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petapixel (unofficial)Will Photo and Video Conventions Survive?
I'm photographer Jay P. Morgan of The Slanted Lens, and in this video and article, I'm going to look at photo conferences, photo/video conferences. Are they dead? Are they going to happen this year? Is it kind of the nail in the coffin for conferences? Because they were sliding before. Where exactly are they at? What’s going to happen and what can you expect coming in 2021 and 2022?
I just went to WPPI, and it was a lot of fun to be there. It was great to be with other photographers again, to be able to sit in the classes to hear people talk about their businesses, show their work, and really teach photography principles. But it was so small. They had only about under 4,000 people that registered and about 3,000 people actually picked up their badges (at least, that's what I heard). So it was a very small show.
The conference was lacking so many players. Sony wasn’t there. Nikon wasn’t there. Just a whole group of people that didn’t come.
So you might think, “Well, conferences are dead. There’s no place for them any longer.” I don’t believe that’s the case. I think we’re in a building process here. They had taken a year and a half off because of COVID, so this conference came at a time when most people aren’t used to having WPPI -- it became a reset conference. And I think if you look at it in that way, I think it’s going to grow and be back on track in the future.
Why should you go to a conference? I think there’s a lot of great reasons.
1. You get information at conferences that is very difficult to get anywhere else.
How often do photographers open their doors and allow you to look at their business practices and understand exactly their process? Show their process, teach, and mentor. You don’t really get that in any other place except for clubs and conferences, the kinds of places that bring photographers together and allow you to be able to work together and learn together. And I think because of that it’s a really valuable experience to have.
**2. There’s nothing like a hands-on to grab something and to be able to hold it.
To use the camera, to understand it, and to be able to get a sense of whether it’s going to work for you or not. And I think all this kind of equipment is really about that. What innovation is out there? What are the cameras that are coming out? What do you want to test and hold and see and figure out? And I think that’s one of the reasons conferences are so important.
But really the main one for me is #1, a kind of mentoring at a distance. People are teaching their process and talking about what they do. And I think that is really the foundation for helping you to grow in your business and be able to get new ideas to get excited again. We all become a little stale sometimes and it’s hard for us to keep going. But conferences give us a little jolt, a little heart pump to keep you going.
So here are some of the big conferences:
Shutterfest
We just had Shutterfest on September 8th-10th. Shutterfest is a great conference. It’s a small intimate conference in a great location in St. Louis -- the building is just so fun to shoot in. And people go there to shoot. They have models. You can go down and check out a model and go shoot.
And people bring their gear. They bring their strobes and they come to shoot, and that’s what made that conference so really enjoyable. You have great speakers, you have a great location, and you get to shoot.
Cine Gear Expo
Next, we have Cine Gear Expo in Los Angeles, which has been a favorite show of mine for years. It has always been at the Paramount backlot, but this year it’s going to be at the LA convention center, which is unfortunate because the whole vibe of that show was outside at the lot, the place where so many famous incredible movies were made.
So many actors walked that lot and those buildings. But the expo will still have vendors and speakers and people coming together to talk about the industry and to be able to share their thoughts and views on what’s happening in the market. I think that’s really important.
PHOTOPLUS (Cancelled)
Going on from there, we have PHOTOPLUS, which had been scheduled for September 30th–October 2nd in New York City in the Javits Center. They have gotten rid of all their education, which is a little unfortunate -- I feel like that really was the backbone of PHOTOPLUS. The strength of that show was you got to hear speakers in a lot of commercial applications, and it’s really a trade show.
It’s a three-day trade show that brings in a lot of great vendors. What has happened is, because that education is not out in the different lecture halls, all the vendors brought that education onto the trade show floor and you’ve got great speakers in all the different booths. They and the vendors create a great vibe.
NAB (Cancelled)
Moving on from that, we have NAB October 9th – 13th. I predict that NAB will bounce back to being a very strong show. We know NAB has been great in the past. We want it to be great in the future, and I think vendors are going to show up and they’re going to make it happen. And I think if we will come and support it, it’ll be a great show again one day.
