into the night. Awhile back, when Angie and Matt Sloan came through Birmingham to shoot a wedding, Kelly emailed them and asked if they wanted to meet up. They did, and they ended up being incredibly nice and humble. Fast forward to last year, when Kelly ran into them at A&B, and she ended up dancing with them all night long. THIS year, we ran into them as soon as we showed up, and were more or less welcomed into their “cool club.” (I can’t even believe how cheesy this must sound, so bear with me.) We were basically dancing all night with them, Nate and Jaclyn from The Image is Found, Justin and Amelia Lyon, Jesse and Whitney Chamberlain of Our Labor of Love, Jeff Newsom and his wife, Hugh Forte, James Moes, and all sorts of other awesome people that we previously only semi-stalked online. I honestly wasn’t sure if I’d ever have the guts to have a conversation with any of these people, let alone hang out with them. Can you tell I might still be a little bitter about not being popular in high school? ;)

Anyway, after the party ended (they literally had to turn the lights on and kick us out), we hung out in one of the hotel restaurants with the whole group, and (at four o’clock in the morning) then caught a taxi with some of them to this hole-in-the-wall place called Ronald’s, which apparently specializes in vegan doughnuts. Tasty!

Needless to say, by the time we got back to our room (after 5:00 am)… my body HATED me. We crashed, but then I got a text at 8:00 am and we couldn’t fall back asleep, so we attempted to go out and make something of the day.

After realizing that we were basically zombies, we decided to nap and try again, and then we went back out onto the strip to take in some of the sights. First stop: Serendipity, for their famous frozen hot chocolate. My mouth is watering just thinking about it….

Even though we had fun sightseeing, we still felt pretty miserable, so we went back to bed really early so we could be coherent for Wednesday, the last day of the conference. We started the day at the Paris hotel, where I ate a delicious chicken, brie, and apple crepe, a chocolate croissant, and drank 3-4 cups of Intelligentsia coffee. (BUZZED.) You might remember that Kelly and I are semi-Francophiles, so we loved dining outdoors in a cafe-like setting. Don’t make fun.

That afternoon, we saw Justin and Mary speak, and I can’t imagine a more perfect way to end the trip. There are just no words to describe how inspiring Mary is, and it seems impossible to believe that in a two-hour time span, someone could transform a person’s entire way of thinking, but that’s exactly what she did. I don’t want to give too much away, but if you head over to their blog, you will NOT be disappointed. These two are some of the most generous, humble, knowledgable photographers I’ve met, and to be honest, they blew all of the other speakers WAY out of the water. :)

Yesterday morning, we said goodbye to another whirlwind Vegas adventure. No matter how much fun I had, I was SO ready to be home. Now it’s time to soak in all of my experiences and use the inspiration I’ve gathered to better my business and my life.

To wrap it up, I wanted to share this video by Stillmotion that Justin and Mary posted on their blog this morning. They were filming part of this during their presentation, and it really is a brilliant way to get a taste of WPPI through 4 different perspectives: a first-time attendee, a veteran attendee, an exhibitor, and a speaker. There are also some clips from Airplanes and Blazers in there, which is pretty awesome. Enjoy!

4 people, 1 story. This is my WPPI. from stillmotion on Vimeo.