{"id":3290,"date":"2015-02-25T18:12:24","date_gmt":"2015-02-25T23:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cmphotography.com\/blog\/?p=3290"},"modified":"2015-02-25T20:06:41","modified_gmt":"2015-02-26T01:06:41","slug":"my-brief-guide-to-the-wppi-international-convention-in-las-vegas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cmphotography.com\/blog\/my-brief-guide-to-the-wppi-international-convention-in-las-vegas\/","title":{"rendered":"My Brief Guide to the WPPI International Convention in Las Vegas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cliff_Mautner_WPPI\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Nikon<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s that time if year. The Wedding and Portrait Photographer\u2019s International convention begins this weekend, and 10-15K wedding photographers from around the world will converge on Las Vegas for a week of education, information, and yep, a little bit of partying. This will be my 12th consecutive year attending WPPI, and my 11th consecutive year as a presenter. I\u2019ve forged some of my closest friendships, and I also met my wife through WPPI as well. it\u2019s given me so much, and I feel as though I can\u2019t give enough back. I\u2019ve been fortunate enough to have won a Grand award for Photojournalism, named the 2012 WPPI photographer of the year, and I received the 2014 Lifetime Achievement award. That\u2019s an embarrassment of riches, and I\u2019m incredibly grateful.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a wedding or portrait photographer, or an enthusiast that wants to learn more about the craft, the WPPI convention is a great place to start. It also boasts the single largest photography trade show in the U.S. each year. Whether it\u2019s a camera company- preferably Nikon :-) or an album company, you\u2019ll be able to connect with nearly every company in the photo world.<\/p>\n

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MY schedule is pretty hectic, but not as much as in the years past:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Platform Class on Mastering Light @6:30pm Tuesday Evening in Rooms 309\/310 – You may want to Pre-Board<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nikon School Theatre Monday @10:15am and Wednesday @1pm<\/strong><\/p>\n

WPPI\/KelbyOne Theatre Monday @12:30pm and Tuesday @12:00pm<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pocketwizards booth-Monday and Tuesday @12:30<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now, as far as education goes, there\u2019s a potpourri of opportunity. Make a plan. Figure out what your goals are, and then view the seminar schedule. Below, I\u2019ve made a list of events that I think would be worthwhile. Many of the master classes have been sold out, but you can still pre-board for platform classes for just about everyone. Please understand that I know I\u2019m leaving some people out, and I apologize in advance. I just wanted to give a quick guide to those who might want some advice. Here are a few \u201cDON’T MISS\u201d events.<\/p>\n

The 16×20 awards of excellence print and album competition judging:<\/strong>
\nThis might be the most educational element of the entire convention. On Saturday and Sunday, some of the most respected and accomplished wedding and portrait photographers in the world will be reviewing thousands of print entries in various categories. Every image will have some commentary from at least one judge, and constructive criticism will be provided along the way. I\u2019ve learn an enormous amount from attending for a few years, and I\u2019ve learned even more by judging for the past several years as well. It\u2019s truly worth attending, and I guarantee you\u2019ll learn something. With regard to the seminars below, some of the times overlap, but that\u2019s the nature of the convention. Do your due diligence to see what\u2019s best for you. I haven\u2019t noted any Master Classes since I\u2019m pretty sure many are sold out, but check to make sure\u2026Below is a list of what I would do if I had the time.<\/p>\n

Tradeshow presentations:<\/strong>
\nThroughout the tradeshow, you\u2019ll find some truly incredible speakers present presentations for FREE on the tradeshow floor. I may be a bit biased, but the Nikon School Theatre will have some great presentations. I\u2019ll be speaking there, but so will the iconic Joe McNally. He\u2019s always educational AND entertaining. My lovely and more talented wife, Susan Stripling will also be presenting along with some other excellent Nikon photographers. Susan\u2019s going to be demonstrating how she shoots her amazing details live on stage. As you stroll both rooms at the tradeshow, you\u2019ll stumble upon some great presentations that you\u2019d never expect. There\u2019s some great info at many of these.<\/p>\n

Platform Highlights and Photowalks:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Duh, Cliff Mautner\u2019s Platform class. Yes, self serving, but I hope you attend my platform presentation on Mastering Light on Tuesday evening at 6:30. You may need to pre-board. I promise some great information and some good laughs as well.<\/p>\n

Joe McNally\u2019s keynote presentation. Nikon Ambassador, great educator, and all around great guy. He\u2019s one of my photographic heroes, and I assure you that Joe will provide information that will transcend the scope of wedding and portrait photography. His talent and experience have taken nearly everywhere in the world. Joe\u2019s keynote promises to inspire and inform. Don\u2019t miss this.<\/p>\n

Parker Pfister\u2019s platform class. Wednesday at 8:30. Ok. It\u2019s Wednesday at 8:30. You’re tired, burnt out from partying, but if you still want to learn something GET UP AND GO SEE PARKER! He happens to be My favorite photographer in the world, and someone who inspires me to no end. His creativity will haunt you, and his prolific body of work will blow your mind.<\/p>\n

Rob Greer\u2019s Platform class on SEO Strategies Monday at 4pm. Rob is a NO B.S. SEO genius. He\u2019s the most knowledgeable individual on SEO for photographers out there. His information WILL boost your business. Creator of Good Good Gallery websites for photographers, he\u2019ll share incredibly valuable information about SEO. Rob did my new site, and I\u2019ve already seen results within ONE WEEK.<\/p>\n

