In thinking about attending WPPI this year, I was trying to remember what year I first attended. Thanks to the mighty power of Google, I was able to travel back through time to uncover my relationship the WPPI expo and conference...
In this 2006 post on how my business started, I already knew the importance of being part of a professional organization like WPPI for leaning, mentoring, and growing my business:
http://photo.net/wedding-photography-forum/00FLt3
In 2007, which was I believe my first WPPI Expo, I got to connect with people I admired and reconnect with friends I met while attending the Foundation Workshop earlier the same year:
http://anneruthmann.blogspot.com/2007/03/wppi-las-vegas.html
In 2008, I started hosting the PhotoLovecat Giveaway event:
http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2008/03/giveaway-gala-photos.html
In 2009 we hosted another PhotoLovecat Giveaway event and our blog became a place to share a public review of the WPPI events & workshops:
http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2009/02/wppi-2009-review.html
In 2010 I was getting back from a trip to Australia and settling into a new Photography Studio in Massachusetts, but Corey Ann held the torch and continued hosting a PhotoLovecat meet-up:
http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2010/03/wppi-2010-review.html
In 2011, we were able to start tracking WPPI Parties on Eventbrite and WPPI Attendee Twitter accounts to keep track of who was sharing what from where during the conference - may be interesting to see how many of those people will be at WPPI 2017?
https://twitter.com/AnneRuthmann/lists/wppi-2011
http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2011/02/wppi-2011-parties.html
In 2012, Corey Ann carried the torch for WPPI again, while I was living in Australia and following my dream of traveling the world for an extended period of time. I still participated in online mentoring and webinar workshops, but was definitely more interested in exploring everything I could in Australia and Europe that year.
http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2012/01/wppi-2012.html
It seems the world of Wedding Photography starting changing dramatically in 2012-2016. Major photography labs started closing. Photo Schools started closing. Online labs gathered more business. Online photo workshops became more popular. iPhones started to have printable quality images. People could create Facebook groups for their wedding and guest's wedding photos. Photo booths took over the job of formal portraits. The world of immediate sharing and instant gratification started to become far more important than high quality imagery and beautifully curated artful moments from trained professionals. Perhaps it is simply returning to what it once was when we operated in film: a luxury service for those who can afford the work of a trained professional, while non-professional instant gratification is satisfying enough for everyone who can't afford a professional. I'm speculating, but would love to read your thoughts in the comments as well.
There will always be a low-end of the market for the entry level professional starting out and serving the people and referrals in their immediate area. I have no doubt of that. I also think there will always be a high end of the market for people who value working with a creative professional and want archival products of their once-in-a-lifetime moments. I think the middle has been squeezed the most - forced to serve either the low end of the market with a lot of volume or the high end of the market with fewer clients and additional workshops and education services to fill the gap.
Personally, I started to trim down the amount of weddings I photographed and move into editorial and commercial not because of anything happening in the industry, but because I wanted more weekends and weeknights to enjoy time with my family and friends who work 9-5 jobs. I knew weddings would likely be a 10 year run for me, simply based on how many people I saw leaving the industry in their late 30s and early 40s. I also had a taste of what it meant to be constantly teaching in the photography industry, and decided that I didn't really want that to be my primary workload either.
I never wanted to be someone who lost their passion for the amazing moments of the wedding day or found any of it to be too mundane or typical. Now, when I do get the chance to shoot weddings, it really is special again because it's not something I do every weekend or get too formulaic about. I've been able to keep that passion by making it something I more rarely do when I'm not photographing editorial, commercial, or architecture & interior work.
Even though Weddings are no longer my main focus in professional photography, it has given me so much of what I needed to help me reach where I am now. I still love the wedding photography industry and how, even though most people quickly cycle in and out of it every 2-4 years, it becomes a training ground for the professional photographer, for the budding creative entrepreneur, and for the future solution provider in the photography industry. It has been very interesting to see how people who were once "just wedding photographers" have become innovators, educators, and amazing entrepreneurs in other capacities.
This year I will be returning to WPPI for just one day - the last day of the Expo, Thursday 2/9/17 to say hello to friends who are instructors and trade show vendors, to give hugs to people I haven't seen in years, and to host a gathering for anyone who would like to reconnect over dinner on the last day between workshops and awards. We've come a long way baby, and I'm grateful for the role that WPPI has played in my own professional photography development and how it continues to support new and emerging photographers in many different ways. If you'd like to join me for WPPI 2017, visit the Facebook event page below for the details and RSVP so I can save you a spot at the table...