WPPI
Going into the new year, another is WPPI in February.
ImagingUSA
We also have ImagingUSA, which going to be in Washington DC from January 16 to 18. I have not been to ImagingUSA, but it's something I’d like to do next year just to be able to see exactly how that shows going and what’s going to happen there. If you’re on the East Coast, that’s a great show to take in near Washington DC.
There are my thoughts on photo conferences. Are they dead? I don’t think so. I think they’re going to continue.
I think they may pare down, and I think a lot of them may go to a hybrid where you are in person but they also have a lot of online Zoom classes that are shared afterward. They’ve been trying this for a long time, trying to get you to buy the classes afterward or to buy a package.
I wish they would do that, offer a package where you spend X number of dollars. For an extra 100 bucks, you get all the classes as Zoom classes or all of them as recorded video classes you can go back and look at because there’s always great information there.
Grab your face mask and go to a conference. You’ll have a great time.
About the author : Jay P. Morgan is a commercial photographer with over two decades of experience in the industry. He teaches photography through his company, The Slanted Lens, which runs a popular YouTube channel. This article was also published here.
#educational #cinegear #imagingusa #jaypmorgan #nab #photoconferences #photographyshows #photoplus #photoshows #shutterfest #wppi
diyphotography (unofficial)Will photo & video trade shows and conventions survive COVID-19?
#news #cinegear #jaypmorgan #nab #photoplus #photoplusexpo #ppe #tradeshow #wppi
Will photo & video trade shows and conventions survive COVID-19? - DIY Photography
Photography and video conferences. Are they dead? Are they going to happen this year? Is it kind of the nail in the coffin for conferences? Because they were sliding before. Where exactly are they at? What’s going to happen and what can you expect coming in 2021 and 2022? We just went to WPPI. WPPI […]
PhotoPlus Canceled Amid Travel Restrictions and COVID-19 Concerns
PhotoPlus has announced that its in-person event has been canceled for the second straight year amid travel restrictions and concerns over the continuing spread of COVID-19.
In a press release, the company states that the in-person show that was originally slated for September 30 through October 2 has been canceled until 2022. The PhotoPlus show is part of Emerald Expo’s photo group comprised of Rangefinder, WPPI, The Wedding School, Sue Bryce Education, and The Portrait Masters.
The company cites a growing concern related to the COVID-19 virus and its variants that would prevent many attendees and exhibitors from gathering at the Javits Center in New York, the annual home of the large photography conference. Emerald says that the show generally will play host to people from 70 countries from around the world and issues with the virus's transmission would make such a gathering unsafe.
“While the decision to cancel is a disappointing one, we recognize the extreme demands that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on establishments, and particularly small businesses, in this industry,” Emerald Expo writes. “It is of the utmost importance to our entire team that we deliver an incredible event experience to our attendees when we are once again able to meet in person. Our team is already laying plans for a revamped and revitalized PhotoPlus, all the while bringing back your favorite brands, the energy you expect from a live event, and exciting new elements.”
PhotoPlus was forced to cancel its 2020 show last August as the initial onset of the pandemic caused global travel restrictions and citywide lockdowns in the United States. Emerald Expo pivoted the show fully online as a virtual experience and this year expanded on the platform, renaming it PhotoPlus Learning Lens. The company plans to continue to add content to that platform, but it did not say if it will play host to some kind of PhotoPlus virtual replacement this year as it did last year.
Show Director Joe Kowalsky stated that the PhotoPlus team is already working to delivering a show in 2022, and says that it “is poised to provide greater value to our audience than we ever had before, while being given the opportunity to imagine a new dynamic experience reflective of what visual storytelling is today.”
#culture #news #2021 #canceled #covid19 #covid19pandemic #photoplus #rangefinder #tradeshow #wppi
Emerald Holding, Owner of WPPI and PPE, Acquires The Wedding School
Emerald Holding, the parent company that owns both the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) and the Photoplus Expo (PPE) has announced that it has acquired The Wedding School, an online wedding photography education platform.
