I was so energized last night that I couldn’t sleep. Up ironing past midnight—that was me! But since my body is still on East coast time, I was up super early (for me) and had a leisurely morning with a couple cups of tea before heading down for a quick stop at registration and then right into Ashleigh Taylor’s seminar, “Boudoir Curious? Building a Profitable Boudoir Business from the Ground Up.” Yes, this is WPPI Day 2!

I am a huge fan of Ashleigh. She completely charmed me when she hosted The Portrait System Clubhouse Podcast with Kevin Conde. Her infectious laugh and insightful, unpretentious style is so appealing. She brought the same vivacious charm to the WPPI stage, talking about her journey finding her boudoir style, which is Crazy Horse Paris meets Liza Minelli in Cabaret meets Moulin Rouge—a show-stopping aesthetic I adore.

Ashleigh led the class through everything from how to connect to your own aesthetic inspiration to how to craft a marketing message that makes your clients say “HELL YES.” And she shared how to make a boudoir shoot truly safe and empowering so that on their worst days, clients can look back on it and reconnect with their Inner Diva.

[Read: Ashleigh Taylor Asks ‘Are You Boudoir Curious?’]

I know there’s a very good chance I’ll be able to catch the replay of Ashleigh’s talk with my membership to The Portrait System, so I snuck out before the end of the talk to see what other inspiration I could glean from the morning.

What else was on the agenda for WPPI Day 2? Almost immediately, I ran into the most adorable mother and baby girl photoshoot—Intro to Family Photography with Carol DeAnda. Out of respect to the attendees who had purchased passes, I didn’t horn myself into the class, but couldn’t resist taking a few snaps before moving on.

I really wanted to catch some of Jacklyn Greenberg’s seminar, “Unlock Emotions & Lock the Sale.” This morning in the elevator, I met the nicest duo who run a multimedia business company in Alabama, and they were hyped for the same seminar, so I knew I couldn’t miss it.

Fortuitously, I had written down the wrong room for it, so on my way, I popped into two different seminars, which were so fun to catch a glimpse of—“Creating Hi-Fashion Maternity Shoots to Put an Edge on Your Portfolio” with Barkha Agarwal and “An Authentic Approach to Senior Portrait Photography” with Mary Vance. Both rooms were packed with appreciative groups. Agarwal was shooting live with her tethered image projected on a nearby screen and was getting deep into the technical craft along with the aesthetic, and Vance’s presentation was warm and engaging as she shared tips on posing and then moved into how to connect with your purpose so your marketing strikes a chord with your desired clientele. Sign up for Vance’s online senior photography courses and hybrid storytelling course.

[Read: 3 Ways Senior Portrait Photographers Can Connect With Clients Post-Pandemic]

But I still hadn’t found Greenberg’s seminar, “Unlock Emotions & Lock the Sale,” so I pressed onward. On arrival, I found yet another full room and a presentation that was measured and insightful. Unfortunately, I missed most of Greenberg’s talk, but I witnessed an impressive array of discounts and raffle entries for many of the services Greenberg’s Jag Studios uses—many of whom will be on the show floor tomorrow. 

Among others, she had deals from Aftershoot re-touching services, Fundy design, Quantum cloud service, P’xellu album apps, and a very cool editing tool called Tour Box which allows you to wirelessly edit your images from wherever you feel comfortable. I’m definitely looking forward to getting on the show floor tomorrow to see if there are demos for these products and services.

I grabbed a quick lunch and was nearly finished when the staff room was roused by a great commotion. The lineup for a seminar on my wish-to-see-list was filling up the whole hallway, and it was clear that the room wasn’t big enough to accommodate everyone. Thanks to quick thinking by the organizers and fast talking by a handful of staff, we alerted everyone to check the WPPI Facebook group to find out about an encore “Beauty Lighting Simplified” seminar by Hernan Rodriguez. I hope everyone who wants to (including me!) can make it for the replay of this incredibly popular seminar!

As WPPI Day 2 winds down, it’s time for me to check back in with my wishlist and see what I can catch before maybe a quick nap to prepare for two big parties tonight—The Portrait System Touch of Glam Cocktail Party and the Fujifilm Opening Night Party. Fortunately, my party dress is ironed and ready to go!

HELPFUL LINKS FROM WPPI Day 2:

• The WPPI 2023 Mobile App
• Official WPPI Facebook Group
• 2023 Quick Guide – Agenda at a Glance 
• Class Schedule 
• Conference Speaker Bios 
• Map of the Show Room Floor 
• Sign Up for Image Reviews 
• Nighttime Events and More 
• “The Portrait System at WPPI” Blog