Join me (and about 12,000 photographers) at the Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas for the upcoming WPPI Conference + Expo Feb 24-28, 2018. This link will get you a FREE WPPI Expo pass, w/live talks & demos & 15% off classes + photo walks.
ALSO! Win the opportunity to receive a $500 Gift Card to my favorite photography superstore, Adorama! All you have to do to enter to win is simply leave a comment here. With all the stress and anxiety out in the world today, share how photography, filmmaking, or your artful pursuits make a positive difference in your life.
Your comment could be as short as a few words or as long as you’d like. At the end of this week, we will choose one lucky winner to receive a $500 gift card to Adorama to spend as you like to help expand on that creative joy of yours!
Adorama will also be at the WPPI Convention & Expo, too, since it’s a major industry event for photographers and filmmakers specializing in the creative and business aspects of wedding and portrait photography and filmmaking. Check in with them for some serious show specials.
My platform class at the WPPI Conference is on Wednesday morning, February 28th, from 8:30-10am. In this brand new program, I’ll boil down a good deal of what I’ve compiled from 15 years of shooting (and consistently selling) portrait sessions. I’ll take you through every stage of a typical photography session, from start to finish, using behind-the-scenes videos and on-the-job illustrations. I’ll also share what to definitely know—and what to completely ignore— when it comes to maximizing the experience for you and your client!
Thank you to Adorama, Nations Photo Lab, Imagely and Nikon for sponsoring this program!
(You can also check out The Portrait Shoot Playbook, my completely downloadable start-t0-finish, 250+ page book that steps through everything you need to know to prepare for, shooting and deliver a portrait session! AND if you want more hands-on instruction, my next 3-day Portrait Photographer’s workshop is May 19th-21th. You can see more about it here.)
I will be at multiple places through the WPPI Conference this year! On Monday, February 26th, from 1pm – 3pm, I will be at the Nations Photo Lab booth, helping to spread the love with fun giveaways and conducting some pretty fun on-the-spot interviews with those at the expo. Come on by to check it all out!
On Tuesday the 27th, at 7am, I will be hosting – and running! – the WPPI Conference Fun Run to benefit Beautiful Together (You can register here). All proceeds will go towards Beautiful Together’s orphan care work, supporting children waiting for families.
Also on Wednesday, from 12:30 PST/3:30pm EST, I will be speaking at the beautiful Nikon Theater booth, giving a presentation on How to Photograph (and Sell) the Work You Love. A subject – and life experience – very near and dear to my heart!
You can also watch this talk anywhere in the world, via their LiveStream! Just tune in here.
And, finally, be sure to check out the always-entertaining WPPI Awards Show on Wednesday evening from 6-9pm, as I co-host the program along with my good friend and fellow Nikon Ambassador Jerry Ghionis for the third year in a row!
And after the show, the WPPI Conference is done!
BUT you can win your Adorama $500 gift card before it even begins – just leave a comment below. We will pick a winner before the end of the week : )
Thanks for sharing! I am looking forward to WPPI.
THANKS FOR THE OPPORTUNITIES!
With all the hate that is being spread across the country I decided a while back to stay away from the political rhetoric and just use my photos to spread a positive message of beauty, hope and kindness. We live in a beautiful world but so many people are trying to make it ugly.
Dang I wish I could make it this year. $500 at Adorama would certainly help toward healing the hurt. 🙂
Congratulations! You will be receiving your $100 gift card soon 🙂
Photography, filmmaking and artful pursuits have made ALL the difference in my life. It’s given me hope. Two weeks ago I quit my safe, cushy desk job in a cubicle to pursue who I really am – a creative. I’m a photographer, a videographer and a graphic designer – on the side, until recently. Last summer I was promoted to management in my job at the insurance company and discovered very quickly that it doesn’t feed my soul. At all. So without these talents – fostered by the great training I’ve received at workshops and conferences such as WPPI and the amazing community of other creatives I’ve met, I would be stuck at a desk in a cube, wasting my potential and feeling every day that my soul was withering but yearning for more. Creativity and learning are everything. And I’m excited about the direction of my life because of it.
James, I wish you all the luck in the world as you start your new adventure! Congratulations for having the courage and strength to leave a “cushy desk job”.
Artistic pursuits relax me. I am a fairly analytical person so it is regenerative to be creative.