The Wedding School was founded by photographer and educator Susan Stripling. After she found success in online teaching through Creative Live, Stripling started her own platform in 2016 with the same team that launched Sue Bryce Education and The Portrait Masters -- two other platforms recently acquired by Emerald. It now joins a large lineup of brands as part of an expansion from the historically in-person business model into online education.
Emerald Holding has stated that Stripling will remain involved in the business as a consultant and will "continue to draw on her real-world experiences to contribute to the growth of The Wedding School."
“Running a business is a lot,” says Stripling. “And as all wedding photographers know, it’s not just about taking pictures at weddings. It’s meetings and editing, emails and emails and emails. The photography takes up only about 10 percent of what we do! Running The Wedding School was similar, she says, and the acquisition by Emerald “means that we can all do what we do best. I can go back to my first love: content creation and production. As a consultant I can create and find new instructors, produce new classes, delve deeper into community support, and put all of my efforts and endeavors behind that.”
Within the last four months, Emerald Holdings has purchased the top three online education platforms for the wedding and portrait industry, positioning itself to cleanly pivot to digital, or at least offer an even experience between online and in-person.
From a business perspective, these recent acquisitions makesa lot of sense. The organization has historically relied entirely on in-person events, and the onset and continued issues brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have caused substantial damage to any industry that is reliant on in-person attendance. Despite Sony's choice to pull out from the show last minute due to concerns about the delta variant of the coronavirus, WPPI is set to go as planned this week in Las Vegas.
Emerald's pivot away from full reliance on in-person events did take place at last year's Photoplus when the show went fully digital. It's likely that Emerald recognized that its ability to transition to digital across all its properties and with education would be far faster and more sustainable if it were to purchase outlets rather than try and strike out on its own. With three mammoth education platforms under it now, the company is set to not only navigate the uncertain waters of a current and post-pandemic world, but flourish in it.
#culture #industry #news #education #emeraldexpo #emeraldholdings #onlineeducation #photoplus #portraits #suebryceeducation #theportraitmasters #theweddingschool #tradeshows #weddings #wppi
Sony Pulls Out: WPPI’s Return Shaky Amid COVID Resurgence
Just one week after Sony joined WPPI's list of exhibitors for this year's 2021 show, the company has announced that it will not be attending this year. The move caps widespread concern from would-be attendees and reports of multiple speakers and instructors canceling plans to attend.
WPPI is scheduled to take place from August 15 through the 19 at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.
A Sony representative confirmed to PetaPixel that the company would be withdrawing from WPPI and all tradeshows for the foreseeable future in order to protect the health and safety of its staff.
Sony Electronics has been closely monitoring the evolving situation of the COVID-19 Delta variant. As a result of the unprecedented and unexpected circumstances, we’ve made the difficult decision that we will not be participating in-person at this year’s WPPI Expo.As the world continues to grapple with the pandemic and businesses adopt digital alternatives and online opportunities to prevent the spread of the virus, Sony Electronics will continue to communicate with our customers and partners in ways that allow us to safely deliver exciting product news and updates to a wider audience and our broader Sony community. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and look forward to participating at industry events in-person at some point in the future.
With Sony out, only Canon and Sigma remain as major camera or lens manufacturers attending the show, as Nikon and Fujifilm already chose not to attend. Canon was reached for comment but did not reply ahead of publication.
The move caps two weeks of rising uncertainty among would-be attendees. PetaPixel received multiple calls and emails expressing concern and rumors that multiple speakers and instructors were pulling out of the show as well, and while PetaPixel was unable to confirm most of these rumors, it was able to learn that at least a few high-profile photographers have decided to cancel plans to attend.
Emerald Expositions, the organization that operates WPPI, did not respond to the request for comment.
Earlier this month, retoucher and educator Pratik Naik posed a question to his followers on Facebook asking if anyone still had plans to attend the event and if recent changes to the spread of the virus changed anything.
154 people responded and nearly all of the comments expressed significant concern. A majority stated that they would not be attending for various reasons.