Susan Stripling\u2019s platform class Tuesday morning 8:30. What can I say?\u00a0 She\u2019s my wife. She\u2019s more talented, prettier, and she will blow you away with phenomenal information. She\u2019s a great presenter, and there\u2019s no fluff. She\u2019s got a phenomenal eye, and her class is all about developing your Unique eye. Go there. Learn something! She inspires me.<\/p>\n

Tony Corbell\u2019s photo walk. I\u2019m not sure if this is sold out, but there are few photographers in the world with as much lighting knowledge as Tony Corbell. His photo walk is Monday night. Just do it if it\u2019s not sold out.<\/p>\n

Jerry Ghionis\u2019s platform class. It\u2019s Jerry. It\u2019s awesome. It\u2019s original. It\u2019s hilarious. It\u2019s emotional. Jerry may be the best presenter I\u2019ve ever seen. There is only one Jerry, and he never disappoints. 8:30am Monday morning. Get your ass up and go.<\/p>\n

David and Luke Edmonson\u2019s photowalk. Not sure if this is sold out, but these men are the real deal. They\u2019re images are full of emotion and imagination. They also might be the classiest people in the industry. Monday 6:30<\/p>\n

Christian Lalond’s Platform Class. This Canadian pro is one of the top commercial shooters in North America, and he\u2019s also one of the most talented. His processing is flawless, and he demonstrates it LIVE in his platform class on Monday at 6:30<\/p>\n

Kevin Jairaj\u2019s photo walk. This guy defines versatility. He\u2019s a great wedding shooter, portrait shooter, and sports shooter. If his walk isn\u2019t sold out, it should be.<\/p>\n

Ryan Schembri has been shooting since he was a baby. It shows. Go see him Sunday at 9am for his platform class.<\/p>\n

Jason Groupp\u2019s rising stars platform. Wanna see some new, talented blood? Come to this seminar at 4pm on Monday and get a glimpse of those who will shape the industry moving forward.<\/p>\n

Kevin Kubota’s Platform Class Monday morning at 8:30. Kevin should know something about successful businesses, and he talks about it in this platform class. He\u2019s one of the very best presenters in the industry, and I promise you\u2019ll learn something.<\/p>\n

Jennifer Hudson\u2019s Platform Class. Ok. This woman is the single most creative portraitist that I can think of. I\u2019m not joking. I look at her images with my jaw wide open. I would love to take a workshop with Jennifer. I\u2019ve never actually met her formally, but she is one of my very favorite photographers in the world. Her platform class on conceptual portraiture should be terrific. Sunday at 3pm. I\u2019m pissed that I\u2019ll be judging, but maybe I can sneak in for a few while on a break.<\/p>\n

Kelly Brown\u2019s Platform Class. Sunday at 3pm. I don\u2019t know Kelly, but I can tell you that her images were some of the most powerful I saw at last years print competition. She\u2019s giving a class on newborn photography.<\/p>\n

RC Concepcion\u2019s photo walk tuesday 8:30 am. I love RC. I love his passion, and I love how he teaches. A photo walk with RC will be educational, productive, and hilarious. He\u2019s one of the smartest men I know. Do it!<\/p>\n

Justine Ungaro\u2019s platform Class Tuesday 4pm. Justine is giving a class on \u201cstarting over in a new market\u201d. Justine went from D.C. to L.A. and had to start over. She did it. Great information here.<\/p>\n

Roberto Valenzuela\u2019s platform class Monday at 4pm. Roberto is one of the most articulate educators out there. He knows how to get his message across with passion, and fantastic information is always provided. His book on posing is the single best posing guide ever produced, IMHO, and I think his class will be a winner. Go.<\/p>\n

Mike Allenbach and Jaleel King’s Platform class These are my homies. They\u2019re Philly boys with a great story to tell. Mike is an expert at creating buzz for your biz, and Jaleel is one of the most inspiring individuals I\u2019ve ever met. Sunday at 9am.<\/p>\n

Photo walk with CM Leung at 8:30am Wednesday. I have never met this man, but his work is stellar. I\u2019d be interested in seeing how he sees. I can\u2019t give you more that that since I\u2019ve never seen him speak. It\u2019s certainly worth a look!<\/p>\n

Peter Hurley\u2019s platform class on Illuminating the face. I love Peter and his style of teaching. He\u2019s high energy, and his information is terrific. He\u2019s made a living at this for a while, and he\u2019s one of the most sought after shooters for head shots in the entire industry. He KNOWS his stuff. Monday at 8:30 am<\/p>\n

Julianne Kost Platform class Sunday at 12pm. NOBODY teaches photoshop the way Julianne does. She\u2019s a brilliant presenter, and she puts complex PS lessons into easy to understand terminology. Even I understand half the things she says:-) If you want some PS and LR help, go see her.<\/p>\n

Yervant Zanazanian\u2019s platform class Sunday at 3pm. Why? Because it\u2019s Yervant. He is coming from Australia to show us his patented imagery, and there are few photographers who\u2019ve had a bigger influence on a generation of wedding photographers than Yervant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  It\u2019s that time if year. The Wedding and Portrait Photographer\u2019s International convention begins this weekend, and 10-15K wedding photographers from around the world will converge on Las Vegas for a week of education, information, and yep, a little bit of partying. This will be my 12th consecutive year attending WPPI, and my 11th consecutive […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3291,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-photographers","category-weddings","post_format-post-format-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cmphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cmphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cmphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cmphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cmphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3290"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/cmphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3290\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3304,"href":"https:\/\/cmphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3290\/revisions\/3304"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cmphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cmphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cmphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cmphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}