Canada Photo Convention 2013

I have been meaning to write about the Canada Photo Convention for a good long while now but haven’t had a chance to really sit down and think since it ended back in April, and wedding season immediately began for us, but it’s 1am on a Tuesday and I think it’s time.

I first attended the Canada Photo Convention back in 2012. I didn’t know anything about any fancy high end photographers, in fact I didn’t really even know who was who in my own city because when I graduated from photography school I was told by an instructor to avoid looking at other photographers work lest I be influenced and lose sight of my own voice. Needless to say I kept my nose to the pavement for the most part and avoided other photographer’s blogs like the plague.

When I got to the convention the first time around and saw the very first slideshow of wedding images that came from a speaker I wanted to crawl underneath my table and die. I felt like I sucked. Like I was the worst wedding photographer on the planet. Why couldn’t I see things like that? Why didn’t I notice the same amazing details these photographers did. Part way through day one and I wanted to quit my job. I was overwhelmed  by the talent, and my brain was overloaded with tips and tricks and my wrists were aching from taking notes.

Day two began and was full of a lot of hippie hogwash about finding my artist’s soul and satisfying it and crap from Jenna + Tristan and by Jonetsu. By about 4pm, in the middle of Kristen Lewis’ speech I had a breakdown. I called Brad, told him to stop everything, we were rebranding, and I left the convention to go home and start working on the conversion from Redivivus Photography to Love Tree Photography. I saw everyone’s party pictures from the party bus after but I didn’t care I had a vision and I had work to do. I had realized for the first time in a 5 year long career that I was not happy with the art I was making and that I had been really scared to show what I loved because being rejected is a scary hard thing. All that hippie hogwash I thought was crap wasn’t. It was the honest to God truth. I just hadn’t wanted to hear it because it meant a lot of hard work was ahead of me.

Fast forward a year. We rebranded to Love Tree Photography, allowing us to become easier to find online, we adapted new eco-friendly policies which was really important to me, and I have myself a new clean slate to showcase my the art I had been previously too scared to shoot and show.

Canada Photo Convention 2013 was back in Vancouver. This time I was ready.
Not only did I get a chance to meet and network with a TON of amazingly talented photographers, this time I allowed myself to just enjoy it without feeling so intimidated which was a totally refreshing experience!

I learned some amazing things from amazing photographers, such as SEO tricks from Nordica, freelensing from Sam Hurd, and the importance of personal projects from Samm Blake, and most importantly, the new mantra I live by from Jeff Newsom “Make better art.”

The Canada Photo Convention has not only changed the way I run my business, but it has changed the way I shoot, and the way I see the world, and I feel so blessed to have been able to connect with such inspiring photographers from around the world.

So did I buy a ticket for 2014? You bet your ass I did. If you’re a wedding photographer you definitely should too.

And in case you were wondering I got on the party bus this year. I have photographic evidence to prove it too: