‘Secrets of Great Portrait Photography’ at WPPI 2012

I’m heading back to WPPI 2012 in Las Vegas to speak about my favorite subject – capturing great portraits. WPPI is always a great show for the portrait and wedding photography industry I’m looking forward to bringing this talk back to Vegas after packed crowds at PhotoPlus Expo and Estudio Brasil in Sao Paulo.

New for WPPI, I’ve added a lot of new images to my talk including photos from my shoot on The X Factor. I’ll be speaking about everything from how to connect with your subject to ways that hair, make-up and styling can add production value to your shoots and all the things that go into the decision making process on a shoot from concept to location to lighting to refining the final look in post.

Secrets of Great Portrait Photography

Tuesday, February 21, 8:00 am – 10:00 am
MGM Conference Center – Room 318
sponsored by Sony

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. Brian will discuss his approach to editorial and commercial photography assignments from concept to final images, and detailing his approach to lighting and problem solving on productions both small and large. He will also share secrets about how to quickly capture the personality of the people in your photographs. He will also discuss how personal projects can be used to generate editorial and commercial assignments, and allow your personal style to evolve and grow while generating assignments you love to shoot.

We’ve got some great raffle giveaways from:

LOWEPRO: LoweProDSLR Video Fastpack 250 AW (a $149 value)
PHOTO SHELTER: One Free 1 Year Standard account (a $329 value)
SONG FREEDOM: Two Free Bronze Packages (valued at $360 each)
Each one gives the winner 10 songs to use over the next year.
TETHERING TOOLS: TetherTools TetherPro USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Extension Cable + JerkStopper

Golfer Graeme McDowell photographed in Horseshoe Bay, Bermuda

The X Factor Winner Melanie Amaro
The X Factor Winner Melanie Amaro

The X Factor Finalist Marcus Canty
The X Factor Finalist Marcus Canty

Be sure to stop by the Sony booth on the WPPI show floor where I’ll be speaking and doing lighting demos each day.

Monday February 20, 2012:
Noon – 12:45pm CAPTURING PERSONALITY – BURLESQUE (LIVE SHOOT) – Sony Booth 421
1:30pm – 2:15pm THE NEX BIG THING: SMALL CAMERA – BIG RESULTS – Sony Booth 421
3:00pm – 3:45pm CAPTURING PERSONALITY – BURLESQUE (LIVE SHOOT) – Sony Booth 421
8:00pm – 10:00pm SONY SHOOTOUT MGM Conference Center, Level 3, Rooms 312-320

Tuesday, February 21, 2012:
8:00am – 10:00am ‘SECRETS OF GREAT PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY’ – MGM Conference Center – Room 318
Noon -12:45pm THE NEX BIG THING: SMALL CAMERA – BIG RESULTS – Sony Booth 421
1:30pm – 2:15pm CAPTURING PERSONALITY – BURLESQUE (LIVE SHOOT) – Sony Booth 421

Wednesday, February 22, 2012:
11:15am – Noon CAPTURING PERSONALITY – BURLESQUE (LIVE SHOOT) – Sony Booth 421
12:45pm – 1:30pm THE NEX BIG THING: SMALL CAMERA – BIG RESULTS – Sony Booth 421
2:15pm – 3:00pm CAPTURING PERSONALITY – BURLESQUE (LIVE SHOOT) – Sony Booth 421

Stop by to say hello to me and my fellow Sony Artisans of Imagery Matthew Jordan Smith, Me Ra Koh and fab photographers Sarah France and Daniel Boswell. It’s going to be an absolutely great show – hope to see you there!

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9 thoughts on “‘Secrets of Great Portrait Photography’ at WPPI 2012”

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  5. Hello Brian!
    I’m one of the editors with SLRlounge.com and I attended your Secrets of Great Portrait Photography workshop at WPPI. It was one of my favorite classes and I love your work! I especially love your Art + Soul book and am getting one.

    I was wondering if it is possible to get a emailed copy of your slideshow. I unfortunately lost my notebook that day and would like to write an article on your workshop. If it possible, you can send it to fotosiamo@gmail.com

    Thank you and please keep inspiring others!

    – Joe Gunawan | fotosiamo.com

    1. Hey Joe,

      Thanks for the kind words! Glad you could make it by. I’m actually hard at work on a book based on this talk for Peachpit’s New Riders. It will have everything from this talk and a lot more that’s impossible to squeeze into a 2-hour talk. So stay tuned to this blog for an announcement about the release date.

      Glad you enjoyed WPPI. I love that show…

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