Since I began my photography journey in June 2016 (former elementary educator), I have experienced more tranquility in my life. I have learned more about myself in the past 1 1/2 years than I thought possible. I’ve discovered I love traveling the backroads of Texas seeking photographic treasures. As they say, someone’s trash is someone else’s treasure. I’m discovering that I love to create. While I’m learning new things everyday, it’s an exhilarating feeling to get involved in this amazing field! After raising my daughters and teaching other kiddos, it’s time for me to create.
Photography gives me a focus outside of my day to day life. Looking through the viewfinder I can block out everything except what I’m seeing through the Lens.
In our current cultural climate there is this need to prove people wrong, to debate an opinion and to judge others based on political views, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, the list goes on. It’s not an easy world to live in right now and people coming together and listening to one other is more important than ever. As a photographer and a business owner I don’t get to pick and choose who my clients are. When they call me to book an appointment, I don’t ask them what their political views are and what their stance is on this matter or the other. During the session we bond, we laugh, we celebrate togetherness and love and that’s how photography has had a positive impact on my life. It’s taught me that as human beings we have so much more in common than we like to think. What happens during that two hour session leaves more of a lasting impact then a day long Facebook debate. If after our session together they find out I’m gay and they don’t agree with that or I find out they have very different political views than myself it doesn’t matter because we have shared valuable positive time together and every time they look at one of my photographs they won’t remember our differences, they will remember our commonalities, as will I.
I’ve always been a hobbyist photographer taking pictures of my young children and friends children. As a high school teacher, I was asked to photograph the head shots from the school play and it was one of the most rewarding experiences. Our teens today struggle with so much and it was such a reward to me to let them see how truly beautiful they are inside and out.
I’m looking forward to taking the head shots for the musical in the next couple weeks.
When I’m behind the camera, I’m in a state of creating. I’m concentrating on my subject. I’m not thinking about anything extra that might normally be causing stress. I never want the photo session to end! After a photo session I feel fulfilled and happy! I’m looking forward to WPPI and surrounding myself with other photographers that share my same passion!
Thank you for all the on lice workshops you do. They are always fun to view as well as informative. Wish I was out there to thank you in person. And, as we all say in the South, safe travels home at the end.
I recently took up photography about a year ago. Due to my interest, my 12 year old son has become extremely interested as well. He has dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dysnomia which makes expressing himself challenging at times. Photography has allowed him to express who he is to the world. Because he likes photography, the school has asked him to be a yearbook photographer, which allows a naturally shy kid a chance to interact with his peers.
He has been asking for his own camera, but due to the cost we haven’t been able to purchase one for him yet.
Hi Tom! You are a winner! Please send an email to [email protected] to receive your redemption code.
Thank you for the WPPI workup! I look forward to seeing you speak and possibly even meeting you at WPPI! As our album vendor, the Nations booth is always one I like to stop and visit. Definitely looking forward to this year’s WPPI in just a few days!
Love Adorama and love following Tamara’s work!
Photography is about relationships. My work tends to focus on my/our relationship with the environment. Capturing images of the natural world has helped me to gain a better appreciation for it and I have shared this passion and love with others in my personal life, as well as with thousands of students I have taught over the years, perhaps especially those in classes on environmental ethics and aesthetics. I hope that I have helped to deepen an appreciation of the environment, art, and photography in particular. Thank you for providing this opportunity for reflection on why we do what we do.
Photography makes temporal things, lifetime memories.
Photography helps the world see things from the perspective of another person. The world would be a better place if we all just stopped and listened (or viewed) each other’s difference perspectives.
Hi Joanna! You are a winner! Please send an email to [email protected] to receive your redemption code.
Photography makes a positive difference in my life because I like to see the best in people, and then try to capture than in my images. When everything online is so negative, it’s SO REFRESHING to carve out a space for positivity! Cheers!
Creativity and photography for me are my way of sharing love and how I see and feel about the world with others. I’ve been in dark places when my job was not creative in nature. Creativity and art feed my soul.
Hi, Tamara! Can’t wait to see you and the Adorama folks this week at WPPI! It’s always so much fun. 😀
Photography has been a part of my life since the 1980’s and it has brought so much positivity to my life but the most important thing it has done is brought my daughter and I closer together! She took up photography a few years ago and now we get to spend precious time together chatting about the tools of the trade and teaching each other photography tips. The time that my daughter and I get to spend together talking about our photography passion is creating moments and memories she and I will never forget. I love that I am able to spread my photography knowledge to my daughter and then in turn she can share her art with others. Photography has the power to build up positive relationships and it has done just that for me!