PhotoPro Expo 2011 Wrap up

The Super Buzz!

WOW!  What an exciting weekend it was.  10 great speakers, 3 full – really full days, 1 terrific experience for a full house of the nearly 300 photographers that attended! 

And “RAVE REVIEWS” all around! Here are just a few:

“…Inspirational!” D. Burress.    ”…The speakers were entertaining and engaging…” B. Cottrell

“…What an amazing value!” D. Jelley  “…I took something away from almost all of them. I left feeling inspired!” S. Hultberg

“…Unbelievable info given by some amazing people!” A. Womack    “…the photographers were willing to help and share.” T. Payton

“…fabulous lineup of top notch speakers.” S. Roach    “…Everyone had opened arms to help you and answer any questions. Down to earth and good advice.” C. Yager 

“…KPPA - It really has a family feel here and I love that!” P. Johnson

We reviewed over 1,000 comment sheets from the attendees and the response was an overwhelming Excellent! for the entire PhotoPro Expo and all 10 of the speakers.  It was a fantastic experience for everyone!  Oh, did I mention we gave away over $11,000 worth of Door Prizes THANKS to the generosity of our sponsors!  Just wait till next year – we’re going to blow the top off the place! 

Print Judging

The KPPA print judging team hit the floor running early to set up the print judging that began at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday.  5 qualified judges reviewed and judged 169 entries.  The entire judging process went into the evening hours wrapping about 10:30 p.m.  Watching the image judging can many times be a spine tingling, goose bump raising, exciting event as you watch your images come up in front of the judges.

There is no better way to improve your photography than involving yourself in the print judging process.  Not only does it raise the bar on what you feel is your best, but it also raises the bar on what you think is best for your clients too – a pretty nice bonus benefit.

Check out the 2011 Award Winners below.  All the image entries are playing at the top of the right hand sidebar – Enjoy!

 All Programs Were BIG Hits!

The most often heard comments from this year's PhotoProExpo was definitely the excellence of the presenters.  Everyone enjoyed the variety of topics which each speaker discussed and also the depth of knowledge they brought to their topics. When we asked the attendees what they thought of the speakers, each and every speakers’ evaluations were overwhelmingly “Excellent” .  It's pretty darn exciting to see that kind of response from nearly 100% of all those attending the convention!   It means we must be doing something right and it took the efforts of a lot of people to pull it off.  Wait till you see what’s planned for next year!

With the lineup we had this year, it was impossible to go wrong with any of the 10 programs you chose to attend. Blair Phillips kicked off on our first day Friday morning and literally hit it out of the park with his presentation.  Blair had folks taking notes at 1,000,000 miles a minute, hanging on his every word, enjoying his easy humor he brought to his presentation.  Here's just a short three minute presentation of what you missed.

PhotoProExpo 2011 - Blair Phillips Excerpt from PhotoProExpo on Vimeo.

As a PhotoPro Network  member, you’ll be able to hear Blair’s presentation as often as you like.  We recorded most of the PhotoProExpo’s 2011 presentations.  They will be on-line soon for all KPPA members to enjoy again and again.  Now there’s one good reason to be a member.  Not bad for membership that only costs about eight dollars a month - for all the benefits we have in store for you this year it truly is a sweet deal.

Awards Celebration

The PhotoProExpo Awards Celebration is always the high point of the Convention.  This year's Award Ceremony was no exception. It is especially fun to watch those who weren't expecting an award to hear their name mentioned for one of the big trophies. The prize winners had some fabulous entries as you can see in the slide show above.

Laura Daniels, (middle) works for Tim and Bev Walden of Walden’s Studio [link] was one of the big winners. She garnered more awards than any other photographer at the Awards Ceremony.  She was also named “Photographer of the Year” !  Congrats! Laura and to all that entered and won awards. You can find the entire list of award winners right here.

What’s Happening For 2011 – Message From The President, David Ziser

Hey everybody, I said it during the Awards Ceremony and all say it again now.  I want 2011 to be the most exciting year ever for the Kentucky Professional Photographers Association.  My top priorities are to bring you more great programs, several webinars this year, and over 50 hours of solid web training that you, our members, can enjoy as a benefit with your membership.  This is a year that you can't afford not to be a KPPA member.  Your membership in  KPPA  will be the best you'll find anywhere in the country, I promise.  We have several projects in the works already – I’ll keep you posted on their progress.

I've already contacted several speakers for next year. And when you hear the names you'll be amazed at what we've got in store for PhotoProExpo 2012. Plan to be part of the excitement!  Not only that, but we've got a lot of exciting new things planned for tradeshow as well. Next year we’re planning to include a print review area where you can bring your prints and have one of several qualified image experts review and critique those images for you.

The second they we’re planning, with the help of Westcott, is set up several shooting bays where you will actually get a chance to start your portfolio building – cool, don’t you think?  And finally, were arranging to have Lighting Clinics happening right on the tradeshow floor.  This will be your opportunity to get your hands on the gear, see how works, and maybe even pull off a great photograph or two.  Plus, we’re planning an even larger PhotoProExpo tradeshow – larger than ever before!  This is a weekend you won’t want to miss so mark your calendars. PhotoProExpo 2012 is scheduled for February 2-5, 2012.

Hey gang, let’s have a great year together!  But I can’t do it by myself. We need everyone, not only the photographers from Kentucky, but also the tri-state area including Ohio and Indiana to tell your friends and fellow photographers about the exciting happenings we have coming your way. I look forward to seeing you again with our first webcast in March – stay tuned.  Fasten your seat belts – we are ready for lift off!!!!

David Ziser, President KPPA