At the beginning of March I'm heading to Vegas for WPPI - the largest convention and trade show in the world for professional photographers. This is my 6th trip to WPPI and I have to say it's gotten better every time.

I'd love to hear from you in the comments if you're planning on being there! It would be fun to connect face to face while we're there! I'll be in Vegas from Sunday evening through Wednesday evening. I will be speaking on Wednesday from 3:00-4:30pm on Developing a Successful Associate Photographer Program. I would love to see you there and I hope you stop by and say hi afterwards if you attend!
It is SUCH a huge honor to be speaking for the second year in a row among such an amazing line-up of speakers. An honor AND some serious pressure!
ShootDotEdit put together an AMAZING Show Guide with helpful info on speakers, parties & trade show vendors to check out. You can download it here.
And here are a few tips for any of you first-timers out there:

1. Pace yourself. It's overwhelming. There's SO much to do and so many choices. You can't possibly do it all. Pick your speakers wisely (and don't feel bad walking out if they don't deliver in the first half of the presentation) and then prioritize the trade show and networking. To me those are the strong points of WPPI.

2. Go into the trade show with goals in mind. What are your goals for this year? To start offering albums? Go in and make a bee-line for the album company booths. Make a few goals and stick to them.

3. Quality over quantity. With 13,000 photographers in attendance, networking can be overwhelming. Instead of trying to meet as many people as possible and attend all the parties, try to invest in a few key relationships. Meeting new people is great but developing quality relationships is better.

4. If you are staying with roommates, bring earplugs. Snoring is guaranteed.


Can't wait to see you there!
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