"Sadly, we are cancelling our plans to go," one photographer responded.
"Nope. I never even considered it. It was no secret that we were heading in this direction when vaccine numbers fell off a couple months ago. Attending WPPI at this point is a threat to public health," another writes.
"So far I’m planning to go but really playing it by ear and feeling a lot of hesitation," said another.
"As someone who is vaccinated and still wears a mask I was planning on going to another conference in Vegas this week and here I sit at home with Covid. I’m SUPER careful and I still got it," one photographer said. "Those who are going please please be careful!"
The rumors and worries expressed likely grew as concern over the danger of the Coronavirus Delta Variant continue to grow. On August 10, Las Vegas instituted a mask mandate for the city regardless of vaccination status as 65% of the number of positive cases in Nevada were tied to Clark County.
#COVID19 cases are on the rise in our state, and most of them are in @ClarkCountyNV.
Here's an update on the numbers, along with some other information you should know. 📈
Follow the link for info on where you can go to get tested & vaccinated.
🔗 https://t.co/ZqNk1iOH6o pic.twitter.com/dbwo8jaYoT
-- City of Las Vegas (@CityOfLasVegas) August 10, 2021
That same day, Nevada reported 30 deaths due to COVID-19 and remains what is known as a "high transmission" state in a White House report. This is the largest number of deaths reported since a February 4 report when 39 deaths were recorded. The state's test positivity rate is at 16.3% while Clark County's rate is 17%. There are 240 new cases reported per 100,000 every seven days in that county.
Image credits: Background of header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
#culture #industry #news #backsout #cancels #coronavirus #covid #covid19 #deltavariant #emeraldexpo #sony #tradeshow #wppi #wppi2021
PhotoPlus Launches Learning Lens, A Free Online Educational Resource
PhotoPlus has launched Learning Lens, a new online platform that will play host to educational resources for photographers. The company says that it plans to cover anything and everything photographers could possibly want to learn about, all for free.
Online educational resources aren't new, as perhaps the most well-known one aimed at photographers and creatives has been around a long time: CreativeLive. But unlike CreativeLive, PhotoPlus does not have plans to charge for access to the educational content it hosts. It's not clear if Learning Lens will remain free forever as the signup process does require a "subscription" of sorts to be purchased, but it costs $0 to subscribe and the company has not indicated that it plans to charge for the service. It is likely that this was just a method of registering users.
Learning Lens is hosting its first live class on August 3 at 12:30 PM ET, but already has three classes previously recorded by Jesus Ramirez, Paul Von Rieter, and Jen Huang Bogan. Ramirez shares his best Photoshop techniques for photographers, little-known features, and better ways to work with the tools that photographers are already using. Reiter discusses what it was like switching from film to medium format digital, and Bogan's class discusses how she found her style in natural light portraiture.
The first live class is hosted by PetaPixel 's Jaron Schneider, who will explain how photographers can still get discovered and noticed in a time when Instagram is losing relevance.
Don't know how to pitch media? Don't know what media considers worth featuring? Don't even know what a "pitch" is? I will have all the answers.
Did I mention it's free? pic.twitter.com/AaaSh7RCee
-- Jaron Schneider (@jaronschneider) August 2, 2021
In addition to these classes, Learning Lens has 18 more pages of classes that are currently planned for release, which amounts to a colossal amount of free education, especially for a brand new resource. Altogether, the platform will soon play host to nearly a week's worth of hours of free content.
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While WPPI, which is a photo conference run by the same organization that hosts PhotoPlus, still has in-person educational classes at its event, PhotoPlus removed the education portion of its tradeshow in recent years in an effort to focus on the expo.
PhotoPlus was forced to cancel the in-person annual New York-based tradeshow last year amid the pandemic and instead transitioned the show to digital. It must have learned something from the experience, as the launch of the new fully online educational resource allows the company to bring back the education it once offered in-person in a format that can be utilized year-round by anyone, anywhere.
#educational #news #education #free #freeeducation #learninglens #onlineeducation #photoplus #photoplusexpo #photopluslearninglens #wppi
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