LUMINATE 2023
Luminate 2023, Live & In Person. We have an amazing, in-person weekend planned for you! Sunday and Monday's events will be held at the SDF Collective in Gresham, OR. You can attend the whole weekend or just one day! If you're a PPA member and attend both full days, you will earn two PPA Merits.
Saturday:
10am-12pm: Group Photo Shoot with Professional Models (Location in SW Portland)
Sunday:
Continental Breakfast included
9:00am-4pm: MindMeld + ABC with Bethany Ellen (This is a PPA Merit Class)
Lunch included
6:00pm-8:00pm: Live Mini Photo Challenge
Monday:
Continental Breakfast included
9:00am-12:00pm: Portraits Reimagined with Bethany Ellen
1:00pm-3:00pm: Building Big Spenders with Bethany Ellen
3:30pm-5:30pm: Pricing for Profitability with Lara Grauer
(Attending this full day will earn a PPA Merit.)
Workshop Details
Sunday:
Mind Meld/ABC with Bethany Ellen
Start the morning with a session designed to the nines, and then let’s poke holes in your photographic process. Too many photographers are hurting themselves in one aspect or another. Either they’re so business focused, they’ve turned the experience into something mundane. Or they’re so creatively driven, they’re losing valuable earnings for the sake of perfect art. This course sets out to bridge the gap between photographers in a way that’s engaging, fun, and creative. You’ll get a chance to start again, but with a different set of expectations. Can you rise to the challenge?
Monday Morning:
Portraits Reimagined with Bethany Ellen
Are you bored with traditional portrait images? It’s likely because you’re photographing boring images. Join Bethany Ellen, CPP, as she combines storytelling, boundary-pushing creativity, and business mindset to create highly sellable images that have an impactful style. This class teaches you all the rules just so you know how to break them.
Monday Afternoon:
Building Big Spenders with Bethany Ellen
We all want rich clients, clients with money to burn. However, in today’s economy, it’s becoming rarer and rarer that you’ll have clients walking into your business ready to drop serious dollars on printed photos. The secret is not finding imaginary clients with more money, it’s creating value within your current market. This course will discuss overcoming price objections from the get-go, building the value of print, pricing your digitals for profit, and ways to utilize sales psychology for upgrades that thrill your client.
Building a Profitable Business Model with Lara Grauer
Are you a good photographer with some awesome clients to brag about? Congratulations! You’re a professional! Providing photos for money is a great first step, but if earning a meaningful salary is among your goals, there’s SO much more to consider! In this workshop, we’re going back to the drawing board and figure out how you can turn a meaningful profit in your business. Whether your specialty is portraits, weddings, commercial, or landscape (or something else), it all boils down to crunching the numbers and designing a business model that pays you and fulfills you. Lara will help you figure out your profitability plan so you can convert it into real-world actions that bring in the money you deserve.
About Your Speakers
Bethany Ellen, CPP
Bethany Ellen is an accomplished photographer and captivating speaker based in Cincinnati, Ohio. She discovered her passion for photography at a young age and has spent the past decade honing her craft. Her unique style combines a keen eye for detail with a deep appreciation for the art of storytelling. Over the years, Bethany has worked with a diverse range of clients, becoming known for her maternity portraiture. Bringing dynamic movement, high impact storytelling, and a positive communication style, Bethany creates a unique portraiture experience that goes beyond the norm. In addition to her photography work, Bethany is also a sought-after speaker. She has given talks and presentations at conferences and events across the country, sharing her insights and expertise on a wide range of topics related to photography and the creative process. Her engaging and dynamic style has made her a favorite among audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
Lara Grauer, CPP, AFP-WA
Lara Grauer, CPP, AFP-WA is an award-winning portrait artist. She is known in Seattle for her modern portraits with distinct personality. Entering the industry in 1996, Lara studied black & white film photography at Northwestern University. While there, she landed her first few paid gigs providing acting headshots and production photos for her fellow theatre majors. In 2006, after a 3-year stint as a photographer and manager at The Picture People, she bought her first digital camera and launched her own portrait business. In order to keep the business going, Lara developed simple systems to reach more people and stay profitable. Today, Lara strives to inspire other photographers to be smart about their business so they can do what they love and make a living.
