At the end of February in Las Vegas was WPPI 2020, and I had the chance to check out some new software, some new hardware, to make some new friends, and meet up with some old friends. If you have never been to WPPI, it’s a conference in Las Vegas focusing on wedding & portrait photography. Before you say something like “I don’t do weddings or portraits” let me explain. While it focuses on those two specialties, the conference and expo offer something for virtually any photographer. I’m a concert photographer and yet I always learn something to improve the band portraits or promo images I make, not to mention I always look for ways to improve my use of flash. The other big part of a conference like this is the social aspect. It was that social part that helped to make this WPPI the best I have attended.
WPPI is held at Mandalay Bay, and it’s a great venue for a number of reasons. The classes, workshops, and photowalks cover a variety of subjects, from wedding, to posing, lighting, and business practices. This conference gets a great selection of instructors, and in past years there were some things that I was not a fan of, but this year was pretty solid. When I went into Peter Hurley‘s class I was expecting to stay for just a little bit to audit the class, but I ended up staying for the whole class. I had seen Peter present a number of times at places like Photoshop World, and I thought I knew what to expect, but I was wrong. This workshop was very in depth, with amazing tips, advice, and immediately usable techniques. Plus, Peter shared a number of special WPPI deals on some of the gear he uses. My favorite part was that he stressed that you can shoot headshots without buying the same gear as he uses. So often I see instructors just push their gear, but here I saw Peter really trying to help the audience, regardless of their gear or budget. I kinda want to sit through this class again.
As always with these kind of shows, some of the best presentations are on the expo floor. Every major vendor has speakers, from Canon to Nikon, to Westcott and more. Peter Hurley also did a fantastic presentation at the Canon booth, along with Canon Explorers of Light Lindsay Adler, Joel Grimes, wedding photographers Bob and Dawn Davis and more. I could spend every day just walking around the expo.
This year’s Expo felt smaller, and with the wide aisles it felt emptier. For me that made the conference more comfortable, but I can see that some vendors may not have liked it. The wide aisles meant that people just walked by the booths, when they may have stopped if the aisles were narrower. The vendor selection was varied enough, but not as wide as past years.
As I mentioned above, the best part of any conference is the networking, and WPPI is no exception. I had the opportunity to run into a number of old friends, hang out with some great talent, and make new friends. If for no other reason go to WPPI for the social aspect. I have known Sharky James of the PetaPixel Podcast and Sharky’s Show for years, but WPPI this year was our first meeting. Same with Skip Cohen of Skip Cohen University. Skip does a few podcasts too, like Beyond Technique and Mind Your Own Business on the Photofocus network. I was also introduced to Erin Holmstead, and wow…. her work is awesome, plus she writes for Photofocus. I even ran into Brett Stanley, who was a guest on the show a few years ago. I even ran into the man himself, Scott Kelby at the Rocky Nook booth.
This year I spent most of my time at the Canon booth chatting about the new EOS R, the EOS 1DX mk ii, and the recently announced R5. Unfortunately the R5 – a body I think I will want – was locked up under glass. Still, meeting Lindsay Adler, Joel Grimes, Peter Hurley, Terrell Lloyd, Bob and Dawn Davis, Roberto Valenzuela, Peter Read Miller, and more made the time well worth it. It’s interesting to see how these pros see the current line of products.
Join me on this special Behind the Shot as I look back at the 2020 WPPI Conference and Expo, and talk to a few of the attendees.