WPPI 2017 Photographer Meetup
https://www.facebook.com/events/193074804502583/
If you can't make it, feel free to follow along on the WPPI 2017 Twitter List I've started:
https://twitter.com/AnneRuthmann/lists/wppi-2017
In this 2006 post on how my business started, I already knew the importance of being part of a professional organization like WPPI for leaning, mentoring, and growing my business:
http://photo.net/wedding-photography-forum/00FLt3
In 2007, which was I believe my first WPPI Expo, I got to connect with people I admired and reconnect with friends I met while attending the Foundation Workshop earlier the same year:
http://anneruthmann.blogspot.com/2007/03/wppi-las-vegas.html
In 2008, I started hosting the PhotoLovecat Giveaway event:
http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2008/03/giveaway-gala-photos.html
In 2009 we hosted another PhotoLovecat Giveaway event and our blog became a place to share a public review of the WPPI events & workshops:
http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2009/02/wppi-2009-review.html
In 2010 I was getting back from a trip to Australia and settling into a new Photography Studio in Massachusetts, but Corey Ann held the torch and continued hosting a PhotoLovecat meet-up:
http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2010/03/wppi-2010-review.html
In 2011, we were able to start tracking WPPI Parties on Eventbrite and WPPI Attendee Twitter accounts to keep track of who was sharing what from where during the conference - may be interesting to see how many of those people will be at WPPI 2017?
https://twitter.com/AnneRuthmann/lists/wppi-2011
http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2011/02/wppi-2011-parties.html
In 2012, Corey Ann carried the torch for WPPI again, while I was living in Australia and following my dream of traveling the world for an extended period of time. I still participated in online mentoring and webinar workshops, but was definitely more interested in exploring everything I could in Australia and Europe that year.
http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2012/01/wppi-2012.html
It seems the world of Wedding Photography starting changing dramatically in 2012-2016. Major photography labs started closing. Photo Schools started closing. Online labs gathered more business. Online photo workshops became more popular. iPhones started to have printable quality images. People could create Facebook groups for their wedding and guest's wedding photos. Photo booths took over the job of formal portraits. The world of immediate sharing and instant gratification started to become far more important than high quality imagery and beautifully curated artful moments from trained professionals. Perhaps it is simply returning to what it once was when we operated in film: a luxury service for those who can afford the work of a trained professional, while non-professional instant gratification is satisfying enough for everyone who can't afford a professional. I'm speculating, but would love to read your thoughts in the comments as well.
There will always be a low-end of the market for the entry level professional starting out and serving the people and referrals in their immediate area. I have no doubt of that. I also think there will always be a high end of the market for people who value working with a creative professional and want archival products of their once-in-a-lifetime moments. I think the middle has been squeezed the most - forced to serve either the low end of the market with a lot of volume or the high end of the market with fewer clients and additional workshops and education services to fill the gap.
Personally, I started to trim down the amount of weddings I photographed and move into editorial and commercial not because of anything happening in the industry, but because I wanted more weekends and weeknights to enjoy time with my family and friends who work 9-5 jobs. I knew weddings would likely be a 10 year run for me, simply based on how many people I saw leaving the industry in their late 30s and early 40s. I also had a taste of what it meant to be constantly teaching in the photography industry, and decided that I didn't really want that to be my primary workload either.
I never wanted to be someone who lost their passion for the amazing moments of the wedding day or found any of it to be too mundane or typical. Now, when I do get the chance to shoot weddings, it really is special again because it's not something I do every weekend or get too formulaic about. I've been able to keep that passion by making it something I more rarely do when I'm not photographing editorial, commercial, or architecture & interior work.
Even though Weddings are no longer my main focus in professional photography, it has given me so much of what I needed to help me reach where I am now. I still love the wedding photography industry and how, even though most people quickly cycle in and out of it every 2-4 years, it becomes a training ground for the professional photographer, for the budding creative entrepreneur, and for the future solution provider in the photography industry. It has been very interesting to see how people who were once "just wedding photographers" have become innovators, educators, and amazing entrepreneurs in other capacities.
This year I will be returning to WPPI for just one day - the last day of the Expo, Thursday 2/9/17 to say hello to friends who are instructors and trade show vendors, to give hugs to people I haven't seen in years, and to host a gathering for anyone who would like to reconnect over dinner on the last day between workshops and awards. We've come a long way baby, and I'm grateful for the role that WPPI has played in my own professional photography development and how it continues to support new and emerging photographers in many different ways. If you'd like to join me for WPPI 2017, visit the Facebook event page below for the details and RSVP so I can save you a spot at the table...
WPPI 2017 Photographer Meetup
https://www.facebook.com/events/193074804502583/
If you can't make it, feel free to follow along on the WPPI 2017 Twitter List I've started:
https://twitter.com/AnneRuthmann/lists/wppi-2017
Anne Ruthmann is a professional photographer in New York City. With over 10 years of success as a full-time photographer in weddings, portraits, editorial, and now architecture and interiors, she spends any extra time she has helping others find smart solutions to business problems. Stay in touch on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
