It’s easy to overdo yourself when you attend WPPI. There’s just so much going on simultaneously. With multiple Platform classes ongoing and a huge trade show to visit, I constantly felt that there was not enough time to do it all.
(Read part 1 of my WPPI experience)
One of the things I managed to do was a trash the dress photo shoot with other photographers around the Vegas strip. Here are a few shots from that session. I’ll be putting up other images later. [updated: view the photos from the Trash the Dress session here]
After a few days of rushing for classes, I realized that it’s best I choose my classes wisely, and be there really really early for popular speakers!
I was disappointed when I couldn’t get into Jasmine Star’s Platform class even after queuing for 45 minutes. Good thing was that the organizers for WPPI had a back up plan, and those that missed out, heard her speak the next day! And what a blessing it is, when I won a shootsac during her session!
Here’s me with Jasmine and her husband JD (taken at different times!)
Jasmine Star inspires me to dream big, to believe that anyone can succeed… after multiple failures. We all have failures in life, but as long as we fail forward, we’re moving in the right direction.
In her first year of shooting weddings, she shot 3 weddings, and then the next year, 37 weddings! And all this without paying for marketing! She communicated who she was through her blog, and when people saw that, they were attracted to her. Use every opportunity to be ME.
She cares for people around her, and completely believes in helping others, eg. vendors. The question we should ask ourselves as photographers is, “What can I do for others? To help others?”
Kevin Kubota, in his Platform class, brought up a very important question that we all need to answer:
It makes me think… what are my goals in life? Can I quantify them? Or is success some vague concept in my head that seems unachievable? How would I know if I have reached there?
The other 2 key speakers who influenced me a lot in WPPI 2010 are Marcus Bell and Dane Sanders. Marcus showed the class a very touching video / photo slideshow and shared his passion in capturing moments for his clients. I was moved to tears when I saw the video.
The bridal couple came up with this surprise for their parents, who had been married for about 50 years. The video showed old footage of their parent’s own wedding, their moments in life when they had a newborn, intercutting with footage from their child’s wedding day, years later. The expression on the parent’s face as they watched and reminisced old days and how far they have come was so moving.
It just reaffirms my belief that what I do is so important. I am here as a photographer to capture bits of history in people’s lives, whether it is the moment they say their vows to one another, or when a mother feels her child in her tummy kicking, or when a family demonstrates their love to each other.
Years from now, I want someone to look through the images that I have taken, and remember… not me, the photographer, but the feeling they had when that image was made.
Which, at the end of the day, comes back to that question of “What will success look like to you?”
Dane Sanders, author of the book, Fast Track Photographer, shared with us this quote. I love it.
I am looking forward to this journey of life, and what it holds for me.
On the last night of WPPI, we celebrated the work of many talented photographers from around the world. Awards were given out to the winners of the 16 x 20 print competition, and also International Prints of the year award for various categories.
I am so proud to say that Asian photographers are rising and making a mark internationally. Louis Pang won the International Portrait Print of the Year award, and CM Leung won 2 International Print of the Year Awards, not to mention many mentions of accolades of excellence! That is so exciting! Congratulations to the both of you!
Here’s a group photo of the Malaysian ‘contingent’. Jenny had left Vegas earlier in the day. Glad to share all these exciting moments with you guys!
Read about Cliff Mautner’s Plus Class here.
