A few of my favorite things, from Imaging USA 2022

As the new 2022 President of Professional Photographers of Colorado (PPC), an affiliate of Professional Photographers of America (“PPA”), and a member of the Professional Photographers Guild of Colorado Springs (PPGCS), I was encouraged to attend the Imaging USA photography conference at the Gaylord Hotel in National Harbor, MD. This would be my first time attending this popular conference in person, as I had first joined PPA in 2020, and the 2021 event was held virtually.

Initially, I was a bit apprehensive to attend such a large event while cases of the Omicron variant were on the rise. But, PPA was committed to following all CDC and local health guidelines including the mask mandate for all indoor activities. With a pair of new N95 masks with me, I decide to go forward with my flight from Denver and created a schedule of programs I planned to attend.  

Starting with other PPA affiliate leaders

I arrived at the hotel Friday evening so that I could attend the Saturday PPA Affiliate Leaders Meeting, led by Bryan Welsh. This was a great beginning to the conference. There were approximately 50 affiliate leaders from all parts of the country and an agenda designed to help unify the various groups and share ideas and best practices with others.

We were all very appreciative to have PPA’s CEO David Trust and President Mary Fisk-Taylor allocate some of their time to speak at our event and communicate their support to the affiliate groups. Overall, I was very impressed with the ideas that were shared. I came away with several ideas that we can implement with our Colorado affiliate groups to drive engagement among existing members and the growth of new members.  

Program sessions at Imaging USA

With a lineup of many great programs from Sunday through Tuesday, I filled out a schedule in the Imaging USA phone app with sessions that I planned to attend.  

The first program I attended was Sunday morning with Sandra Pierce. She presented on Photoshop painting. Sandra shared several painting techniques using the mixer brush and smudge tool along with color grading and an example of how to create unique catchlights in eyes. She has a wonderful lively presentation style and the information she shared was well worth the early morning wake-up.  

Next on the agenda was the opening keynote. It began with inspiring speeches from Trust and Fisk-Taylor, followed by the keynote speaker Mike Michalowicz. Mike is the author of several books including “Get Different,” which was the topic of his highly energetic and inspiring presentation. I came away with new ideas on how I can add creativity and differentiation to my photography business.

Exploring the Imaging USA expo 

Sunday afternoon was dedicated to a wonderful Imaging USA expo. There was a good variety of booths featuring products, services and demonstrations. While I did not purchase any new gear, I did add several items to my “wish list” and hope to add them to my inventory at some point. 

It was great to stop by and visit Colorado photographer and 2021 Grand Imaging Award winner Shannon Squires-Toews. She was sharing a booth with award-winning Richard Sturdevant and promoting their Master Classes Education courses.  

A welcome party on Sunday evening was a great opportunity to socialize with other photographers from various parts of the country. It was also great to get together with the many Colorado photographers who were attending the conference. I was able to chat with several members I had never met in person.  

Workshops and courses at Imaging USA

Monday morning began by attending the program by Kristina Sherk on portrait retouching in Lightroom and Photoshop. Kristina did a wonderful job of presenting the new masking features within Lightroom and shared the techniques she uses for portrait retouching in Photoshop. I took plenty of notes and was anxious to get back home and begin to put some of these new techniques to use. 

The next program of the morning was the Julieanne Kost presentation on “The Art of Compositing in Photoshop.” This was another amazing presentation, as Julieanne used her very energetic style to share the advanced techniques to create creative and realistic-looking images while blending multiple subjects into a scene.  

I attended an evening presentation by Angela Kurkian on “Planning for Your Success.” This was very helpful in setting goals, marketing establishing a sales plan for photographers who are starting a business. Again, I came away with plenty of notes and several great ideas to implement into my new photography business.

PPA Award & Degree Ceremony

The award and degree ceremony was an event that I was really looking forward to. Many of our very talented members of PPC and PPGCS were scheduled to receive their hard-earned degrees and many had reached the finals for various categories of Grand Imaging Awards. Watching the excitement of the degree recipients as they crossed the stage provided me with added incentive to join them with my own degrees in the future.  

During the awards ceremony, the finalist photos from the Grand Imaging Awards contest were shared with the audience. These were truly outstanding, and it was great to see several images from our Colorado members. A highlight of the evening during the announcement of the World Cup Competition selection was when our own PPC & PPGCS member Cheryl Moore’s photo, “Dance of Light,” came across the screen as the single Team USA selection for the Best of Nations Award in the Nature category. 

Tour of Washington, D.C.

Early Tuesday morning I had to decide whether to attend the few presentations I had intended to or to join a few other Colorado photographers to tour the monuments and nearby attractions. As it had been over 30 years since I had visited this area, I decided to join friends on the tour.

I was carrying my standard mirrorless camera along with an infrared camera. I really enjoyed the hours spent walking from one monument to the next while looking for interesting photo compositions.

Overall, I was very impressed with the Imaging USA conference, especially given the challenges of planning and carrying out a large in-person event during a pandemic. It was great to meet so many talented photographers from around the country and to finally meet members of our Colorado affiliates that I had yet to meet in person.

The speakers at the programs I attended were highly talented and inspirational. I am excited to implement several new ideas to our Colorado affiliate planning as well as to my personal photography business. I am looking forward to the 2023 Imaging USA conference in Nashville, TN.

Editor’s note: We welcome this article from Michael Ryno, a landscape, wildlife and nature photographer in Highlands Ranch, CO. Learn more and see his work at michaelrynophotography.com.