Vegas – Days 9, 10 & 11…

We've had SUCH a busy week here at EHP, sorry for the lack of posts! Here's the last of my Vegas posts with some very cool photos to check out from the trip! 🙂 I loved the decor inside of the Paris Hotel…

And inside of the hotel rooms…very Victorian and ornate… 

On Day 9, we went back to the trade show to talk to all of our favorite exhibitors and to find out more details about their products and services. (Tip to photographers: when you go to WPPI, you'll end up with a lot of the same exhibitors info in your trade show bag! We spent the first two days of the trade show collecting information then on the 2nd night of the show, we spent a few hours sorting through it all and pitching what we didn't need. It helped save space in our suitcases and it allowed us to take the remaining information and write a list of questions for each of the companies we are considering using this year. We used the trade show floor map to map out the 3rd day of the show to quickly get back to just those vendor's booths who we needed to talk to and ask questions. That system worked beautifully this year!! I looked like a "woman on a mission" with my map, pen and list of questions with me! LOL) The last speaker we heard on day 9 was Jeff Hawkins who talked about creating awesome portrait albums for your clients – something we're definitely going to do more of this year!! On Day 10, we spent the entire day at the Venetian and had a blast!!! 

We're not gamblers but the penny slots were fun…LOL 

This wasn't a statue, it was an actual person! You couldn't even tell until he blinked! 

Our favorite ice cream stand…Cocolini's 

After we enjoyed the music and shopping at the Venetian, we went to the wax museum next door…check out these AWESOME pics! 

Before we left for Vegas, I got tickets to see Wayne Brady who has a show at the Venetian called "Making %@it up" It was HILARIOUS! If you've ever seen him on "Whose Line is it Anyway?" then you would LOVE his show! Unfortunately they were super strict about not taking pictures in the theater (I saw one lady get a laser pointed in her camera when she tried!) so I wasn't able to shoot any pics of him but if you're in the area, definitely go to his show!! 

Day 11 was our travel day back home…we were sad to leave but glad to be heading back home to see our families and our wonderful clients for the start of wedding season. 🙂 Since we stayed an extra few days on the front end and back end of the convention, we missed all of the long lines at the airport, hotel and taxi stands…woo-hoo!! The Vegas airport is so funny…they have these oxygen bars and slot machines right next to one another…LOL…had to throw in these last few pics…

Vegas – Days 7 & 8…

Days 7 & 8 were AWESOME!! We went to the WPPI Platform classes and did the "divide & conquer" method to make the most of our available class time. We heard some of the biggest names in the industry speak including: Me Ra Koh, Michael & Anna Costa, Yervant, Catherine Hall, Jose Villa, Denis Reggie, Mitche Graf, Joe Buissink & David Jay! One of the highlights of those two days included the AMAZING tradeshow where we got to check out all of the latest & greatest products and ideas in the photo industry and we had the opportunity to meet Becker and Jessica Claire!! They are such awesome people… If you follow the B School Blog, you probably saw this video already but a few days before we left, Becker made an open call announcement to all of his blog stalkers that he was offering to do our head shots if we met him outside of the Eiffel Tower on St. Patty's Day. It was hilarious because so many photographers showed up! Check out the video that the Bui Brothers made for him! CLICK HERE!

Here's Becker doing my head shots… 

Yay! An updated pic….just wish I would've curled the ends of my hair that day…oh well! LOL 

Here I am with Becker!! 

And our wedding photographer, Gary Fong! 🙂 His new book "Snaps" was just released and John & I were one of the very first people in line to get it autographed when the tradeshow floor opened…I can't believe it's been almost 5 years since he shot our wedding!! LOL

And here's the man behind the concept of photojournalism, Denis Reggie….pure genius… 

And Matthew Jordan Smith, one of the photographers from America's Next Top Model! 

And of course the inventor of the fabulous Shootsac, Jessica Claire!! We LOVE our Shootsacs and we tell every photographer they have to get one! I started out by using it to carry our lenses, flashes, etc. but have since started using it to carry around our most frequently used emergency kit supplies! LOL So at any given time, I have Shout wipes, scissors, a compact, water, pins, hairspray, tape, aspirin, etc. on me at all times. 😉 My brides love it and so do I! Of course, I still have room to throw in a lense and an extra flash whenever needed too! 

Here she is being interviewed by Inside Digital Photo… 

On Day 8, we also had the opportunity to mentor Gayle Iest, a new photography business owner who won our consulting session through the Thirst Relief International mentoring auction. We had so much fun with her and I was glad to be able to help her get her business going! 🙂 Gayle, let me know when you get your new website up and running, I'd love to keep up with your business happenings too! 

Vegas – Days 5 & 6…

Day 5 was crazy busy in Vegas!! 🙂 We went to an all-day Business Institute to hear Kathleen Hawkins, Mitche Graf, Mark Zucker, Sarah Petty & Kevin Kubota speak and it was well worth it! They discussed customer loyalty, pricing, marketing, albums, graphic design & promotions. After the last class, we took the night off to explore more of Vegas…I took John to the MGM to see the Lion Habitat. They were sooooo cute!!! (Like big over-sized house cats! LOL) Check out THIS VIDEO that John took that evening! After that we went across the street to New York, New York…

My new favorite quote… 🙂 

Then we took a tram to the Luxor and Mandalay Bay and hung out there for a few hours before heading back to Paris… 

Day 6 was mostly a vacation day for us…we had been waking up early every day (not my favorite thing to do at all!!) and we got so spoiled by being able to order room service every morning. LOL I rarely ever cook so John took advantage of the amazing waffles with strawberries and whipped cream every morning….good thing he didn't expect that when we got back home! 😉

That afternoon we went to the Mirage….they had gorgeous flowers at the entrance…

And stopped by the Beatles exhibit – CLICK HERE for another video! 🙂 These cool mirrors were on the ceiling…

And the flooring changed colors to the music…very cool! 

Then we went to the Forum Shops at Caesar's and had lunch at Planet Hollywood after doing some extensive shopping! 🙂 

Had to make a trip to the MAC store….favorite! 🙂 

Then we headed back to the hotel for a seminar in the evening… 

On the way to the ballroom, we ran into Heather & Bobbi!! Here they are being goofy…I'm not sure exactly what this was about but they broke out into this hilarious skit and it was definitely blog worthy! LOL