So if you follow me on facebook or instagram – you may have noticed I was out of the office Monday through Wednesday last week for a photography conference. After the crazy busy wonderfulness of Easter, I woke up bright and early Monday morning and met up with my amazing friend and fellow photographer, Sarah. Sarah is actually the reason I ended up going to this particular photography conference. She was attending as a vendor for her backdrop company – Boxdrops by SJP. She happened to have an extra ticket available and could use the extra help so she – being the considerate person she is – offered it to me.

Sunday night she and the hubby got the truck packed to the brim with all the drops, stands, props, and things we would need. We added my few extra bags and took off for Saint Louis! We left around nine and got to Union Station around 11:30. And between me and Sarah and then when Heather arrived – we managed to get the whole area set up by 2:45 pm. Sarah’s company was providing the backdrops for the shooting bays at the conference. (This was a space where photographers could snag a model and come test out various backdrops and lighting equipment.) So we set up more than just her booth but the whole shooting bay area as well.

After we finished the set up we checked in with the front desk to get our hotel rooms and to sign in for the conference as well. We all got goodie bags and these awesome metal badges to keep as souvenirs. We sat in the print competition for a good long while too on Monday night and that may have been my favorite part! I didn’t have time to really submit any images this year, but print competitions are a great way to really learn a TON! There is a panel of judges who will look at your image and then they rate it. Anything at a 60 or below is considered not professional work and in order to merit you want to get in the 80s at least. Merits are important because in order to achieve a Master Photographer title – you need to earn a certain number of merits and print competitions are a great way to do that. So that was really fun! But after all the work and the long day we headed to our hotel room and crashed for the evening.

Tuesday morning started bright and early at Union Station in the Ballroom! We had a welcome speech from Sal Cincotta and then Nate Grahek from Sticky Albums spoke as well. Then it was classes, shoots, meet ups and the trade show until midnight that night. I know some people stayed out even until 4 am shooting as well. I managed to attend a couple classes on Tuesday but realized the few I went to weren’t really geared for a veteran photographer – so I decided to spend the rest of the conference helping Sarah in the booth and visiting with other photographers.

Wednesday morning I had signed up to take a class at 7 am… well that didn’t happen. I did make it back to the booth by 8 am and managed the booth for a couple hours while I encouraged Sarah to relax, sleep in, and go get breakfast. I think everyone was amazed by her commitment to be there considering little Baby B is due in the next couple weeks! I myself use Sarah’s backdrops and LOVE them so it was awesome to be able to share my love for Boxdrops with the other attendees at the conference. At one point, Sarah even got roped into being a model. So of course, I had to snag a few shots with my phone during that interaction.

By 6 pm Wednesday night, we were tearing down and packing up the truck to head back home. Thanks to the amazing help of fellow awesome photographers, Heather Springer (who was also my roommate and a joy to spend time with) & Don Hawkins (a new friend who I totally had a blast talking with!) We raced the storms home and arrived back in Oreana just before it started to rain. I still had a little drive but thank goodness the weather stayed mild for my drive home too.

I don’t go to these big conferences very often because my introverted self gets a little overwhelmed. But it’s always good to learn more, upgrade equipment (which I managed to sneak in while I was there), and meet other photographers in the industry. But it’s also always wonderful to come back home and get back to working with all of you!