The 2011 WPS Convention FAQ:
We’ve been fielding some questions regarding the 2011 WPS convention and figured we should go ahead and make a post with some of the questions. If YOU have a question that has not been answered, go ahead and leave a comment with it and will will update the FAQ!
How do I register?
Registration for the convention is here. Just click on the “Register” button.
What is the WPS Convention?
The primary goal of the WPS (Wedding Photographic Society) convention is to bring a large scale, fast paced convention formatted educational opportunity to the local Raleigh. Durham, Chapel Hill area. With such a large base of wedding and portrait photographers serving this area, it makes no sense to have to always fly out to other destinations for those opportunities. So, we are bringing it here.
When & Where is it?
The convention kicks off at 9am for registration on Sunday, August 7th. It lasts until we burn the house down at the Industry Party Tuesday evening (August 9th). All classes will be held in and around the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill, NC.
Parking
Parking at the Carolina Inn is a bit haphazard and, unfortunately, very limited areas for free parking. Parking for overnight hotel guests is $14 for valet and $12 for our self parking lot per day. Parking for local guests is $10 for valet and $7 for our self parking lot per day.
What topics are being covered?
You can find a list of speaking topics and events on the convention webpage but I’ve listed out a brief description below. We are very honored and proud that we are flying in quite a few very talented folks with national & international speaking experience for this year’s convention.
Amber Holritz – Sunday Keynote Speech
Neil Van Niekerk – Monday Keynote Speech
David Williams – Convention Keynote Speech
Missy McLamb – The high end client
James Walters – Don’t be a poser
Tim Sayer – Rocking Portraits
Christobal Perez – Mama said
Scott Lewis – Finding your vision
Andrea Halsey – Portrait designing
Martha Manning – The art of balance
Stacy Borelli – Photo roller coaster
Matt McGraw – Shooting session
Brian Mullins – Lighting 101/201
What will this year’s schedule be like?
When planning the convention, we all agreed the convention should be a different experience for each person. The best way to maximize that experience was to hold multiple classes multiple times and allow you to choose your own path. With that being said, there are 4 total speakers each day. During the day, 3 topics are being discussed and each person can attend 2 of those 3 classes. The 4th class is a “keynote” and is setup for EVERY convention attendee. So, yes, it sounds a bit confusing but it allows you to choose who you’d like to hear talk, when you want to hear them, which we think is awesome!
Class Signups
One thing we really like at the WPS is easy. Easy is good. Easy is, seriously, the best way to run a convention so any complications that arise have simple solutions, making a better overall experience for you. With that being said, we are electing to NOT have class signups. We will treat this as first come/first serve. However, since you have two opportunities to see each class, we don’t anticipate someone NOT being able to see everyone they want. We are also setting up the rooms to maximize seating. If we DO run into an issue, we can quickly (and easily) adjust the seating capacity and even change rooms if needed. So, in other words, feel free to change your mind at anytime on what classes you want to attend.
Students
One thing we like to do differently at the WPS is get as much input from our membership as possible. During the May monthly meeting in Raleigh, the topic of “student” admissions for the convention. The overall majority of photographers present agreed we should offer student passes to the 2011 WPS Convention. Well, now we are, at a significant savings I might add. So, if you want to attend, and are a student, here is what we need:
- A scanned copy of your student ID (please bring it with you to the convention as well)
- Contact me @ brian@weddingphotographicsociety.com to reserve your student slot
- I will need some basic information from you at that time.
- Student tickets are $150 – payable via PayPal.
Sponsors
Unlike most conventions, all of the sponsors involved with the WPS and the convention do not or pay to be a sponsor. The WPS is an organic group and we like it that way – therefore, we ask sponsors for “stuff”. This “stuff” is for you and, best of all, it’s free. This is not your trial software or “trial” products but living, breathing, fully valid, licensed or full size stuff. A current list of our sponsors (with more to come) is: Finao Albums, Alien Skin Software, The Art Department, RedCart, RawFolio, Ginkgo Albums, Kelly Moore Bags, ThinkTank,. Rice Studio Supply, Marathon press and more coming soon! With that being said, please read the below answer about “stuff for sale”.
Stuff for sale
Uh oh – there is none! None, nada, zip, zilcho. The WPS is very firmly against “sellinars” and every speaker, while they may mention a product or even a company who sponsored their talk, will not be overtly pushing products to you or trying to sell you their latest DVD. We hate it. You hate it. We don’t want it. Therefore, it won’t happen. We want and expect pure educational goodness from every aspect of the convention. It’s a founding principle of the WPS convention and we plan on keeping it that way.
Extra Curricular Activities
While the convention is underway, there will be several opportunities to enjoy, ahem, some extracurricular activities on and around Franklin St. It runs right in front of the UNC campus and is populated with many, many bars and nightspots. While the WPS has no “scheduled” evening activities outside of the industry party on Tuesday night so we highly recommend coordinating activities in the forums or on FB to booty shake, sing or just a good ole fashioned pub crawl. All it takes is one person to start it up by making a post… (yes, that was a hint).
Why should I attend?
That really is the million dollar question.. WHY? I won’t bore you with a lot of meaningless dribble here, and will get straight to the point. To see our keynote speakers alone, you would pay close to $3000 for their classes. Now granted, this is a more condensed timeframe but you still hear what they have to say and, to be honest, it’s pretty incredible what you can learn in a couple of hours. Let’s add in the other speakers – talking about lessons learned (mama said), getting brides to not see the money, finding your vision, posing brides in an non-pose, lighting classes, 2 different portrait styling classes plus a ton of other topics and you’ve got a huge amount of education available for a very low cost.
But wait, there’s more! (Yes, I do love that line). Keep in mind the 100 albums Finao is GIVING to the first 100 attendees, the RedCart Perpetual license ($999) for one lucky person, the one on one classes for new sign ups, the Alien Skin Software, the Raw Folio templates and CUSTOM blog design, the Marathon Press discounts, the Think Tank travel case, Kelly Moore bags and so much more including discount codes for many of these products. In the end, you’ll get around HALF of your convention fees back in savings alone. If you are a lucky winner of one of the higher value prizes, then your convention fee and hotel are pretty much paid for. Still need a reason? How about meeting and hanging out with tons a great photographers and other industry execs at the Tuesday night party and expanding your personal and professional network with bunch of new friends?
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