Pixel Photo Fest: Full Schedule

9:00am EDT

Content Creation Strategies For The Modern Photographer

Speakers

Miguel Quiles

Friday October 15, 2021 9:00am - 10:30am EDT
5th Floor

Keynote

Day Friday
Class Type Lecture
Subject Keynote

11:30am EDT

How a Desire for Better Shelter Pet Portraits Turned a Hobby into a Passion and a Career

Professional Pet Photographer, Adam Goldberg, shares his journey from knowing very little about photography to traveling the country taking pet photos for animal charities, to opening his own Pet Photo Studio in Tampa. Attendees will not only be inspired by Adam’s origin
story, but will also learn tangible tactics to get better photos of shelter animals.

Speakers

Adam Goldberg

Friday October 15, 2021 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
Room D

Lecture

Day Friday
Class Type Lecture
Subject Pet

11:30am EDT

Maternity Portraiture Lecture + Demo

Heather will talk about maternity portrait photography while doing a live demonstration. She'll talk about the best SIGMA lenses to use for in-studio work to get a variety of looks from full body to closer portraits and why she likes each lens. Includes more general info about posing, lighting, subject interactions, and props.

Speakers

Heather Larkin

Fairy Queen, Sigma

Heather Larkin is a portrait photographer located in Athens near Atlanta, Georgia. Heather has been shooting professionally since 2003, and is internationally known for creating colorful, authentic images for clients around the world. Her business, Fairyography, has been featured... Read More →

Friday October 15, 2021 11:30am - 12:30pm EDT
Room F

Lecture Hands-On

Day Friday
Class Type Lecture
Subject Maternity

11:30am EDT

Selling Sucks: How to Create a Brand that Does All the Work for You

Most of you have heard it before: "In-person sales are the only way to survive as a photographer." While I wholeheartedly believe this, I also get it...selling sucks! We got into this industry to create amazing art and experiences for people, not be slimy salespeople. This can be super scary for some but I promise you, in this class you'll leave understanding how to consistently get $2,000-3,000 from every client without having to use complicated sales tricks or phrases.

Key Takeaways:
- Simple changes you can make right now to become that luxury brand
- Language and communication I use everyday (as simple as copy & paste)
- Introduction to the tools I use to make selling a smooth process for both me and the client

Ready to really start making money? It's time to get paid for what you're worth. Can't wait to see you there.

Speakers

Isaac Coffy

Pixel Connection

As a high school student, Isaac Coffy was tasked with figuring out what he wanted to do for the rest of his life...you know, the simple task we give every 17-18-year-old high school student. With a passion for photography, he quickly realized that becoming a master in business was... Read More →

Friday October 15, 2021 11:30am - 1:00pm EDT
Room A

Lecture

Day Friday
Class Type Lecture
Subject Business

2:00pm EDT

Lecture: 21st Century Still Life Lighting Techniques: Lighting in Layers

Lee Varis guides you through a new creative process for still life lighting and shooting. Explore different classic still life genres for small objects using continuous light sources, and flash lighting. The basic strategy is to make several exposures with different lighting directions, and then blend these exposures together in Photoshop layers. Learn different approaches for glassware, sculptural items, flowers, musical instruments, and translucent materials.

Speakers

Lee Varis

Photo EducatorTravel Photo Workshop LeaderLee Varis is a photo-illustrator now working in the Boston area. He has been involved in commercial photography for over 40 years. He started working with computer imaging over 20 years ago and currently works with digital as well as conventional... Read More →

Friday October 15, 2021 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT
Room B

Lecture

Day Friday
Class Type Lecture
Subject Lighting

4:30pm EDT

The Art of chasing the Shot

Part I: Embracing the journey of both failure and success to elevate your images and storytelling.

Part II: Capturing vs. Creating – Finding where your personal line gets drawn
Although capturing the night sky has always been very personal for me, I love being able to share those moments. I believe it can spark something in our imagination and fill us with wonder to see what the night sky holds. Being able to capture a scene in the exact way that I planned out has always been an important part of my process. Throughout that process, I’ve often chased images for multiple years as things out of my control just didn’t line up. But, why?
I made the personal choice for my images to represent a moment I was able to capture, instead of one I was able to create. Is there a line that needs to be drawn when it comes to composite images? Is it a label of fact or fiction? Art vs. Photography? If so, who gets to draw those definitions?

Speakers

Jack Fusco

Friday October 15, 2021 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT
Room A

Lecture

Day Friday
Class Type Lecture
Subject Outdoors

5:00pm EDT

Taking Your Wedding Photography from 0 to 100

Taking Your Wedding Photography from 0 to 100 will focus on the challenges and hardships photographers face when starting a wedding business and how to proactively avoid and overcome them. It will include real world examples, marketing strategy, best practices, and more so you too can build up your wedding business.

Speakers

Justin Gamble

Pixel Connection

I have been working full time in studio portraiture and commercial photography since 2016, but graduated from Ohio University in 2017 with a degree in Commercial Photography. After graduating, I moved back to Cleveland, OH and began working for portrait and commercial photography... Read More →

Friday October 15, 2021 5:00pm - 6:00pm EDT
Room B

Lecture

Day Friday
Class Type Lecture
Subject Wedding

9:30am EDT

Recover! Energize! Create!

Blast past the Covid blues, explore a new creative journey, and look for the light! It’s time
to jump start your enthusiasm for photography, whether it’s for business or pleasure or both.
It certainly has been a challenging year and a half, but sometimes that’s the key to finding a
new way to “see” and experience your visual art. Bobbi covers several techniques to help
kick start shooting interesting and compelling images and overcoming the past dark time of
loss and wallowing in the rut. There are steps and exercises that are fun and enlightening
that help get the fires burning again. She talks about personal projects and the inner
exploration of finding a new voice in your photo style. Learn how to turn those failures, or
inertia into positive and surprising outcomes. This is a lively and illuminating presentation!

