News + Features
Portrait Masters Conference ‘23: Early Bird Tix + New Offerings
June 27, 2023
Every year, The Portrait Masters Conference gathers photographers from around the world for a curated multi-day event designed to equip photographers with experiences to help them excel in their field. Sue Bryce, creator of The Portrait System, personally works with her team to craft exciting educational events, and this year is no exception. In fact, Bryce says, “I really wanted to focus this year on it being the best one that we’ve had because it’s the last time we’re going to be in Arizona doing it.”

This year, from Sept 11 – 14, The Portrait Masters Conference will again host an incredible line up educators – both well-established and emerging. It will once again offer photographers ample opportunities to shoot in the fully-styled shooting bays with Oliphant backdrops and mentors on hand to answer questions and offer on-the-spot education. Of course, the trade show will be stacked with vendors and exclusive deals. And there will be parties and other networking events designed to help conference goers unwind and build relationships. For a more in-depth look at everything on offer, visit this blog on The Portrait System.
For this article, we’ll focus on what, in addition to it being the last year in Phoenix, is new for TPM 2023. You’ll learn about a brand-new offering of breakout classes, the evolution of mentoring sessions, and a new way to pay. We hope this rundown helps you decide if it’s time to jump in for the Early Bird ticket price of $300 off available till June 30, or at least, give you more info to contemplate as you consider whether or not this is the year to join this always exciting annual conference.
Breakout Classes for In-Depth Workshops

At TPM 2022, the conference expanded from three days to four for the very first time with Registration Day hosting extra educational offerings. This year, Registration Day will once again host extra courses, but as workshops, they will be more focused on skill-building. With limited seating available for each course, they will offer a more in-depth educational experience for those who sign up.
Breakout courses this year will include workshops on marketing, posing and styling, fabric throwing, Facebook Ads, business strategy, the creative process, and fashion photography. The Breakout Course Instructors are Sue Bryce, Richard Wood, Nikki Closser, Felicia Reed, Saray Taylor-Roman, Cat Ford-Coates, Damaly Shepherd, Leslie Andrews, and Ashleigh Taylor.
Find out more about Breakout Courses.
Extended Time for Mentoring Sessions

Last year’s conference offered participants the chance to meet up with mentors for one-on-one conversations to discuss their portfolios or whatever was up for them in their business. The sessions, which were set up in a speed dating format, with participants lining up to get matched with mentors as they became available, was a huge success. Many participants reported going through the line again and again to get as many perspectives and ideas on their questions as possible.
This year, the mentoring sessions will be moved from Registration Day to the Show Floor. Rather than having a few hours on one day to get their focused mentoring in, conference goers will have two days where one-on-one mentoring is available – Tue, Sept 12 and Wed, Sept 13 – and mentors will have their own booths with their own lines, so participants can line up for particular mentors and visit as many as they like.
Learn more about The Portrait System’s Mentors.
New Way to Pay

Last but not least, The Portrait Masters Conference is for the first-time allowing conference goers to purchase conference tickets using flexible financing options available with PayPal. PayPal offers a variety of options for making payments on large purchases, allowing payments on a monthly basis over six, twelve, or 24 months, and also offering an option of splitting the cost into four interest-free, bi-weekly payments. These options could make the event more accessible to those seeking flexible ways to pay.
As always, The Portrait Master’s Conference offers an Early Bird ticket price of $300 off the $1,800 full price for a limited time. That deadline is up on June 30. If you want to take advantage of the Early Bird price, you can do so here.