Brian Smith

I’m really looking forward to my FIFTH straight year speaking for Sony at WPPI in Las Vegas. It’s one of my favorite photography trade shows because the whole show has such a positive vibe. In addition to the talks I’m doing at the Sony Booth, I will also be giving a platform talk on the ‘Secrets of Great Portrait Photography’ at 8am Tuesday, February 21st.

Great crowd at 'Secrets of Great Portrait Photography' WPPI 2011

Here’s my list of of can’t-miss seminars to see at WPPI 2012:

Sun, Feb 19, 2012 – 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM
So You Really Want To Be a Wedding Photographer?
Speaker: Cliff Mautner
Cliff Mautner, one of American Photo’s top 10 wedding photographers in the world, WPPI Grand Award winner, Nikon spokesperson and 30-year pro will talk straight about what it takes to succeed in this insane business, including insights about business, lighting and a lifetime in an ever-evolving industry. Cliff will share his work ethic, style of shooting and tell you how to develop your own. He’ll also share a ton of mistakes he’s made along the way, so you don’t repeat them. Be prepared to be inspired and educated in his straightforward, honest east coast style!

Sun, Feb 19, 2012 – 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Creative Portrait and Retouching Techniques
Speaker: Lindsay Adler
Creativity in your images extends into your Photoshop techniques. This class will help you take your creativity to another level and make your images even more eye-catching through your Photoshop techniques. In this session you will learn essential retouching techniques as well as a variety of tools to add a creative flair to your images in Photoshop. Learn essential retouching tools, retouching plugins, and the best way to approach your retouching workflow, including blemish removal, body reshaping, and feature enhancement. Understand how to add textures to your images, add borders, adjust coloration. And see a wide range of other beautiful and creative retouching techniques.

Mon, Feb 20, 2012 – 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM
Aperture Intensive
Speaker: Sara France
Apple regularly sends Sara around the world to train photographers in using Aperture, and now it’s your turn. In this program, she takes you through Aperture from start to finish, walking you through the workflow process while giving you tips and tricks along the way. From download, to adjustments, to album design, to export, Sara shows you all the basics and all the things you never knew were possible with this powerful program.

Mon, Feb 20, 2012 – 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM
Lab Printing with Lightroom: Color Management and Step-by-Step Workflow
Speaker: Andrew Darlow
Photo labs offer an array of products for the professional photographer, but one thing always remains constant—for great results, you’ve got to color-manage your system and prepare files properly. In this two-hour lecture, an award-winning author and photographer, Andrew covers the proofing and printing process for a range of lab printing products, including digital c-prints, canvas prints and press-printed products using a step-by-step approach. Learn how to set the resolution of images, inexpensively color-test lab products, batch-process images and more.

Tue, Feb 21, 2012 – 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM
New Secrets of Great Portrait Photography
Speaker: Brian Smith
Celebrity portrait photographer Brian Smith will share the lessons he’s learned over the past 30 years capturing the faces of the famous, infamous and unknown as a top magazine portrait photographer. He will discuss his approach to editorial and commercial assignments from concept to final images, and detailing his approach to lighting and problem solving on productions both small and large. He will share secrets about how to quickly capture the personality of the people in your photographs and will also discuss how personal projects can be used to generate editorial and commercial assignments.

Tue, Feb 21, 2012 – 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM
Telling Stories in Pictures
Speakers: Alan Weiner
We’ve all heard the term “wedding photojournalism,” but these days, it includes all different types of photography. At its core, photojournalism is the telling of a story through pictures. Alan spent 20 years working as a contract photographer for The New York Times, telling stories with his camera. Now, he applies the same tools he honed as a news photojournalist to tell the story of hundreds of brides and grooms. Come hear his approach!

Tue, Feb 21, 2012 – 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
How Knowledge of Cinema Storytelling Has Influenced Photography and Album Design
Speaker: Amina Moreau
Stillmotion knows that storytelling techniques aren’t really taught in post-secondary photography programs. As a part of a photo and cinema team, Amina has taken inspiration from the world of filmmaking and applied it to her stills. Cinema is about lifespan, sequencing, time-shifting, transitioning and creating an emotional response that photography often lacks. The principal goal of this seminar is to teach attendees how to apply a moviemaker’s eye to their photography and album design so it’s no longer about capturing memories your clients can see, but about creating sequences they can feel.

Wed, Feb 22, 2012 – 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM
Using Social Media Strategically: What Works vs. What is Just Noise
Speaker: Me Ra Koh
We are going to dive into what type of social media benefits a photographer’s business the most.  Do you need a static website if you have a blog?  Do you spend your time on Facebook and forget about a blog?  How important is Twitter to growing your business?  Or, do you already take advantage of these platforms and still don’t get the traffic you are looking for?  The question isn’t whether you need one platform over the other, but what is the purpose of each and will it help you meet YOUR specific business goals.  As a busy mom, business owner and photography expert for The Nate Berkus Show, hear Me Ra share what she’s found that makes sense for photographers in the social media world vs. what is noise.  Whether you are just launching a new business and trying to book clients or you’re an established pro wanting to expand your brand, Me Ra is going to leave you excited and empowered with a whole new juicy set of social media tools to grow your business, make you money and most of all, save you TIME!

Wed, Feb 22, 2012 – 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM
New Social Media for Next Generation Photographers
Speaker: Jack Hollingsworth
New and Social Media is upon us. In full force. In every direction. If you snooze, you lose. It’s that dramatic. It’s time to start thinking like a next generation photographer and not only explore, but exploit every single marketing tool and technology available to you.  Come and listen to veteran photographer, social media coach and consultant Jack Hollingsworth, speak on why he passionately believes that it’s the greatest time in history to be a working photographer.  Inspirational topics will include:  what social media channels work best for photographers, how to brand, market and promote yourself in a crowded marketplace, how and why iPhone photography is changing the game, and the top 10 resources and guides to help you become a marketing success.

Wed, Feb 22, 2012 – 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM
Storytelling in Stills & Motion
Speaker: Deanne Fitzmaurice
Pulitzer Prize winning photographer, Deanne Fitzmaurice will show how personal projects in the Digital Revolution can spark your creativity. She will discuss how she gains trust and access in challenging situations. With a forward-thinking approach to visual storytelling, Deanne will also discuss how she is using HDSLR video and audio to enhance the narrative of her stories. Some of the stories Deanne will show include her Pulitzer Prize winning story of an injured Iraqi boy and a multimedia piece about a Circus Sideshow performer at Coney Island.

Tagged as: Alan Weiner, Amina Moreau, Andrew Darlow, Brian Smith, Cliff Mautner, Deanne Fitzmaurice, Jack Hollingsworth, Lindsay Adler, Me Ra Koh, Sara France, Sony, WPPI

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