Speakers

Bobbi Lane

Owner, Bobbi Lane Photography

Hi! I'm a commercial photographer and a dedicated photo educator. My nickname is Mistress of Light since I teach mostly lighting in natural, speedlights or with studio strobes. My goal as an educator is to help you find the tools and techniques to be the kind of photography that... Read More →

Saturday October 16, 2021 9:30am - 11:00am EDT
5th Floor

Keynote

Day Saturday
Class Type Lecture
Subject Keynote

12:00pm EDT

Kids Photography: Lecture

Heather will talk about portrait photography and interaction with children. The lecture will cover portrait photography composition, kid interaction for best expressions, gear options, easy-to-learn tips on finding good light, and simple post-processing.

Speakers

Heather Larkin

Fairy Queen, Sigma

Saturday October 16, 2021 12:00pm - 1:00pm EDT
Room B

Lecture

Day Saturday
Class Type Lecture
Subject Family

12:00pm EDT

Advanced Astrophotography Capture and Processing Techniques

In this session, I'll demonstrate my field practices when out photographing the stars and Milky Way. Field workflow and capture considerations will be discussed, along with a demonstration of my post-processing workflow from RAW to finished image.

Speakers

Phil Sisto

Saturday October 16, 2021 12:00pm - 1:30pm EDT
Room A

Lecture

Day Saturday
Class Type Lecture
Subject Outdoors

12:00pm EDT

Breaking $3k Averages with Senior Portraits

Building a brand is one thing, but consistently selling above the $3k mark is another. I'm going to break down exactly how we built a portrait experience at our studio that high school seniors rave about and their parents love. This is an absolute must when it comes to charging luxury prices. You'll get a fly-on-the-wall view into the ENTIRE process, from high-performing lead conversion to final client sale. I promise it's easier than you think, and I'm laying it all down for you.

Speakers

Isaac Coffy

Pixel Connection

Saturday October 16, 2021 12:00pm - 1:30pm EDT
Room D

Lecture

Day Saturday
Class Type Lecture
Subject Business

2:00pm EDT

Elevate Your Business with Personal Brand Photography

Overview: Looking to up-level your services? Give Personal Brand Photography a try! There is a huge need in the digital world for businesses to market what they do in just about every capacity. Many businesses do not even know they need this! Come join Sarah Beirne Photography and you will learn her mission and approach to finding entrepreneurs and businesses to photograph. Learn techniques, processes, and hands on techniques from Sarah on how she gets her clients to shine and be their true selves behind her camera. This class will allow participants to leave feeling confident to go out and find a few small businesses that might be in need of photography. Utilizing what is learned in this workshop, participants can take their style of photography and start attracting their ideal personal brand clients.

Speakers

Sarah Beirne

Sarah Beirne Photography

My name is Sarah Beirne, owner of Sarah Beirne Photography. I photograph families and brands in a lifestyle manner. I aim to capture the true moments and personality of my clients, leaving them with an unforgettable experience and remarkable images that are timeless.I love photography... Read More →

Saturday October 16, 2021 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT
Room B

Lecture

Day Friday
Class Type Lecture
Subject Business

2:30pm EDT

Boudoir Client Experience

During this 90-minute lecture on preparing your client for their boudoir session, you will learn best practices, clothing guidance, and making sure your client leaves the meeting knowing exactly what to bring and how to prepare for their session with you. You will leave knowing how to put together a how-to prepare email and everything you need to know to guide the perfect planning meeting for your client and the presentation of products and how that sets the tone for your ordering session. Remember, you are here to make money so let's kick this planning meeting out of the park to make you the most money you can.

Speakers

Amber Jones

Saturday October 16, 2021 2:30pm - 4:00pm EDT
Room F

Lecture

Day Saturday
Class Type Lecture
Subject Boudoir

2:30pm EDT

Drag the Shutter Class

This presentation explores all the various techniques of “Dragging the shutter” or balancing the exposure of strobe and ambient light sources in one photo. For example: taking a photo of someone outside at night by using a portable flash and also capturing the city lights in the background. There is quite a lot to know about this technique because it involves color balance as well as exposure balance. Bobbi explains how to determine the proper balance of exposure between the two light sources - flash and ambient - then how to creatively play by shaking or spinning the camera, zooming the lens, panning and more. The flash will light the subject and freeze any motion, and then moving the camera will blur the ambient light in the background in a variety of ways. Adding gels to the flash can making the color of the light sources correct, or for creating unusual effects. This technique can be used for people at twilight, product shots, flowers outside, etc. It’s a creative and fun way to make your photos more dynamic and effective!

Speakers

Bobbi Lane

Owner, Bobbi Lane Photography

Saturday October 16, 2021 2:30pm - 4:00pm EDT
Room A

Lecture

Day Saturday
Class Type Lecture

5:00pm EDT

Intro to Astrophotgraphy

From planning to post processing, this talk will dive in to everything you need to get started with astrophotography.
This is for all levels of photographers looking to learn how to take photos of the night sky.
What You Will Learn in this Lecture

Basic and Advanced Camera Settings for Shooting the Stars

How to get the best night sky images for different camera setups and situations

Focusing your camera in the dark

Tips and tricks for nailing your focus at night

Selecting the right exposure time to keep your stars sharp

How to find and shoot the Milky Way

How to shoot star trails

Different techniques for shooting at night including: single exposure, tracked images, stacked images for noise reduction

Speakers

Jack Fusco

Saturday October 16, 2021 5:00pm - 6:00pm EDT
Room B

Lecture

Day Saturday
Class Type Lecture
Subject Outdoors