We Were Invited to Speak in Las Vegas at the WPPI event!

A little while ago we got asked to speak at WPPI in Las Vegas, and I still don't think it's fully sunk in.

If you don't know it, WPPI is one of the biggest photography events in the world. The catch is that it has always been built for wedding and portrait photographers. This was the first year they brought in a commercial product photographer, someone who actually works with ecommerce brands day to day, and they asked me to be that person. For a kid who started out shooting in a second bedroom, getting flown to Vegas to speak internationally was a genuine honour.

I had two jobs while I was there, and they could not have been more different.

Part one: a seminar on diversifying your revenue

The first was a seminar about building multiple revenue streams as a photographer, and I shared the stage with Huzi for it.

This is something I can speak to honestly, because we live it. Florence James Collective is the product photography arm. We also have our course, Creative Scoop. We have Propsyland, which sells props and backgrounds and is a full ecommerce business in its own right. And we have a studio that other photographers hire. None of those happened by accident. They came from asking a simple question: how do I stop relying on a single income and build a business that holds itself up from a few different directions?

That was the whole point of the talk. Too many photographers pin everything on one service, one type of client and one niche. I wanted to show the room that there are real, repeatable ways to earn beyond the next photoshoot booking. 

Part two: a commercial lighting workshop

The second job was hosting a commercial portrait workshop. At WPPI these are run as photography walks, where people book a ticket to your specific session, come along, and learn directly from you.

I taught my go-to commercial lighting setup, the same approach we use on real client shoots. I built the light up from a single strobe all the way to five, so everyone could see exactly what each light adds and why. It is the clearest way I know to take the mystery out of lighting, because you watch it happen one step at a time and can see every lights purpose. 

The thing that really stood out: the gear

Here is what I did not expect to learn about myself on this trip.

I was in a different country. I could not bring my whole studio with me, so I had to rely on the event organisers to supply gear I could actually work with. I usually shoot Godox, and getting Godox over there turned out to be surprisingly hard. So I had to put my money where my mouth is, work with what was available, and get creative (and be out of my comfort zone which is not something I've had to face for a long time!) 

It also made me realise just how much gear a proper commercial shoot actually relies on. A lot of people want to become commercial photographers but aren't willing to invest in the volume of tools and equipment the work demands. Standing there, improvising with borrowed kit, I think I ended up shining a light on exactly that. Commercial work is not always plug and play. The craft sits in the gear and in knowing how properly to use it.

What I taught on the walk

The feedback from everyone who came to the walk was so beautiful, and the best part was how many people got up and had a go themselves. They were shooting the model, trying the setup, and seeing the results in real time.

I also brought products with me on purpose, because I wanted to show that not every product behaves the same under the same light. Some packaging is far fussier than others. More often than not, though, my setup is built to cater to a wide variety of product packaging, and showing that range mattered to me.

Beyond the lighting, I walked through the parts of a shoot that people often overlook:

• wardrobe colours
• how you pose the model
• the model's age
• their makeup
• what they're wearing

All of it shapes the final image just as much as the lights do.

Taking my team with me

As a boss, being able to bring your staff along on something like this is such a privilege. One of the things I'm most proud of is that I didn't get here alone. Our team has been a huge part of the growth of Florence James over the years, and getting to share this experience with our marketing girls (Maddie and Paige) was incredibly special. 
I just wish I could have taken the whole team with me, because they all played a huge part in making opportunities like this possible. Hopefully next time we'll get invited back and everyone can come haha!

Why this matters

If there's one thing I hope people took from the week, it's that there are so many different ways to earn a living as a photographer. You don't have to be a portrait photographer, and you don't have to compete for the same weddings as everyone else.

Brands are where the money is, because brands are the ones that constantly need content. Once you see that, a whole new path opens up. That was the message I flew to Vegas to share, and judging by the conversations afterward, it landed.

Want to see what upcoming workshops we have? Book your ticket here.