For those of you who wondered where I up and dissapeared to, and even for those of you who didn’t (that’s most of you, right?) I spent most of last week in Las Vegas cramming my little right-sided brain with tons and tons of information. Really? In Vegas?

No, no….I didn’t just learn how to lose money..(though I did learn that too, and not by gambling but MAN…eating in Vegas is PRICEY)

Anyway… I spent last week attending the WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) annual conference. It definitely can be said that its one of the industries best gatherings of photography  masters and novices alike, totalling about 14,000 photographers in attendance! You spend your days walking around the trade show, going on shooting excursions, attending classes led by top wedding and portrait photographers around the globe, and even squeezing in some partying in here and there!! ( I didn’t get to go do any shooting myself, but check out local photographer Leo Druker who has some amazing shots up from the 4 shooting workshops he attended)

My brain is so full of info that I have 22 pages of notes, and about 14 different ‘What Erin should do in the next year’ lists regarding this lil ole business of mine. But I have to say, the best thing about my time at WPPI was that I didn’t just learn facts and figures and how to be a better photographer….(but of course I did) more so…I feel like I learned a little bit more about how I can be a better person, a better asset to my community, a better ME.

And that is priceless!

Here’s a little bit about my time in Vegas at WPPI………….Welcome to WPPI!

A great part of the trip was getting to meet and talk to a bunch of the photographers I admire and follow, some who i already knew and some who I was anxiosu to meet! I can’t possibly write about even sinle highlight of the conference, but here’s just a few!

If any bride, wedding photographer, or female photographer period. hasn’t heard of Jessica Claire, well….you are living under a rock! Not only is she one of Orange Counties most sought after wedding photographers, but she’s also the co-creator of one of the best camera/lens bags on the market (and most stylish of course too!). I got to stop and say hi to her for a few minutes at her ShootSac booth:

And Here’s Jessica herself (shes the one smiling):

Then I got to stop over at Kelly Moore‘s booth. Again Not only is Kelly an amazing photographer but she too has taken the common complaint of us girl photographers ‘Why aren’t their any cute camera bags that are actually functional but don’t make me look like a total NERD’ and turned it into a wonderful and stylish product: The Kelly Moore Bag. And did I mention she’s also super nice? Here she is showing people the bags and all their features:

Next I went over to say hi to Tony Bisson from Laguna Albums. I actually used to freelance some album design work for Laguna Albums…and Tony and I know each other from a few years back. He too is a Delaware Native. Thankfully we’ve both moved to better ground though (Sorry Delaware!) I got a picture of the two of us, and then a picture of Tony giving his good adivce on excellent album design. (It’s not as easy as it looks!)

Last but not least by any means is when I got to talk for a minute with the ever amazing Jesh De Rox. Jesh is truly an inspiration. His photography of course is stunning, but more so even than that he himself is just about one of the most geniune people you will ever meet. He makes you think about things you would never think about, and pushes people to grow their business out of love, not money….nor the love of money haha….but he really is a phenominal asset to the photography community. I also had had the pleasure of attending his jam packed 8am 2 hour long class the night after a party (yeesh) and I have to say I am SO glad I dragged myself out of bed. I truly enjoyed every person I heard speak throughout the week, but if I had to choose a favorite it would be Jesh! I was excited to get a picture with him!

I’ll close this post with a precursor to the next posts….as I have a lot to share from my trip! I closed out the week in Southern California where Stefan lives, only a 3.5 hour drive from glitzy Vegas. Stefan had been my companion throughout WPPI, and so reluctant as I was to leave the convention Wednesday afternoon…we got out in time to catch the sun setting over the desert and I got this image which I was pretty excited about (and Stefan was jealous of…snicker)

So stay tuned for more posts on the rest of my trip, including California Fields and some new portraits of me and Stefan, as well as the San Diego Zoo!!