2015 Wedding and Portrait Photographers Conference

Each March I make it a habit of leaving the cold climes of Michigan to enjoy some warmth and sun. My destination is the WPPI Conference in sin city, Las Vegas.

 

From its name you can easily guess that the WPPI Conference is for photographers who are involved with weddings and portraits. WPPI is mainly a learning experience for the 12,500+ participants. This year they attended more than 200 seminars, classes, demonstrations and photo walks taught by 150 expert speakers. Among many of the photographer-instructors were: Bambi Cantrell, Roberto Valenzuela, Julieanne Kost, Jerry Ghionis, Tamara Lackey, Clay Blackmore, Lindsay Adler, Bob Davis, Bruce Dorn, Gary Fong and Kevin Kubota. Subject matter included practical shooting techniques, posing, lighting, equipment, accessories on the technical end to marketing, advertising, pricing, client retention on the business end. The WPPI show a staple in the photo industry – this was its 35th anniversary. It’s the premier show of its kind drawing photographers from 60 different countries.

Another side of WPPI is its huge 75,000 square foot Expo where some 275 vendors demonstrate and sell their newest equipment, accessories, supplies, software and services.

As you walk around the exhibit hall you’ll see live demo shoots, discussions and displays.

 

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panel discussion at Nikon	entertainment at Plustek lighting
Bambi Cantrell	lining up to speak to Sony reps

 
To join the WPPI or learn more about the 2016 WPPI conference and expo, pleae visit WPPI Online site.

 
Please stay tuned for several upcoming articles about equipment and accessories that I reviewed at this year’s expo.

 

 
Written by Arnie Lee

 

 

 

 

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Sometimes it pays to move in close

 

For portraits, conventional composition has you surrounding your main subject with a “border” – space around the face

For a more intimate look at your subject, throw away the rulebook!

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In this photo, the young girl’s face has an interesting look but the background is slightly distracting.	Here we’ve moved closer to subject, eliminated the background and keyed in on her eyes and her giant smile.
By including the yard in this photo, we’ve caught this young lady in action but lost the emphasis of her face.	Again, by moving in close (or zooming in) we’ve changed the feel from an action shot to a portrait.

 

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By simply minimizing or eliminating the border, you’ll key in on the all important eyes and face of your subject. The next time you’re shooting faces, try filling the frame.

 

 

Written by Arnie Lee

 

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Adding Action to Portraits

 

As a grandfather with a camera, I’m very often snapping away when the grandchildren are nearby. So it shouldn’t be surprising that I have hundreds (maybe thousands) of photos of these kids in my collection.

Yesterday, three of them were out playing in our backyard. Here’s a few snapshots that I took. I’m a big fan of trying to incorporate action into these portraits. You be the judge of whether the action helps to make the picture.

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My favorites are the candids. These are shots where the subject is totally unaware. When they’re preoccupied with having a fun experience, they may not know that you’re “spying” with your camera.
Obviously this is not a candid. Eden knows that I’m taking her photo	But here she is unaware that I’m snapping away
When it’s not possible to be totally candid you can use a semi-posed action shot. The action helps to avoid a face that’s preoccupied with the picturetaker.
This full length portrait of Logan shows little motion	Here the angle of the shot emphasizes his action on the slide
With a little patience, you can turn a static shot into a live action photo. A few minutes after taking the photo on the left below, she was being doing calisthenics – making the photo on the right much more exciting.
Here Ezra is clutching the wooden post that’s supporting the swing set	Here she’s showing me the agility that I wish I could still muster.

 

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While each of the left-hand photos are OK, I’ve learned that adding a little action to the mix can turn my snapshots into real “keepers”.

Do you agree?

 

 

Written by Arnie Lee

 

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