So after a whirlwind week in Nashville, TN for the PPA conference Imaging USA I’m finally sitting down to review all my notes and ideas. I’m also still working on my 101 in 1001 list and tonight is my Mommy’s 50th bday so we are headed out the door soon to celebrate. I could use a vacation from my vacation at this point!
I had a packed schedule for classes at Imaging, up and in class by 7am and then back to the hotel room about 8pm that night. It made for long days and lots of information. I love these conferences because of the new ideas that are shared and that starts my brain churning on how I can incorporate some of those ideas into my business. There is a big push in photography regarding Fusion which is mixing video and stills. I’m not really interested in becoming a videographer but there were some neat ideas to take from that and I’m excited to try them out this year!
I wanted to share my experience about one of the classes I attended, this speaker was hands down the guy I loved the most and got the best information out of. Even my husband enjoyed his class and it gave us some great ideas to improve our wedding photography! It was…….Jerry Ghionis! I had heard Jerry’s name before but never really looked at his work. He was amazing, I loved that he showed how he walked into normal homes and found little nooks to make amazing photos. He has a great product called PicPockets that are little cards with great information regarding several topics. I picked up his ordinary to extraordinary series and action reaction cards. I highly recommend them to other photographers, they are great to study and help you look beyond the plain jane areas and really create something amazing. He also runs the I.C.E Society which is something I plan to look into further. At his show he packed the house, there were photographers lining the walls, sitting on the floor even sitting on tables at the back of the room. If you follow me on facebook you probably saw my status update that I was sitting next to Jesh De Rox, Jeff Rodgers, Tamara Lackey and Steve and Jen Bebb!!! Some of the top photographers in the industry at the moment! I tried to explain to my husband my excitement by comparing it to him sitting next to NASCAR drivers. He looked at me like I was crazy!
Anyway here is a quick pic David took of me in the hotel room during the conference.
Melissa Arlena is an award winning lifestyle newborn photographer in Charlottesville and Richmond, Virginia who has earned her Master Photographer Certification from NAPCP in maternity, newborn and family photography. Her natural and simple work has been featured in magazines and online blogs worldwide. She has been named Best Maternity and Newborn Photographer in Richmond and Charlottesville, VA in 2024.
